Why Don't You Dance?

by Raymond Carver

Short story.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

7 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Carver was born into a poverty-stricken family at the tail-end of the Depression. He married at 19, started a series of menial jobs and his own career of 'full-time drinking as a serious pursuit', a career that would eventually kill him. Constantly struggling to support his wife and family, Carver enrolled in a writing programme under author John Gardner in 1958. He saw this opportunity as a turning point.

Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the eighties, heading the line of so-called 'dirty realists' or 'K-mart realists'. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail. Carver writes with meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper. As well as being a master of the short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.

After the 'line of demarcation' in Carver's life - 2 June 1977, the day he stopped drinking - his stories become increasingly more redemptive and expansive. Alcohol had eventually shattered his health, his work and his family - his first marriage effectively ending in 1978. He finally married his long-term parter Tess Gallagher (they met ten years earlier at a writers' conference in Dallas) in Reno, Nevada, less than two months before he eventually lost his fight with cancer.

Reviews

[Heba · Rating 4 out of 5]

لِما لا ترقصان ؟...
قصة قصيرة رائعة للكاتب الأمريكي " ريموند كارفر" ..
أنت بعينين شاردتين غارقتين تبحث عما وراء كل تلك التفاصيل الصغيرة.. تحاول أن ترصد اللحظة التي ما قبل كل ذاك...تلتقط كل ما في الهواء وتملأ الفراغات....
عندئذٍ تدرك أن في اللحظة التي تشهد وداعاً لحياة ما...ثمة لقاء يجمع اثنين في اللحظة ذاتها..
هنا ثمة لفتة عابرة تلامس قلبك وإذا ما أردت توصيفها وتظن بأنه يُمكنك ذلك...تحاول ولكن بعد وهلة ستكف عن المحاولة....وتتوقف..
إنهم يحسبون أنهم قد رأوا كل ما يمكن أن يروه هنا ، ولكنهم لم يروا هذا من قبل.. أليس كذلك ؟....

[Elysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've stumbled upon a couple of Raymond Carver's short stories and, clearly, I'm hooked. This was read as a part of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

This story had three characters: two are a young couple furnishing a new apartment together and it's assumed that they are starting a new life together, while the other is an older man selling his furniture, drinking and seems to be starting a new life alone. I won't really delve too deeply into what my take-away is as it really should be left to the individual reader. This is what the story does; it provides you with enough information to understand what is happening on the surface so you can fill in the gaps and unknown details.

While reviews are meant to provide other readers with perspectives of the book before they read it, this case is different. It could be perceived in so many different ways and can mean so many different things to each reader that I wouldn't want to ruin that for anyone. All I can say is, it's very short. Read it. You can even listen to readings of it on Youtube along with his other short stories! So do it.

[Rochelle ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for uni

[Almira Beste · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Why Don’t You Dance?” (1977) by Raymond Carver is a great example of using ellipsis and subliminal messages in a short story. The story is located in a middle-aged man’s yard who sells his furniture for an unknown reason. The story is about conversations between a middle-aged man, a young girl and boy who buy some and spend time with him. After giving them a bargain, the man offers alcohol and puts on a record. After a while, the girl dances with both the boy and the man. The ending of the story is not clear, which makes it ambiguous story. Weeks later, the girl tells everyone what happens without details and this makes the story interesting and interpretable. The magnificent use of subliminal massages such as word choices (plugging, bounced, tucked, patted) and the depiction of the dance (bodies pressed together, the boy and the girl moved up and down) when viewed together suggest a sexual underline to the story. On the other hand, the story is full of ellipsis and this invites the readers to use their imagination. For example, what happens that night when narrative zooms a head to the girl’s derogative description of the man. I have two different opinion about the ending. The first one is, the girl and the middle-aged man had sexual relation and the girl is in denial since she is scared of being judged by her surroundings. The second one is, the middle-aged man misses his wife and the girl is sad because the boy has no interest for her, so they had emotional relation to fill the gaps and the girl’s memories are blur because of the alcohol. The thing that I get from the story is, with a lack of affection people tend to project their desires on to others in order to satisfy their longings. Although this story will be treat for literature scholars, anyone could enjoy it because the language is simple and it only takes 15 minutes to read.

[klaudia katarzyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

voyeurism huh?? carver liked to watch people for sure

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why Don’t You Dance? Viewfinder and Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit by Raymond Carver
Very good, if somewhat bizarre narratives

Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:

- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...


Why Don’t You Dance?

In the first narrative, we have a man that is selling all his things in order to or being in the process of starting all over again.
A young couple is interested in some of the items on display…

- How much for the bed?
- 50
- Will you take 40?
- Yes
- How about the TV?
- 25?
- Will you take 15
- Ok

They are also interested in a desk and the girl had established the protocol to follow before the owner came up, with a bottle of drink.

- Whatever he asks for, you suggest 10 dollars less…

The man selling the stuff offers his clients a drink and the boy is pouring it in paper cups, with water for his partner.
She insisted on the young man kissing her, while she was testing the bed, which I found somewhat inappropriate, I am not sure why.

After they agree on the price for the bed and the TV, the drinking fellow is asking for an offer for the desk.

- I will put some record and you know, they are for sale…
- Why don’t you dance?...and ergo the title of the story

Viewfinder

The second short tale has two characters.
One is the owner of the house being photographed by the second.
The photographer is selling his pictures and he has no arms.

- Come in…I made some coffee
- May I use your bathroom
- Yes, it is down the hall

The owner of the house wants an offer for more pictures that he wants and he gets at three for one dollar.


Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit

This last story is also a bit bizarre.
The narrator finds his mother, who is over sixty, kissing a man on the couch.
Sixty is the new forty, but still…

His wife is also “giving it away”.

The man responsible for the infidelity of the wife is walking with a limp.

He had been shot by his first wife and he has too many children.

[Buse Bastanci · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Why Don’t You Dance” by Raymond Carver is one of the best short stories which represents the ıceberg theory in literature very well because it leaves many unaswered questions and pushes the reader to think about story’s background, after the story. Even though Carver doesn’t tell much about the girl and the boy, the reader can understand that they are a couple and they start a new life by buying some furniture for their house. The story seems like a positive story by this manner but when we look through the old man’s eyes, it makes us to think this he is in a desperate situation he has lost everything except his old furnitures and ends his story by selling these in his front yard. Is the ending of a story, a new story, like death and birth? He is not even arguing about the price with the young couple, doesn’t this looks like a hopeless situation? The reader can see the old man is repsented as a finished life and the young couple as a new life, so someone who reads the story can easily see this contrast. Moreover, the writer gives the reader an opportunity to continue the story by not completing it. The thing that Carver did, is really hard in literature because writing a story that short but incredible meaningful about human psychology and makes people think is very rare. Yet this story is able to catch a hook from the reader’s mind with its plot and with it arouses curiosity. Showing the opposite drama in the story between the couple and the old man makes the reader to ask, “What is the old man’s story?”, “What is happening then?”. What if we look at he title? Why it is about dance? We can see the girl passes the story while she is telling the story at the end and looks like she isnot even interested. This gives the feeling to us that she has something to hide and shame, and this title gives a clue to the rader where to focus on. The old man and the girl is getting closer at the end but it is never described widely so we think that something happened there, like a sexual attraction between them not only a ‘dance’. What about old man’s story? This open yard sale might be a psychological abandon from his previous life and ex-wife. I believe when someone reads this story, he/she will stay with many open-ended questions in mind. I recommend this story with all my heart. Because in this story ,it is not just about reading the story, it is also about asking questions and imagining the rest.

[nemesssis · Rating 5 out of 5]

ძალიან პატარაა, წაიკითხეთ. ერთ-ერთია იმ იშვიათი ნაწარმოებებიდან, რომლებიც ამბავს თავისით შეგათხზვევინებს და თეატრალურ სცენაზე რეჟისორ-დამკვირვებლად სრულყოფილად გაქცევს. რამდენი პერსონალური ისტორიაცაა, იმდენი ნარატივი და გააზრება აქვს ამ მოთხრობას. სხვა ავტორები ამ სხვადასხვაგვარი იდეის გადმოცემას ათეულ გვერდს მოანდომებდნენ, ამაშია მოთხრობის და კარვერის ხიბლი - ერთეულ გვერდებში ჩატეული ნოსტალგია, ტრაგიზმი და კავიშირი მკითხველთან.


რატომ არ ცეკვავთ? არა, მართლა, ცეკვა რატომ შევწყვიტეთ?

[Apphia Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favs. First heard on the Paris Review Podcast. Carver's simplicity is refreshing in a world where literary works are expected to be inaccessible and must be layered, prove its intellectuality, and have multiple meanings in order to achieve depth, praise and acceptance. He does so much with so little.

[Skye Heaton-heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant short short-story with one uncanny setting, three characters and a host of unanswered questions. A man recreates the interior of his house on his front lawn for the world to see. A young couple presume the furniture is for sale. Negotiation leads to an unfolding evening soiree with whiskey and ever increasing sense of the strange. A tersely written snapshot open to multiple interpretations.

[Damla · Rating 4 out of 5]

American writer Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About When We Talk About Love” is a short story collection published in 1981. “Why Don’t You Dance?” is a good example of minimalist realism with a depressed tone. When examining the old man’s saying about to turn off the TV and put on a record, the story is probably set in outskirts of America in 1970’s. The beginning part is about an old man who moves his furnitures from his home to the frontyard while he is drinking whiskey. The story contains an ellipsis in the beginning part, any information given, if the old man’s wife dies or leaves him. It is possible that he may loss her wife depending on his alcohol addiction. A young couple looks over to furnitures he sells, even they try it out including the bed. The old man seems so caring to the couple, he offers them a drink while they are getting closer. When the boy or girl asks him about furniture’s prices, he is willing to undersell them. The old man might wants to sell his furnishings at any price just for a good purpose or he might be inerested with the relationship between the couple because he is no longer in a relationship. There is a lot of dilemma in the story, the author wants to leave the decision to the reader, thus, each reader could interpret the story by themselves. The old man asks to the couple “why don’t you dance?” as in the title and turn up to music. Carver represents very unusual scenes as they are very normal; he makes the story controversial with arousing suspicions on the reader’s mind. “There was no telling”. Carver does not telling us. He wants the reader to reach a conclusion by themselves. From a third person perspective, the story contains theme of uncertainty, both seperation and connection at the same time. At the end of the story, an ellipsis occurs with the weird intimacy between the old man and the young lady. We do not know the truth at the end, as at the beginning. Carver uses iceberg theory provocatively, he leaves many question marks in the reader’s mind. In real life, we use alcohol as a connector between people, as Carver did in his ficitonal tales. This is the first time I read Carver and I will read his other stories, especially this collection. I would recommend to all who loves weird cases both in real life and literature.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Potential Spoilers but not really because the ending is ambiguous.

I really liked this very short, terse, but intriguing short story. Other reviewers here have described what occurs in it, noting how the simple but sophisticated construction leaves much to the reader to imagine. Here’s a brief description :

“This minimalist vignette from Raymond Carver captures a brief encounter between a middle-aged man holding a yard sale and a young couple interested in buying furniture. We learn very little about the man other than that he was once in a relationship, is selling almost everything he owns, and probably drinks too much. The man offers the couple whiskey, puts on some music, and suggests that they dance. Carver leaves it to the reader to interpret what happens next. All we know is that the girl is troubled by it for weeks. Possible themes: alcoholism, loneliness, despair, compassion, connection, confusion.”

What intrigued me was the intimacy between the girl and the man as they dance. She goes to him with open arms and “she pushed her face into the man’s shoulder. She pulled the man closer.”

“You must be desperate or something,” she said.

Then the story moves to the girl describing what happened a few days later. At one point the author writes in the omniscient voice in the mind of the girl, “there’s more that happened, and she was trying to get it talked out.”

There’s no resolution but it left me feeling there was an attraction and the two were drunk and getting intimate. Was that it? And they soon separated and the couple left? Or was there more intimacy and/or sex and somehow the boyfriend who was very drunk passed out.

An ambiguous ending you could interpret in multiple ways.

It’s astonishing how much Carver conveys with such simplicity.

[Ece Meltem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why don't you dance (1997) is one of the best family drama story written by Raymond Carver and it gives us a message about "You shouldn't hide your emotions and distance yoursel f from other people." The story has not certain place but it is believed that its America in the 70'ies. This story's narrator is largely disassociated from the action and provides very little commentary on the individuals and dialogue that they introduce to us. Throughout reality, conversation predominates over description in the vast bulk of the story. Tone is depressing . Our story has four characters. Three of them are nameless: The man (main character), the boy and the girl. Other one is Jack. Story starts in a kitchen. The man pours another drink for relaxing his mind and it is obvious that he feels sad and empty. He removes furnitures out of his home. I think the furnitures symbolizes memories that he want to get rid of. We don't really understand why he does this but we do know that the man once had a female partner or wife who is no longer exists because of wedding items he just trashed out. Our couple(the boy and the girl) stops in front of the house and begins looking at the furniture with the intention of purchasing it. Then home owner, the man offers them drinks while they try to agree on the price of furnitures. I do not tell all details to avoid giving spoilers for other readers. The story becomes more meaningful when you read it with your own comments and predictions. The theme of the story is isolation-connection. I suggest this short story to everybody who is interested in drama because you can read it in one sitting. Such a fascinating and deep story.

[Ege Uslu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to read something realist but don't like many details ? This short story is just for you. Raymond Carver's "Why Don't You Dance ?" is a short story published in 1977. The story is set on a roughly similar time as the story itself(70's) and on outside. An old man had arranged a yard sale in a very distinctive way: everything stood as if there were walls around them and machinery even worked thanks to extension cords. There is no information is given why this yard sale is going on though, or whether the wife of this old man has passed away or left him(the latter seems to be a bit unlikely after all the time they may or may not have spent together). The way this story is written is also constantly popping more questions in as we read further, like why the old man is selling his furniture, why did he arranged it like that on the outside while he simply could leave them as they were in the house... This way, by leaving many untethered details in the story, there could be many ways each reader can understand differently. There is always a level of uncertainty throughout the entire story, making way for further suspicions. Ultimately, the story ends with an uncertainty just like it started. It was, however, a great piece to read. Simple, minimalist but packed full of meanings. I would highly recommend it to pretty much anyone.

[Ebru Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY DO NOT YOU DANCE by RAYMOND CARVER
The story tells us about the relationship between a couple and the old man. We have the theme of change, break-up, and connection. A couple visits a yard of a man who sells his furniture. The couple buy some furniture. What’s more, the girl wonder why the man put his furniture outside. Everything begins with this. The use of symbols like the yard (symbolizes exposure), the bed (symbolizes intimacy), the furniture (symbolizes past), and dancing (symbolizes expression of emotions), and also with the family drama genre shows that it is a good story to read. At the end of the story, there is a intimacy between the old man and the girl. The ending of the story is not clear; The girl tells everybody what they did that day. The author must have asked the reader to use their imagination. The story is really good. When you finish the story, you will be trying to guess what happened between the girl and the old man.

[Ceylan Deniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernest Hemingway has a modernist short story which is called "The End of Something" has a very similar theme with "Why Don't You Dance" in that story we see the breakup of a young couple, as a result the boy wants his own independency.
A man empties the contents of his house he has a female partner. A young couple comes to them and wants to buy that furnitures. Owner of the house invites them in his house as a guest and serve them some drink. After young couple become hangover, they start to dancing. The young man drinks much and old man and young girl end up dancing. Then girl tells what happened in that house to her friends she thinks the old man was pyscho.
The epiphany of this short story is "A brief story" structured around a single main event, a yard sale which brings a couple and a middle-aged man together.
I offer to this story because it is clear that, Realism unfolds in this story. The works are so realistic, there is no complicated personal relationships between people.

[kashvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

i absolutely love raymond, don’t get me wrong. but i feel this was too open-ended for me. also might’ve messed up the ages in my mindless-half-sleepy-half-drunk stupor, and ofc art imitates life so here’s what i think couldve happened. felt like the protagonist and the girl had already been together before something cruel ripped them apart and he, being the way he is, resorts to alcohol and tries to rid their house of her scent and she, being the way she is, warms up her misery in another’s arms. what’s important is that they weren’t over in life’s eyes and carver gives them this final slap where she stops by her ex lover’s house, which is apparently doing a sale of her belongings, with her new man, who apparently doesn’t seem to like her much?

“You must be desperate or something”

i mean we are, all of us. at the end of the day, love has got us by the entrails and i miss him too much to be lingering around carver’s work.

[Karya Balaban · Rating 4 out of 5]

'''Why Don’t You Dance’’ (1977) by Raymond Carver is a strange short story that makes you push the boundaries of your thought. The main reason for its strange is, it has an unusual setting. The story sets on a middle-aged man’s garden designed exactly like the inside of his house with all of his furniture and It is so well-elaborated that readers can visualize it in their minds. He put the furniture into the garden to sell it. A young couple sees the sale and takes a look at it and strange events start to begin from there. Because it's a six paged story if I tell I little bit more about it I would be telling the whole story and to avoid spoilers I am not going to do that. The end of the story is open-ended, the writer leaves it for readers' imagination. Being this short and simple it makes the reader think about it more. You may feel like you missed some parts. The whole story feels unfinished and that makes the story a different story for every reader, every individual reader can make the story another story in their minds. Salman's situation is interpretable in many ways and there is no answer to it, the couple even can not communicate with him. but it can be symbolized as a beginning of a new life because the couple looks for the furniture for their new life together and that is kind of the main topic. Besides that the middle-aged man does not care about the prices he gives to the couple, it feels like he just wants to get rid of the furniture. I highly recommend you to read this story if you are bored of the stories with everything already given in the text and if you want to reflect on reading.

[Tofu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this as a part of his collection "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," and I get that some people love the abstract (I bet the very same as those who see true meaning in abstract art), but it just isn't for me. My mind fills in the blanks, but it also starts to cave in and fold in on itself until I start to hate the story more and more. I agree that it does take a level of skill to write in such a way, because you have to artfully leave out details in a way such that it doesn't just look like a slop (though that's what some abstract art looks like). Hoping I like the next few stories, but just didn't really vibe with this one.

[Hideaki Satoh]

Yêu thương thì quá ngắn còn lãng quên thì quá dài. Cảnh ông già nhìn đôi trai gái nhảy với nhau làm mình nhớ đến chương đầu tiên của Eden ghê gớm: một ngọn nến khổ đau lập loè trước gió, hồi tưởng lại từ rất xa những ngày tươi trẻ của quá khứ. Để rồi ảo giác ấy cũng vỡ tan, như bất kì cơn mơ ngày nào khác.

[sapna chokshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for ap lit. really liked the intimacy and contrasts created in this very short story. the ambiguous ending and the lack of personal details about the characters leave a lot open to the reader's interpretation.

[patri :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really like the fact that it doesn’t include an inside view nor descriptions, there is basically no information about the characters’ thoughts or emotions. this makes the reader have an open interpretation of what is going on, basically reading the story with any meaning they like.

[Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

EL 17.

[Nathan San Filippo · Rating 3 out of 5]

New romance amidst the remains of another

[mace]

[read for uni]

[Liv (LivTheBookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird.

[Mark Fingerhut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Same...

[Ranette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man who has lived a mediocre life comes home to a vacated home with no job. His neighbors help him a litte to improve his situation. But his alcoholism sets him back.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand the hype nor why it was made into a movie. It’s 6 pages of scant dialogue and a few poorly written prose paragraphs. It’s not well written and it’s not even a good story.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75