Carver seems intent on exploring fault lines in American society. Identify a passage that speaks to race, gender, or class differences. In your chosen passage, what is Carver saying, and how is he saying it?

Choose a character from the story. Using examples from it, describe how Carver depicts your chosen character. What did you learn from the text about this person—both within themselves and in relation to the world?

Touch is a motif throughout the story. Identify an episode where touch helps express what a character is feeling. What are they feeling, and how does their use of physical contact express it?