Careful Paper

In his short story “Careful”, Raymond Carver criticizes the use of alcohol in America through his use of irony and symbols in his short story.

Immediately after Lloyd moves of his house that he had been living in with his wife, he turns straight to alcohol and goes back to drinking his three or four bottles of champagne a day. Once again we see in Carver’s writing alcoholism fueling the fire of family and relationship problems. The fact that Lloyd drinks champagne of all alcoholic drinks Carver could have chosen is completing contradiction Lloyd’s very serious situation. Champagne often has a celebratory connotation, but in this case it is almost the complete opposite. This example of irony is important because Carver displaying how even a typical celebratory drink can be used in abusive ways. Before even reading the story Carver presents an element of foreshadowing. The title of his story, “Careful”, refers to Lloyd and how he needed to be careful because his drinking was not helping him, and only causing him harm. When his wife Inez comes to Lloyd’s new place, she comes dressed in a bright spring outfit and had a bag with sunflowers stitched on it, suggesting she is happy, and has achieved a new sense of freedom. On the contrary Lloyd is described as being in his pajamas, symbolizing his laziness and careless attitude toward life. “Careless” is a very intriguing story for literature students to look at because it draws important attention to what effects alcohol has on relationships and family situations in America.