¶ … Fathers Life, by Raymond Carver [...] meaning of the essay as it relates to fathers and sons. The relationship between fathers and their sons is difficult, as this essay captures effectively while still managing to be poignant and meaningful. It is clear Carver loved his father, and wanted to share him with the world, and he does it eloquently in this essay that is as much about him as it is about his father. My Father's Life

Raymond Carver writes about his father's live in this moving essay, and he shows how different life can be for succeeding generations. Clearly, Carver is making his living doing something he loves, but he makes it clear his father was never that lucky. He writes, "I don't think he dreamed much. I believe he was simply looking for steady work at decent pay. Steady work was meaningful work" (Carver). Carver writes with love and humor about his father's life, but it is quite clear that this story of his father is also the story of himself, for he recognizes that where he came from and how he was raised...

His father never seemed to manage to hold on to money, and so, the family often lagged behind other families in the area. Carver remembers, "After a while, though, everyone went to indoor plumbing until, suddenly, our toilet was the last outdoor one in the neighborhood. I remember the shame I felt when my third-grade teacher, Mr. Wise, drove me home from school one day. I asked him to stop at the house just before ours, claiming I lived there (Carver). The essay continues like this, cycling between the hardships of the father and the growing career of the son, seesawing between the despair of the father's mental breakdown, and the joy of finally regaining his confidence and self-respect while his son begins a new life with wife and his own young son.
Carver decides he wants to become a writer, but his father does not quite understand. "What are you going to write about?' he wanted to know. Then, as if…