Let’s start with a definition of minimalism and a brief history of the style to provide context for Raymond Carver's story and the answer to your question. Minimalism is broadly defined as a literary style that strives for maximum efficiency in language. The diction and syntax of authors who employ a minimalist style is simple, direct, and unadorned with unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, or imagery. Minimalist prose excises highly descriptive plot details and dialogue to ensure concision and—according to Robert Clark—frequently focuses on "common people as opposed to the powerful and aristocratic."
Both prose and poetry can be minimalist; famous poets and authors frequently lumped into this category include Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Cormac McCarthy, and (of course) Raymond Carver. Although often advertised as a textbook example of prose minimalism, Raymond Carver claimed that he did not consciously attempt to adhere to this style. The journalist David Weigand claims that "Carver never thought of himself as a minimalist or in any category, for that matter." However, it is easy to see the hallmarks of the minimalist style in Raymond Carver's writing.
This brings us to the short story "Why Don’t You Dance?" There is a plethora of reasons why this story could be considered minimalist, starting with the fact that it is a short story. The story chronicles an unusual yard-sale, but the three primary characters are common, everyday people living in common, everyday American suburbia. When you skim the story, it is easy to observe that most of the space on the page is occupied by sparse dialogue; the narrator does not regularly indulge in descriptions nor is there extra commentary on the events of the plot. All three of these aspects demonstrate common features of minimalism in "Why Don’t You Dance?."
To provide evidence of Raymond Carver’s minimalism in "Why Won’t You Dance?," let’s investigate three excerpts from the story.
In the first excerpt below, study the vocabulary choices that Carver makes when the the elderly man—who is selling the entire contents of his house—first appears:
The man came down the sidewalk with a sack from the market. He had sandwiches, beer, whiskey. He saw the car in the driveway and the girl on the bed. He saw the television set going and the boy on the porch.
There is not a single example of figurative language in this excerpt. Carver's diction is completely concrete. Each word describes physical qualities or conditions and there is no figurative language—such as metaphor, simile, or imagery—at all. This style carries through the entire story.
In the second excerpt, look at a sample of the characters' dialogue:
"Come here, Jack. Try this bed. Bring one of those pillows," she said."How is it?" he said."Try it," she said.He looked around. The house was dark."I feel funny," he said. "Better see if anybody's home."She bounced on the bed."Try it first," she said.He lay down on the bed and put the pillow under his head."How does it feel?" she said."It feels firm," he said.
Can you see how even the words spoken by Carver's characters are sparse? The dialogue in "Why Don’t You Dance?" is scant and devoid of banter or descriptive words.
When examining the third excerpt, which are the final lines of Carver's short story, pay close attention to the sentence structure:
She kept talking. She told everyone. There was more to it, and she was trying to get it talked out. After a time, she quit trying.
Notice the sentence lengths here. A hallmark of the minimalist style is avoiding complex sentences and punctuation. Throughout "Why Don’t You Dance?," Carver uses short, succinct sentences in rapid succession creating a staccato-syntactic rhythm.
I hope this overview helps! Good luck!
https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/clark_robert_c_201105_phd.pdf
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Serendipitous-stay-led-writer-to-Raymond-Carver-3278150.php
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