After reading "Soft Seat Box"

I recently read Raymond Carver's novel "The Soft Seat Box".

Raymond Carver - the most talked-about realist novelist in the American literary world in the mid-to-late 20th century, and the master of "minimalism".

The novel "The Soft Seat Box" is a good example of his writing style. The concise narrative, simple character relationships, and not too complicated plot contain rich connotations.

Regarding traveling on the train, we all have this life experience: watching the scenery change outside the car window, compared to the limited environment of the car, the body that is usually non-stop suddenly quiets down, and the brain becomes restless. , full of troubles at work and life, and complicated thoughts about the unknown destination ahead. Therefore, when reading, familiar experiences can easily put you into the situation of the novel. Disharmony in family relationships caused by personal personalities is also a common emotional experience for human beings.

Carver's language tells the story directly and without emotion, but it is also filled with metaphors and symbols, such as watches, hats, car windows, boxes, railway tracks, etc.

The story is not complicated. After a divorce, a man named Miles got in touch with his son whom he had not seen for eight years. He decided to travel to Europe and meet his son who was studying in college in France. The watch he bought for his son was stolen on the train, so he changed his mind about meeting his son and continued riding to the next stop.

From the author's description, we know that Miles travels in a first-class box, stays in a four-star hotel in Milan, buys expensive watches, and works in an engineering company. His economic status should be good. He believed that the divorce from his wife was caused by his son's preference for his mother. In the end, he beat his son and threatened to kill him. He was very pleased with his son's reconciliation and, having never traveled far, made the decision to meet in France after careful consideration.

But what was the reason that he did not meet his son in the end? Was it the lost watch?

The novel begins: "Remembering that terrible scene, Miles shook his head, as if everything happened to someone else. To be honest, he was indeed no longer the same person as before. . Now he lives alone and has almost no contact with anyone except his colleagues at work. In the evening, he listens to classical music and reads books about how to trap waterfowl."

After the divorce. As he grew older, Miles's personality and mentality changed. He used to be impatient and prone to violence, but now he likes to be clean and willing to be alone. He even wants to live in seclusion in an old walled house in the countryside. He also considered the decision for a long time before making the decision to travel to Europe and meet his son.

When he arrived in Rome, sightseeing alone made him feel lonely. In the metropolis of Milan, he actually watched football matches on TV all night. From these descriptions of behavior, we can see that Miles is a withdrawn person. Coupled with the indifferent social environment around him, for example, few people in the company knew about his travels, and the inability to communicate with foreign passengers on the train made him even more depressed. The feeling of loneliness and alienation from others.

The divorce from his wife and the eight-year absence from his son were part of the reason why he felt alienated from the world, so the theft of the watch only confirmed the reality of this feeling.

The watch is a metaphor in the novel. It represents the possibility that Miles and his son are willing to reconcile. If the watch is lost, the only link between them to rekindle their relationship will no longer exist.

The unhappiness caused by the loss of the watch, the inability to communicate with the passengers in the box, and the unfamiliar and indifferent environment in the carriage reminded him of his unhappy marriage and his alienated relationship with his son. So Miles changed his mind and didn't get off the car at the agreed meeting stop.

At the end of the novel, the author left an open ending: the train with changed compartments no longer knew which direction it was going, and Miles fell asleep amidst the laughter of the passengers and the sound of the wheels crashing. . Where is Miles? How is the boy? The lack of an ending leaves readers feeling at a loss, and they have no choice but to search for answers from the original text of the novel.