Central Characters In 'Collectors'

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The central characters within “Collectors” are both the narrator – only ever referred to as Mr. Slater – and Aubrey Bell.
Upon reading the first two sentences of the story, some information regarding the narrator’s life is given. This being that, “[he] was out of work. But any day [he] expected to hear from up north” (Carver, 113). Right off the bat it becomes evident that the narrator of the story is currently an unemployed man expecting to hear back from what will hopefully be a future employer. Later on in the story, more is revealed about the narrator. The first being the fact that his wife no longer lives with him as evidenced when the narrator states, “Mrs. Slater doesn’t live here” (Carver, 113), upon Bell’s query as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Slater. Additionally, the information provided by this line is further enhanced later on in the story when Mr. Slater questions Bell about the letter, stating: “You’re sure that’s who the letter is for” (Carver, 120). This line accomplishes this through what it implies about the state of the relationship between Mister and Misses Slater. This being that whatever happened between the two of them must have been rather recent due to how Mr. Slater still receives things – be it mail or services – addressed for Mrs. Slater, essentially meaning that
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This is due to the later introduction of Aubrey Bell, who sticks around until the end of the story. Consequently, in turn of the loneliness fading away, the sadness which was already present appears to become amplified as evidenced when the narrator states that, “[o]nce in a while I looked out the window at the rain. It had begun to get dark (Carver,