In the story, Feathers from the collection of short stories, Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver, Jack tells the story of the night he believes his marriage began to deteriorate. Jack presents the story in a manner that leads the reader to believe that a trip that him and his wife take to a friend of his from works house is the cause of the birth of their child, and consequently the deterioration of their marriage. Jack’s justification for the falling out seems logical and straight forward. However, through his subtle observations and indicting tone, his lack of accountability and insecurities become apparent; as well as the fact that the divide between himself and Fran had begun prior to the visit to Budd and Olla’s. Since Jack is the narrator of the…show more content… Jack notes, “I did not know what to say to this. Neither did Fran. But I knew Fran would have plenty to say about it at home” (343). The unenthusiastic tone Jack uses implies that he does not look forward to hearing what Fran has to say. This is important not only because speaking in condescending tone is not a sign of a healthy relationship, but also that he dreads what she has to say on the matter of Olla feeling in debt to Budd. This negative tone implies to the reader that Jack does not appreciate his wife being as strong of a character as she is; exposing an insecurity of Jack’s to the reader. Jack may fail to address his want of Fran to be more passive, but through subtle comments such as the previous quote, it becomes evident. Jack takes note of Olla’s passiveness again on page 347 where he mentions, “Olla shook her head at Budd’s nonsense. She moved a few lima beans around on her plate.” Jack may be oblivious to the fact that he is displaying his insecurity about Fran’s strength, but the multiple observations of Olla’s behavior, compared with the tone he describes Fran’s actions, make it
