A Small Good Thing

In the fictional short story entitled "A Small, Good Thing" by Raymond Carver is one that emotionally ties the reader to the story. The story opens in a bakery with the mother ordering a cake for her son Scotty for his birthday. The mother, Ann, describes the cake to the baker, who seems not to be a people person, in great detail; this showed the reader of the close relationship the mother and son shared. Ann tried her hardest to be friendly to the baker but he continued to give the feeling of dislike, so she placed her order and left.

The next day as Scotty walked to school with his friend while sharing a bag of chips, wondering what his buddy had gotten him for his special day. Then as he suddenly stepped off the curb and was hit by a car. Around a hundred feet later the car stopped and the driver looked back and saw Scotty get up and then sped away. His friend asked him if he was all right and he said that he was and then proceeded to go back home. As he laid there on the couch telling his mother what had happen his suddenly feel into a deep sleep.

His mother then called Howard, Scotty's father, explained what happened and then went to the hospital in the ambulance. When the father arrived the mother informed him of the condition of their son. The doctors ran many test and came to the conclusion the he suffered a hair line fracture of the skull, a mild concussion, and the deep sleep was due to the shock caused by the impact of the car. The doctor assured both parents that everything would be fine and not to worry. Howard was concerned but not nearly as much as Ann.

Ann suggested to Howard that he should go home and freshen up, so he did and said he would return within an hour. As he drove home he thought about his perfect life up until now. How he had the easy road and how abruptly that had changed. As he opened the door of the house the phone was ringing and he

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