Unattainable Dream in Carver's Neighbors

An Unattainable Daydream

In a world full of cheaters, liars, and con artists, the last person anyone should lie to is themselves. However, that is exactly what took place in Raymond Carver's, "Neighbors." In this story, Bill and Arlene Miller were left with the opportunity to take care of Jim and Harriet Stone's apartment while they were away visiting family for ten days. The Millers had grown weary of their lives and often felt jealous of their neighbors, who they felt lived a happier and more exciting life than they. In their neighbors' absence, the Millers acted very strangely; trying on their clothes, drinking their alcohol, and spending excessive amounts of time in their apartment. They tried living the life of the Stones until one day they were locked out of their own apartment with no way of returning to their own dreary lives. This story shows that a person should never try to be something they are not. If a change is needed, it should always be from within or else you eventually find yourself lost, with nowhere to turn except for the long, dark, and deceitful world of lies.

In the story, "Neighbors," the Millers eventually became so disgusted with their own lives, lying was no longer enough. They began living the life of the Stones and used mirrors multiple times as symbols to show how much they desired to see Jim and Harriet in the reflections. For example, on page 70 it says, "He looked at himself in the mirror and then closed his eyes and then looked again," (Roberts and Jacobs 70). When, after opening his eyes and seeing no change, Bill decided to open the medicine cabinet, take Harriet Stone's pills, and place them in his pocket. He is so desperate to become one of the Stones that he decides that maybe drugs will help. The next time Bill visited his neighbor's apartment, he laid down on their bed and couldn't even remember when they would return or even what they looked like. After a sigh, he rolled off of the bed to look at himself in the mirror (Roberts and Jacobs 72). Still with no change, he decided to begin trying on Jim's clothes in hope of a miracle. He tried on a pair of Jim's shorts and t-shirt and again looked in the mirror (Roberts and Jacobs 72).