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A Small, Good Thing | Introduction

"A Small, Good Thing," an award-winning story by American short story writer and poet, Raymond Carver, was published in Carver's third major collection of stories, Cathedral, in 1983. In his first two collections, Carver had established himself as a new and compelling voice in American literature and a master of the short story form. In Cathedral, he took his craft to new levels of insight into the human condition. "A Small, Good Thing" is generally regarded as one of Carver's finest stories, in which he goes beyond the spare narratives and unrelieved bleakness of some of his earlier work. The story is about Scotty, an eight-year-old boy who dies three days after being hit by a car as he walks to school. In language that is simple on the surface but reveals a host of telling details, Carver depicts the grief of the parents and their quarrel and final reconciliation with a baker who was baking a birthday cake for Scotty. Although tragic and disturbing, "A Small, Good Thing" conveys a message of forgiveness, kindness, and the healing power of human community.

A Small, Good Thing Summary

"A Small, Good Thing" begins on a Saturday afternoon in an unnamed American city. Ann Weiss, a young mother, drives to the shopping center and orders a chocolate cake for her son Scotty's eighth birthday, which will be on Monday. The baker is a taciturn man, and Ann does not take to him. He promises the cake will be ready on Monday morning.

On Monday morning, Scotty is walking to school with another boy when he steps off the curb at an intersection and is knocked down by a car. The car stops but when Scotty gets to his feet and looks as if he is all right, the car leaves the scene. Scotty walks home but then collapses on the sofa and loses consciousness. He is taken to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with mild concussion and shock. He is in a deep sleep, but Dr. Francis, his doctor, says this is not a coma. Ann and her husband, Howard, wait anxiously at the bedside.

That evening, Howard returns home to bathe and change clothes. As he walks in the door, the phone rings. A voice on the other end of the line says there is a cake that was not picked up. Howard does not know what the man is talking about and hangs up. While Howard is bathing, the phone rings again, but the caller hangs up without saying a word.

Howard returns to the hospital after midnight. Scotty has still not awakened, but Dr. Francis insists there is nothing to worry about and that he will wake up soon. A nurse comes in and checks on Scotty. She tells the parents he is stable. The parents are worried but try to reassure themselves. Dr. Francis examines Scotty and again says he is all right other than a hairline fracture of the skull. He is not, according to the doctor, in a coma; his sleeping is the restorative measure the body is taking in response to shock, and he should wake up soon.

The parents try to comfort each other. Both of them have been praying. An hour later, another doctor, Dr. Parsons, enters the room and tells the parents that they want to take more x-rays of Scotty, and they also want to... » Complete A Small, Good Thing Summary