Carver appears to use alcohol to highlight the flow of conversation. There is further symbolism in the story which may also be important. Though some critics might suggest that the difficulties incurred by Terri in describing the restaurant are due to the fact that she is drinking (and possibly drunk). She is unable to do so, all she knows is that it looks good from the outside. Carver also uses symbolism to further suggest the difficulties in expressing a meaning or feeling when Terri tries to describe the restaurant and the food in the restaurant.

He remains unsure for certain as to what love really is. Love would commonly be referred to as an affair of the heart and despite his attempts to understand what love is Mel at the end of the story is none the wiser in figuring out the elusive nature of love. This is significant as it brings a sense of irony into the story. There is the fact that Mel is a cardiologist (heart doctor). There is also a lot of symbolism in the story. Despite both words being close in both pronunciation and spelling, they mean two different things. As again it suggests the difficulties of language. Also Mel’s misuse of the word ‘vessels’ when he really means to say ‘vassals’, is also important. There is the obvious example of Mel’s inability to define love despite on several occasions trying. On several occasions in the story Carver highlights to the reader the difficulty or inadequacies of language.

Their restriction or confinement in the kitchen in many ways mirrors the restrictions or inadequacies of language to define what love is. The setting for the story is also important as it is during the main discussion (of what love is) that the reader realises how confined (or in the dark) the characters in the story are. Taken from his collection of the same name the story is narrated in the first person by a man called Nick and it is through his observations that the reader discovers how difficult it is to define what love is. In What We Talk about When We Talk about Love by Raymond Carver we have the theme of love and the difficulties that can come with trying to define (through language) what love is.

Raymond carver what we talk about