“A S ERIOUS T ALK ” Discussion Questions

1. W HY WOULD B URT THROW FIVE LOGS ON THE FIREPLACE AND STEAL ALL OF THE PIES BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE ON C HRISTMAS EVE ? W HAT IS HE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH ? Burt resents that he is out of his marital home, while another man gets the chance to spend time there. Burt is jealous of the relationship that his wife is having with Charlie. Therefore, he throws several fire logs on the fireplace and steals the pies in an effort to have some control in the situation and potentially ruin Vera’s Christmas.

2. F IND ONE EXAMPLE FROM THE STORY THAT ILLUSTRATE THAT B URT STILL HAS FEELINGS FOR V ERA. D OES V ERA RECIPROCATE THESE FEELINGS ? F IND AN ADDITIONAL EXAMPLE FROM THE STORY TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER. “[Burt] liked it in front of the fireplace, […] his house, his home” (163). Burt still considers the house to belong to him, proving his inability to move on from Vera. “They [Burt and Vera] had to have a serious talk soon” (169). Burt hasn’t accepted or refuses to believe that Vera is truly done with him because she continues to allow him back into the house

3.W HAT DOES B URT HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH BY HAVING “ A SERIOUS TALK ” WITH V ERA ? D OES V ERA TAKE B URT SERIOUSLY ? W HY OR WHY NOT ? Burt still believes he and Vera can work things out and that items in the house belong to him. He even fantasizes about Vera’s robe catching fire and how he would save her. Vera does not take Burt seriously; she has moved on. Vera keeps asking Burt what he wants to talk about and he only changes the subject. If anything she appears to have accepted her new life, if not embraced it. This can be seen by the fact that she has started a new relationship with Charlie.

4. D ISCUSS HOW PRIDE AND INDIFFERENCE ARE MAJOR OBSTACLES IN B URT ’ S ABILITY ( OR LACK OF ABILITY ) TO MAKE AMENDS WITH HIS ESTRANGED WIFE AND FAMILY ? Burt’s pride prevents his ability to make amends with his Vera and his kids. Rather than making amends and dealing with the situation he is in, Burt’s only interest is to interfere with his wife’s new boyfriend and control things. Burt also becomes preoccupied with stealing items like the pies and ashtray rather than actually telling Vera how he truly feels.

5. W HY DOES B URT FEEL THE NEED TO EMPTY THE ASHTRAY ? W HAT, BESIDES OLD CIGARETTES, IS HE TRYING TO REMOVE ? In an effort to control the situation, Burt cleans the ashtray and stubs out one of his own cigarette into the ashtray. Symbolically Burt is trying to remove Charlie’s presence, to regain control over what he believes is his (not only the ashtray and house, but Vera too).

6. D ISCUSS HOW THE BICYCLE IN THE FRONT YARD ACTS AS A SYMBOL FOR B URT AND V ERA. The reader is aware that the front wheel of the bicycle is missing. This mirrors Burt’s relationship with Vera, it too is broken and going nowhere. Carver also uses symbolism in the story to suggest that Vera and Burt will remain apart or that their relationship will remain strained or broken.

A S ERIOUS T ALK : Q UOTE W ORK Choose one piece of dialogue and one piece of narration, and create a statement (2-3 sentences) for each: use all four components of quote work as practiced in class. Dialogue: “Don’t burn yourself. Don’t catch yourself on fire” (p. 165) “Do you remember Thanksgiving? I said then that was the last holiday you were going to wreck for us. Eating bacon and eggs instead of turkey at ten o’clock at night” (p. 165) Narration: “He rinsed [the ashtray] out and dried it. He put it back on the table. And then he ground out his cigarette in it” (p.166) “The thing was, they had to have a serious talk soon” (p. 169)

W RITING R ESPONSE : T HEME “A Serious Talk” contains themes of conflict, control, jealousy, acceptance, separation, letting go, and moving on. Choose ONE theme from above and respond to the following question in paragraph form: Explore how symbols are used in the story to develop your chosen theme sentences in length Use one direct quotation from the story to support your argument Must have topic sentence and concluding sentence Double-spaced Due at the end of class today.