WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT UNIT 2 1

Written Assignment Unit 2

1. What is the title of the text and what is the text about?

The title of the text is The Bath from the book What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

(Carver, 1989). This is a story of a boy who met an accident on his birthday and the ensuing events that

followed filled with worries and anxious for his parents not knowing if he would wake up from sleep.

2. What is the author’s view? How do I know?

The author highlights the fact that life is fragile and that at any moment that our life can turn

upside down without warning. Life changes to the unexpected often times into something tragic at time

we do not expect or want. This is shown in the story where after the boy’s mother ordered a cake, two

days later, on the day of his birthday, the boy was hit by a car, in the same date when it was supposed to

be a happy occasion (Carver, 1989, p. 48). At the same time, the author would like to point out that when

the life of a loved is at stake, its as if the world doesn’t matter anymore.

3. What is the evidence presented by the author to support ideas?

The unexpected in life is echoed by the author in the story when it states that “it had been good

life till now” and that the boy’s father “had been lucky and happy” before the tragic event (Carver, 1989,

p. 49). As to the point of growing dim in when the life of a loved one is at stake, this is found in the story

in several instances, first when the man drove faster than normal (Carver, 1989, p. 49). Second, when the

“husband hung up the telephone” on the baker (Carver, 1989, p. 49). And third, when the mother was

daydreaming while looking out from the window of the hospital imagining she was the woman driving

away (Carver, 1989, p. 54).

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4. Is the evidence valid? How do I know?

I think the evidences are valid. Though the story is fictional, what is described in the story

happens in real life. When life takes the unexpected turns, people stop and drop what they normally are

doing They take time off from work. They travel from far places just to be next to their loved ones. In

other words, everything stops when the life of our loved ones is at stake and this happens apart from our

planning, when we least expect.

5. Is the evidence relevant? How do I know?

These evidences are common reactions of every human being therefore these are relevant. Not

only that, it happens and will happen to all because we are all. It happened already to me when my father

passed away. Everything stopped to attend to the death in the family.

6. Have I heard/read anything similar or dissimilar? What was it?

One aspect of the story that is intriguing to me is the connection of taking a bath with a person

who is anxious or depressed. Both the husband and the wife at different times, decided to go home at time

intense worry and uncertainty, especially at the initial shock and after waiting for so long (Carver, 1989,

p. 55). In an article in The Guardian, Linda Geddes states that “baths was associated with a moderate but

persistent lift in mood among people with depression” (Geddes, 2018). This supports the decisions of the

parents of the boy when they were in a stressful situation because of the anxieties over the uncertainty in

the condition of their son.

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7. Do I agree or disagree with the views expressed by the author? Why?

In general, I agree with the views expressed by the author. Any anxiety brought about by sudden

tragic events in the family is so heavy and personal that it turns our world upside down to a point as if

nothing really matters anymore. This experience is not foreign to us whether young or old, the only

difference is the degree or level of anxiety. It is as if a cloud is hovering us that would not lift.

References:

Carver, R. (1989). What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. New York: Vintage Contemporaries.
Geddes, L. (2018, October 23). Why a daily bath helps beat depression - and how to have a good one.
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2018/oct/23/why-a-daily-bath-
helps-beat-depression-and-how-to-have-a-good-one