A Small, Good Thing

“I want to talk to the doctor. I don’t think he should keep sleeping like this. I don’t think that’s a good sign” (Carver 381).
-This statement shows that Dr. Francis provided Ann with bland answers that.

“Scotty was fine, but instead of sleeping at home in his own bed, he was in a hospital bed with bandages around his head and a tube in his arm. But this help was what he needed right now” (Carver 382).
-This was a thought just stay on the positive sides of things.

“We’ll know some more in a couple of hours, after the results of a few more test are in. But he’s all right, believe me, expect for the hairline fracture of the skull. He does have that” (Carver 382).

“I’ve been praying, I almost thought I’d forgotten how, but it came back to me. All I had to do was close my eyes and say, ‘Please God, help us—help Scotty,’ and then the rest was easy. The words were right there. Maybe if you prayed, too” (Carver 384).

   Something else that the couple was aware of throughout the story and that was also shown to us in the closing scene of the story was: it was still important for the couple to take care of themselves and each other. They sought to do the little things that they could to make themselves feel better; for example, the couple continually told each other to get some rest, get some food, and relax. Also, they gave small embraces and checked to see if each other were okay. It was valued by the couple to tend to each other and themselves in a time of need.  At the very end, the baker assured the couple that eating something when you’re in a poor state is “a small, good thing.”
   This is often seen in many other situations where someone is ill. For instance, I could directly relate to this story. My grandma one day became extremely ill. We instantly ran to the hospital, but the doctors were not giving us the answers we needed. They only provided bland answers that did not justify what I searched for.
   Doctors played the waiting game with us too and my family took a similar approach to cope with the pain of waiting. We constantly asked each other how we were doing and told each other to get rest. We looked at the small things to help the larger picture.  My family too believed that praying was the solution. We leaned to God for help because we had felt he was the only one who can ultimately help us.

"There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information" (Carver 376).

-This quote resembles alienation and isolation. Ann's overall minimal knowledge of the baker and/or her neighborhood. The baker resembles God itself. An image often seen with a bakery is bread. Being Catholic at a Catholic institution, I recognize bread as the body of Christ. The baker resembles God and how religion is always there even if you didn't recognize it. The baker also resembles how Ann and Howard were being contacted by God throughout the story but did not realize it. Both Ann and Howard were praying for Scotty, and the baker, the image of God, was responding through phone call. The bakery is unforeseen image of Christ. This shows that although there was a minimal exchange of words, there ultimately was a resolution. In the end of the story they realize the baker is the one consistently making the phone calls to them. Ann and Howard, disappointed about there son, attend the bakery to pay for the cake they never picked up. The baker befriends them and offers the smallest thing in order for pleasure. Ultimately that's all religion has to be for you. Religion can being the largest factor in an individuals life or the smallest thing, in the end, it plays a reflecting role on peoples lives as the baker did in "A Small, Good Thing".