James Response 4

The character that most intrigued me in our readings this time was the main character from "Pastoral," Mr. Harold. Once again, Carver leaves much of the protagonist's background to the imagination, and I think that's what draws me to him. We keep on getting little bread crumbs that eventually lead us to the heart of the story. I took the heart of "Pastoral" to be solidarity, isolation. I'm debating whether to extend that to loneliness, as I believe that things with Mrs. Harold aren't going so well.
But I see myself in the main character in his need for time alone. We all feel that sometimes. Every so often I wish I could go get lost in the woods somewhere all by myself. There's something simultaneously terrifying/exciting/and soothing about being out in the middle of nowhere. Mr. Harold is seeking this refuge, I feel. The man seems bummed, he just wants to get out, drink some scotch and catch a few fish. The one thing I do not share with the man is his love of fishing...I could not spend hours wading in freezing water for a couple of cod. No thank you.
I think this is why Harold has such an intense reaction to the hunters that stroll by. I think he hates them, not just for hunting, but for invading his sanctuary. They have interrupted his solitude--the time he had set aside for just him and his thoughts. And by disrupting the sanctuary of the Nature around him, the upset him doubly. Like the baker in "A Small Good Thing," I want to know more about Mr. Harold. Raymond Carver, you beautiful bastard, why must you tease me so? What is he running from? How are things with his wife? Why does he hate hunting so much, but loves fishing? Maybe some outdoorsmen can settle that one for me.

I won't link it on here, because it would be horribly inappropriate, but the scene involving the hunters aiming their gun at Mr. Harold made me think of the movie "Deliverance." There's a part where these...we'll call them "hillbillies"...terrorize a couple of city boys who have made their way into the backwoods. The way that they hold the outsiders captive with them gun, degrading them in the process, made me think of how the hunters in "Pastoral" felt the need to make Mr. Harold fear for his life. With only a gun, they were able to reduce him and dehumanize him, if only for a moment. Look up the clip at your own risk.