Dressing Up for the Carnival
Encyclopedia
Dressing Up for the Carnival is a short story
collection published in 2000 by Canadian author Carol Shields
, which depicts 12 characters who live their lives through illusions. The Carnival is a metaphor for life, and "dressing up" represents the stigmas each of the characters try to fit into.
The second character we meet is Roger. Roger is 30 years old, and is of medium height. He is described to us as a burly divorcee. Roger is employed by the Gas Board in the place where he lives. In the story he is described as holding a mango and going to work, and while he is doing so, he is creating symbols and imagining things regarding or using the mango.
The third character or characters introduced in the story are the Borden sisters, Karen and Sue. The Borden sisters arrived back in town approximately a month ago from their skiing trip in Happy Valley. The Borden sisters both look and express the fact that they have recently been skiing. Much attention in this story is paid to the tags on the Borden sisters jackets that read: "I SKIED HAPPY MOUNTAIN".
The fourth character in this shory story is Wanda, an awkward woman who works at a bank under the supervision of Mr.Wishcourt, who is the bank manager. Mr.Wishcourt has recently had a baby boy named Samuel James, for whom he buys a baby carriage. Mr.Wishcourt asks Wanda to take the baby carriage to his house during work, because it will not fit in the back of his car. Wanda agrees, and while she is taking the carriage to Mr.Wishcourt's house, she feels as if she and the carriage are a single entity.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection published in 2000 by Canadian author Carol Shields
Carol Shields
Carol Ann Shields, CC, OM, FRSC, MA was an American-born Canadian author. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.-Biography:Shields was born in Oak Park, Illinois...
, which depicts 12 characters who live their lives through illusions. The Carnival is a metaphor for life, and "dressing up" represents the stigmas each of the characters try to fit into.
Characters
The first character we get introduced to is Tamara. Tamara loves dressing up. She is a clerk-receptionist for the Youth Employment Bureau where she lives.The second character we meet is Roger. Roger is 30 years old, and is of medium height. He is described to us as a burly divorcee. Roger is employed by the Gas Board in the place where he lives. In the story he is described as holding a mango and going to work, and while he is doing so, he is creating symbols and imagining things regarding or using the mango.
The third character or characters introduced in the story are the Borden sisters, Karen and Sue. The Borden sisters arrived back in town approximately a month ago from their skiing trip in Happy Valley. The Borden sisters both look and express the fact that they have recently been skiing. Much attention in this story is paid to the tags on the Borden sisters jackets that read: "I SKIED HAPPY MOUNTAIN".
The fourth character in this shory story is Wanda, an awkward woman who works at a bank under the supervision of Mr.Wishcourt, who is the bank manager. Mr.Wishcourt has recently had a baby boy named Samuel James, for whom he buys a baby carriage. Mr.Wishcourt asks Wanda to take the baby carriage to his house during work, because it will not fit in the back of his car. Wanda agrees, and while she is taking the carriage to Mr.Wishcourt's house, she feels as if she and the carriage are a single entity.