Plot Summary

A few of the main themes in the short story Boxes by Ramond Carver are the feeling of being disconnected from others and the feeling of being hopeless. The story is written in the first person narrative and it tells the story of an unnamed narrator’s mother moving back to California from Longview, Washington. The name of the town relates to how the narrator feels about his relationship with his mother.

The narrator is currently living with his partner, Jill in Longview, Washington. His mother used to be married but her husband died. While he was alive, they liked to move around and this desire to move is still present in the old mother. It used to be for pleasure but now she is moving to find her inner happiness.

When the narrator met Jill and started dating, his mother sent him a letter telling him she was going to move to Longview to be close to them. The narrator told her that she wouldn't like the town but she still decided to move from warm sunny California to cold Washington. It didn't take long for her to hate the town of Longview and she decided to move back to her old place in California.

The relationship between the three main characters is a very interesting one. As the narrator knows his mother is unhappy he tries to make her happy and connect with her. Jill on the other hand doesn't like spending time with her and doesn't make much of an effort. At the very beginning of the story the narrator's mom wants them to come over for a final dinner before she moves. When the narrator tells Jill she complains about why they see her so frequently. They do end up going to the dinner and this is where a lot of the action happens.

At the dinner the narrator starts to worry about his mother's journey for happiness as she has repeatedly mentioned that death will escape her from this journey. The narrator is a heavy smoker and tends to smoke when he is stressed. At the dinner he smokes at least 4 cigarettes and his stress continues as he has trouble getting a full night's sleep. He is becoming aware that he may never see his mother alive again and wants to give her a proper goodbye. So he goes to her house when she is leaving. After she drives off to California she gets in touch with the narrator and it is clear that he misses having her close by.