Raymond Carver's BoxesThere are many types of relationships, although all are complicated and both parties in the relationship must bend over backwards for each other. In Boxes, Carver shows how difficult it is for the son to cope with the end of the relationship with his mother, even though he still loves her. The mother moves to be close to her son; however, he starts packing again to move again some time later; not finding the relationship he once had with his son. Through the story "Boxes", Raymond Carver makes clear the difficulties in completing a relationship. From the mother's perspective, Carver shows the closure of their relationship when he describes how the mother moved to where her son lived, only to have all his boxes packed up a few months later, ready to move again. “Within a day or two of deciding to move, he had packed his things into boxes. This was last January. Or maybe it was February. Anyway, last winter, sometime. It is now the end of June. The boxes have been lying in his house for months” (411). So the mother had her things packed from January to June, for over 6 months. His mother has been living in boxes for more than six months. In the true sense of the word, the mother wants to have that special mother-child relationship; however, she feels like he isn't paying enough attention to her and isn't spending enough time with her. So he decides to leave. But he still has 6 months left full of things, because he doesn't want to end the relationship with his son. The mother thought that by being with her son their relationship would help her enjoy where she was now. And she would feel a sense of belonging and be able to stop moving to so many different places. But after she is left... middle of paper... she realizes that he has to end their relationship even though he loves her very much. He also knows that he will never return to Los Angeles again, and when she leaves it will be the last time he will see her. Carver clearly conveys the theme of ending a relationship to his readers. From the candle, the boxes and their relationship throughout this work, everything is well shown. Especially with the ending of the story with the symbolism of light. The mother and son depicted in this story are often seen in real life. Incidents often occur with people ending the relationships they once had with their friends by giving up on addressing their complaints or negativity. This story by Carver should be an ideal example for anyone who finds themselves in the same situations that the main characters in Boxes were involved in.