In Raymond Carver's short story "One Little Good Thing", the baker's helplessness is caused by his apparent class status and unknown financial stability, which results in a sense of isolation and loneliness. The Baker resolves his sense of helplessness when he realizes that all classes experience the unknown through his bond with Ann and Howard. Through auditory imagery, the text illustrates the monotonous and depressing routine of the baker's daily life due to his class status which requires him to constantly work to maintain his financial stability. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When Ann first examines the bakery, she notices that "a radio was playing country-western music" (60). The auditory images of the radio create an atmosphere of solitude and emptiness. The images suggest that the Baker is isolated from human contact and instead relies on technology to create companionship. This emphasizes the baker's loneliness as a result of his inability to separate himself from the bakery to create bonds with those around him. The text reveals this through the repetition of the radio. Howard associates the radio with the Baker, saying, "I think there was some radio music. Yes, there was a radio on" (84). The omnipresent radio reveals the routine life the Baker lives in due to his constant need to make money.Furthermore, the constant association of the radio with the Baker reveals the Baker's desire for companionship but inability to obtain it due to his isolation from society, the text also establishes the presence of background noise of Ann and Howard's phone calls with the Baker says, "It was five in the morning... machinery or equipment of some kind in the background" (75). Noting that a central character cannot identify the sounds of the bakery, Carver establishes the social class contrast between the baker and Anne as Ann appears not to have experienced the same form of work Furthermore, the accompanying detail “five in the morning” establishes the baker's hard work, constant work, and Ann's surprise, evident in the way she takes note of the detail. With Baker's coherent underlying mechanism and Ann's surprise, the text determines the contrast between the two socioeconomic classes. Due to the lack of connection and misunderstanding between Ann and Baker, tension is created as both characters fail to understand the other's personal struggles, believing that their situation is worse than that of the opposing character. However, at the end of the short film In the Story, the two characters form an understanding and their tension is resolved when they recognize the similarities between their struggles. Carver's text illustrates this change in character through tone. During the baker's first phone call, his tone is reserved and direct, saying, "There's a cake here that hasn't been picked up" (63). Here, the Baker attempts to get his job done, reinforcing the idea that the Baker is focused on the success of his bakery. However, due to Howard's rude behavior in hanging up the phone on Baker, Baker's tone changes. This is because Howard disrespected the Baker. Having established that the Baker already feels powerless due to his social class, the Baker experiences a growing sense of helplessness when he is disrespected and becomes angry. The text reveals this when the Baker calls Howard back and immediately hangs up. The detail of Baker continuing to hang up on Ann and Howard shows his desire to possess.