Where I'm Calling From

Chimneys symbolize purpose in characters’ lives. For J.P., meeting Roxy and witnessing her work gives purpose to his previously directionless life: “He wanted to do what she did. He wanted to be a chimney sweep. But he didn’t tell her that then” (211). In some ways, chimney sweeping allows J.P. to recreate his experience at the bottom of the well by putting him in an enclosed space with a view of the sky above him (“Sherman Alexie Reads Raymond Carver.” The New Yorker: Fiction from The New Yorker, 2022). In this instance, though, he has much more agency than he did in the well.

Like a chimney and the fireplace below it, a purpose in life can create warmth, comfort, and security. However, the very existence of the chimney sweeping profession attests to how a chimney must be cleaned and cared for. Similarly, a purpose must be nurtured, and the story reveals a danger in neglecting that purpose or taking it for granted.

As the primary setting where J.P. tells his stories, the porch symbolizes connection. It is where the narrator and J.P. have the freedom to connect as friends, but it is also a liminal space that connects the facility’s residents to the rest of the world. From the vantage point of the porch, the narrator and J.P. can observe the weather and “the hills and clouds” (212). These two characters’ affinity for the porch (even when it’s cold and overcast) reflects their desire to feel connected to the world outside Frank Martin’s and to remember that their lives extend beyond the rehabilitation facility. However, a connection to the outside world is not the same as living there. On the porch, the narrator and J.P. are still subject to interruptions by Frank Martin, who makes J.P. “feel like a bug” (215). As much as the porch reminds characters of a bigger world, it also ties them to their current, limited one.