An Unattainable Daydream In a world full of cheaters, liars, and swindlers, the last person you should lie to is yourself. However, this is exactly what happens in Raymond Carver's "Neighbors". In this story, Bill and Arlene Miller were given the opportunity to take care of Jim and Harriet Stone's apartment while they were visiting family for ten days. The Millers had grown tired of their life and often felt jealous of their neighbors, who they felt were living happier and more exciting lives than them. In the absence of their neighbors, the Millers behaved very strangely; trying on clothes, drinking alcohol, and spending an excessive amount of time in your apartment. They tried to live the life of the Stones until one day they were locked out of their apartment with no chance of returning to their sad lives. This story shows that a person should never try to be something they are not. If change is needed, it should always come from within, otherwise you will eventually find yourself lost, with nowhere to go but the long, dark, deceptive world of lies. In the story "Neighbors", the Millers eventually became so disgusted with their lives, lying was no longer enough. They began to live the life of the Stones and used mirrors several times as symbols to show how much they wanted to see Jim and Harriet in the reflections. For example, on page 70 it says, “He looked at himself in the mirror, then closed his eyes, and then looked again” (Roberts and Jacobs 70). When, after opening his eyes and seeing no change, Bill decided to open the medicine cabinet, take Harriet Stone's pills and put them in his pocket. He's so desperate to become one of the Stones that he decides maybe drugs will help him. The next time Bill visited his neighbor's apartment, he lay down on their bed and couldn't even remember when they would return or even what they looked like. After a sigh, he rolled out of bed to look at himself in the mirror (Roberts and Jacobs 72). Still with no change, she decided to start trying on Jim's clothes in hopes of a miracle. He tried on a pair of Jim's shorts and a t-shirt and looked at himself in the mirror again (Roberts and Jacobs 72).