Read the very short story “Popular Mechanics,” by Raymond Carver, and then look at some ways that you can analyze each of the literary elements for the purpose of drawing a conclusion about the possible themes of the work.
Popular Mechanics / Raymond Carver
Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water. Streaks of it ran down from the little shoulder-
He was in the bedroom pushing clothes into a suitcase when she came to the door.
I’m glad you’re leaving! I’m glad you’re leaving! she said. Do you hear?
He kept on putting his things into the suitcase.
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5 Son of a bitch! I’m so glad you’re leaving! She began to cry. You can’t even look me in the face, can you?
Then she noticed the baby’s picture on the bed and picked it up.
He looked at her and she wiped her eyes and stared at him before turning and going back to the living room.
Bring that back, he said.
Just get your things and get out, she said.
10 He did not answer. He fastened the suitcase, put on his coat, looked around the bedroom before turning off the light. Then he went out to the living room.
She stood in the doorway of the little kitchen, holding the baby.
I want the baby, he said.
Are you crazy?
No, but I want the baby. I’ll get someone to come by for his things.
15 You’re not touching this baby, she said.
The baby had begun to cry and she uncovered the blanket from around his head.
Oh, oh, she said, looking at the baby.
He moved toward her.
For God’s sake! she said. She took a step back into the kitchen.
20 I want the baby.
Get out of here!
She turned and tried to hold the baby over in a corner behind the stove.
But he came up. He reached across the stove and tightened his hands on the baby.
Let go of him, he said.
25 Get away, get away! she cried.
The baby was red-
He crowded her into the wall then, trying to break her grip. He held on to the baby and pushed with all his weight.
Let go of him, he said.
Don’t, she said. You’re hurting the baby, she said.
30 I’m not hurting the baby, he said.
The kitchen window gave no light. In the near-
She felt her fingers being forced open. She felt the baby going from her.
No! she screamed just as her hands came loose.
She would have it, this baby. She grabbed for the baby’s other arm. She caught the baby around the wrist and leaned back.
35 But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard.
In this manner, the issue was decided.
Point of View. Carver chooses to use a third person limited narrator for this story, which prevents the reader from knowing exactly what is going on in the characters’ thoughts. The reader can only watch the story unfold and guess at why it is happening. The reader is intentionally kept at a distance from the characters.
Characters. It is probably curious to you that the characters are not named and that the author provides only minimal physical descriptions of them. Note, however, the repeated actions and dialogue of each character. The man is always the aggressor (“He moved toward her” and “He crowded her”). The woman is always shouting, evidenced by the exclamation points. She also often retreats from him. They are clearly set up as opposites.
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Plot/Conflict. Carver’s choice of when to begin the story — dropping the reader right into the middle of a fight—
Setting. Notice how the first paragraph sets up a dark setting even as it moves from outside to inside the house: “But it was getting dark on the inside too.” That ominous atmosphere echoes throughout the piece. The man turns off the light as he leaves the bedroom, and the kitchen window “[gives] no light.” You might also be curious about the house itself, especially its size. Everything, — the kitchen, the bedroom, the living room, and the hallway — feels very tight and confined.
Symbol. There are several things that you might be curious about that could be acting as symbols here. In the very first line, the snow, something that is often thought of as white and pure, is “melting into dirty water,” suggesting that things are turning bad. Then there is the light inside the house, which keeps getting darker and darker, like the outside. In addition, a flowerpot, one of the only objects described in the house, falls down. Most especially, there is the baby himself, who seems to be both literally and figuratively torn apart by his parents. This is also a link to the biblical story of King Solomon, who ordered a baby to be split in half to determine which of the two women who claimed him loved the baby the most (1 Kings).
Possible Themes. Carver is certainly making a point about the dreadful repercussions that can occur in a relationship without communication. The man and woman never really talk (which is why we never find out what the source of the conflict is), only shout or ignore one another’s statements. The relationship they had built together, as symbolized by the house, the flowerpot, and the baby, is being destroyed by their inability or unwillingness to communicate. What was once beautiful, like the snow outside, is now dirty and corrupted.