Popular Mechanics
Raymond Carver (1938-1988)
About Writer :
Raymond Carver is an American short story writer. He was born on 1938 and expired on 1988. He has presented the everyday life and problems of working poor people. He became successful as a short story writer with his story collection, will you please be quiet, please? (1976).
Main Points of the story :
- This story describes an argument between a man and a woman
when they lack mutual understanding and have communication gap.
- The title of the story comes from a magazine for technology and engineering called ‘popular mechanics’.
- The failure of communication between husband and wives is a bitter representation of our society, which ultimately leads to destruction of happy family life.
- In the beginning of the story, a man is packing his things in suitcase in the bedroom and a woman (his wife) say's she's glad that he is leaving. She takes a picture of her baby from the bed and leaves the room with picture.
- After packing the clothes, there is the issue of the real baby whom the man wants to take.
- The baby starts screaming and in the meantime, they knock down the flower pot.
- He crowds her into the wall and tries to break her grip off the baby.
- As the baby is slipping away, she screams and grabs for the baby's other arm and pull even harder.
- The woman leans back but the man pulls very hard.
- Finally the issue gets decided implying that it caused a serious damage to the baby, probably death.
Summary of popular mechanics by Raymond Carver
Popular mechanics, is one of the short story written by Raymond Carver. In this story he tells a series of events between an apparent struggling couples. The story describes an argument between a man and a woman that rapidly escalates into a physical struggle over their baby.
That day the weather changed and the snow was melting into dirty water. The streets was getting dark outside and it was getting dark inside too. The man was in bedroom and packing his clothes into a suitcase as his wife entered and said to him, just how happy she was that he was leaving and before she walks out of the room She takes a picture of her baby from the bed and leaves the room with picture. The man wanted the photo back but the woman did not give it to him, which clearly upsets the man. When the man became this upset he insisted for the whole thing, that is their actual baby. He said that he wanted the baby and they began to fight over who own the baby. When they began, essentially a tug of war. The man held the baby and the woman grabbed the baby's other arm. They pulled back and forth until the man took one big pull and the story ends saying 'In this manner, the issue was decided'. By Carver writing this, he says that they have caused a serious damage to the baby with what they have done this proves neither the man nor the woman possess the baby due to their unpleasant nurturing skill.
What may be the two meanings of the word 'issue'?
The last phrase structure of the story was 'In this manner, the issue was decided'. To figure out what happened we need the answer to two questions, what is the 'manner'? What is the 'issue' ? The manner is the way the couple fight over the baby. Specially, the physical actions they're taking at the moment the story ends. The woman is determined not to lose the battle. She would have it this baby. Her last attempt is to lean back strongly while holding the baby's wrist. The man is equally determined where he would also not let go. His last action is to pull back vey hard while grasping the baby under an arm near the shoulder. The manner in the argument between the two suggest that either the baby is killed or is severely injured. The issue is what the two husband and the wife is fighting, which is the baby of theirs. This part of the equation suggests us that the fate of baby is actually uncertain. They were in anger that night when they were fighting over the baby. Surely that would not only be the end of their argument, a custody of dispute is a matter for the court.
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