Popular Mechanics is a short novel written by Raymond Carver, who is known for his minimalistic style of writing, which also comes to show here. Struggles such as separation, miscommunication and conflict are just some of the themes Carver illuminates in this story.
Popular Mechanics is narrated from a 3rd person narrator, and it begins with an unnamed man packing his suitcase by the bed, while his girlfriend (or wife) is watching in the doorway. The reader immediately feels the tension between the two, which is shown by the physical distance between them. The female expresses her displease with him and calls him a “son of a bitch”, which indicates that a conflict is rising. This is also shown in the opening line of the text “Early that day the weather turned, and the snow was melting into dirty water”. The fact that the white snow melts might indicate that their love for one another has tainted in some way since snow usually symbolizes purity and cleanliness. Lightning also plays a significant role in the story as the reader becomes aware that it’s not only dark outside but also inside; the male turned off the light before he left the living room, and the window in the kitchen didn’t give any light to the room. So, that lack of light (or darkness) acts as foreshadowing as does the fact that it’s winter; in literature, winter is often used to explore death, which may have happened to the child in the end. Although it remains unclear what the parents’ altercation concluded in, it’s for sure that the baby got hurt. During their scuffle, a flowerpot was shoved and got broken, which could symbolize that the couple’s relationship also got broken. In addition to that, the baby also got ripped apart, which leads to Ernest Hemmingway’s short Short Story; “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”. Even though the two stories are different, they could still be in relation to each other. Perhaps the baby got killed and never had the opportunity to wear the shoes, which leads to the mother being forced to sell them. She could have financial issues now that her ex isn’t there to provide for her since the sentence: “I’ll get someone to come by for his things” could suggest that he is affluent. As seen in that line, the sentences are very short and contain a lot of dialogue, which is typical for the minimalistic style of writing. Additionally, there is no profound description of the characters, which results in the readers having to use their imagination, whereas the reader in Short Story must interpret the whole story. Furthermore, the last sentence of Popular Mechanics is deliberately ambiguous; that is, Carver intentionally left multiple possibilities for its meaning. What is the “issue” and in what “manner” was this decided? We know that the baby was hurt, but did it just brake an arm or more sinister; did the child get ripped apart in the struggle between both parents? However, the hint of irony in the last sentence could suggest that neither of the parents actually succeeded in getting the child, which just adds on to the fact that Raymond Carver activates his readers’ abilities to think for themselves.
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