Analysis of Raymond Carver’s "Popular Mechanics"

The environment of the story: Foreshadowing and allusions

Light and darkness as a motif

Throughout the entirety of Carver’s "Popular Mechanics," light and darkness are recurring themes. At the beginning of the story, we are informed that it is getting dark outside – but it is "getting dark on the inside too" (123). However, we have previously been informed that it is "early" in the day, a time when the sun is generally out and the day is growing brighter. This inversion suggests that the "dark" does not refer merely to the light and absence thereof, but also to the actions and behavior inside the house.

Once the story has established that it is getting dark both inside and out, the next reference to light and darkness we find is when the father turns off the light after he has finished fastening his suitcase. This scene immediately precedes the beginning of the fateful argument between the mother and the father, with the light being turned off acting as another step towards darkness both literal and figurative in this scene.

Towards the end of the story, we learn that both "the kitchen window gave no light" and that it is "near-dark" (125). As we approach the dark moment of the climax, the atmosphere in the story darkens once again as well in a literal sense. It is in this "near-dark" that the violence reaches its crescendo.

Each instance of light and darkness mentioned in the text is associated with another milestone in the dark spiral of the story. Each time the physical dark increases, so to do the dark actions of the characters.

The destruction of innocence

The darkness is not the only signal we have that foreshadows the events of the story. In the opening paragraph, we learn that "the snow was melting," and that the cars are driving through the slush (123). Snow is white, clean, pure, and innocent – a fresh canvas with endless opportunity. For instance, in the final Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, Bill Watterson uses snow as a blank canvas to great effect; the world is described as looking "brand-new," as they are given a "fresh, clean start" before the titular characters go "exploring," the white snow providing endless possibilities for what comes next in the "magical world" of the snow. By contrast, in "Popular Mechanics," the snow has melted into "dirty water" and slush (123). The snow is no longer pure, clean, and innocent – it is destroyed, dirty, and a nuisance. So already from this first line, we have a sense that innocence is being destroyed and lost.

Later on, we encounter the breaking of the flowerpot. Flowers are associated with the season of Spring, and with renewal – in other words, with children. Here, the flowers are destroyed, a casualty of the struggle between the mother and the father. This destruction is another indication of what is about to happen; just as the innocence of the snow has been lost, just as the promise of the flowers has been destroyed, so to we will see the destruction of all to which they allude.

Character analysis

The attitude of the mother

Turning from the environment of the story to the characters, we observe that in several different ways, the story depicts the mother as being neglectful or simply not caring about the child. Firstly, she does not mention or interact with the baby until she notices the picture that the father is planning on taking with him. Only then does she go to pick up the baby, as if to reinforce her possession of the physical child as opposed to the inanimate photograph that the father possesses. Later, when the baby begins to cry, she says "Oh, oh," the text emphasizing that she does so while looking at the baby (124). She has removed the blanket from around his head, but then she is not described as comforting or touching the baby; instead, the word "looking" is used to describe her, a word that in this context implies distance.

Secondly, the language she uses to refer to the baby throughout the story is always with a degree of separation. "You’re not touching this baby," she says – "this" instead of "my" or "our" (124). Later, she says "You’re hurting the baby," using the impersonal word "the" instead of a more personal term (125).

The most damning evidence, however, is towards the end. The text provides us with insight into her state of mind and thoughts: She would have "it" (125). Here, the pronoun "it" is used. In her mind, the baby is no longer a person or living thing; the baby is now merely an object to be withheld from the father. The baby only has value in how it can be used against the father.

The story alludes to the Judgement of Solomon, in which two women come to the king to resolve a dispute over who a baby belongs to. The king, renowned for his wisdom, decrees that the baby should be split in half, with a half for each woman. Upon hearing this, the real mother relinquishes her claim, valuing the boy’s life over who gets to raise him. In contrast, however, the mother in "Popular Mechanics" does not value the child’s life more than her dispute with the father, and the judgement is passed: The baby is split.

The violence of the father

In addition to the callousness of the mother, the text shows that the father is a man prone to violence. In the first glimpse we have of the father, he is described as "pushing" his clothes into a suitcase (123). "Pushing" is an unusual word to use in reference to packing a bag; it connotes the use of force. Already fom this word, we get the impression that this is a man who will not hesitate to use strength.

Once we have this impression of the father, the words and actions of the mother then clue to us that the father has perhaps turned to force in the past. When the mother tells the father that "you’re not touching this baby", the word "touching" stands out (aside from the usage of "this" discussed earlier); it implies physical contact (124). This physical contact is the first thought that enters her mind. A couple lines later, she then immediately steps away when he moves toward her, exclaiming "For God’s sake!" - a strong reaction to what is described as simply movement (124). Taken together, these indicate that the father may have used violence in the past towards the baby, the mother, or both, and so the mother knows that violence is about to employed now as well.

Back in the direct text of our story, the father is also the first to resort to force in the struggle over the baby. He first implies violence as he steps towards the mother, and as the mother holds the baby behind the stove to keep him away from the father, the father then initiates physical violence by reaching across and "tightening" his hands on the baby (124).

Throughout the rest of the "scuffle," the active violence is almost all ascribed to the father as well. We see him crowding her into the wall, attempting to break her grip on the baby. He holds on to the baby and pushes "with all his weight" (125). As the scene darkens, he attempts to force open her "fisted fingers" while "gripping" the screaming baby (125).
The mother’s only active violent action is then described, as she grabs the baby’s other arm and leans back. We then turn back to the father, who "would not let go"; he feels the mother pulling the baby away and "pulled back very hard" (125). And ultimately, it is the father’s act of violence and strength that "decides the matter."

Works Cited

Carver, Raymond. "Popular Mechanics." What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Reissue ed., Vintage, 1989, pp. 123-125.

Watterson, Bill. "Calvin & Hobbes." December 31, 1995. The Calvin & Hobbes Wiki, Fandom, static.wikia.nocookie.net/candh/images/2/22/FinalStrip.gif. Accessed 26 Nov 2024.