Popular Mechanics

"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver

"In this manner, the issue was decided" (Carver, 335).

The overall set-up of the short story was without quotations around the dialog. The implication seems to be that the entirety of the events was so fast that there was little room for comprehension for the participants in the argument and the result of the argument. Q#1: The issue between the couple seems to be the custody battle. Although the initial argument between the two was not over custody, the focus was on that. The decision was not necessarily a decision directly made by the couple. Based on the context, something obviously happened to the baby that prevents either parent from getting it. Personally, I felt the story implied that the baby was dead. Either way, the author left it out as it was not important except that at this point, there is no custody battle between the two. Q#3: The small actions of the story cause the rest of the story to occur. Without picking up the picture, the custody argument would most likely have not occurred in such a heated moment in another argument. Instead of letting a third party aid with the decision, the couple took it into their own hands. Also, the flower pot seems to parallel with the baby. Both the pot and the baby are fragile. By not being careful with the flowerpot, it is broken. With the baby, neither parent cared about the baby but winning the fight, and the baby is presumably broken.