Struggle In 'Popular Mechanics' By Raymond Carver

Thesis statement: The combination of vanity and rage is the catalyst to tragedy in modern relationships.

The story that I choose to read was Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven. I originally choose to read this book because it’s cover looked very interesting to me. The title hooked me and reading the book has been nothing but interesting. The book was about to teenagers whose worlds were completely different but were both the exact opposite of ideal. They were both struggling through hard times until they found each other. I would recommend other people my age to read this book because it is so inspirational and because once you start reading it it is hard to put it down. It keeps you interested and helps you learn how to get through some hard times.

In the story “Popular Mechanics”, Raymond Carver writes in a minimalistic manner causing the text to have more meaning than it seems. Carver uses symbolism, repetition, and metaphors to characterize the woman as distraught and agitated towards the man. This displays that the relationship between the man and the woman is very dysfunctional. Throughout the story, the woman seems more affected by the situation than the man. Also, the story ends on a devastating note, depicting the deep meaning behind their relationship and leading to a universal theme.

Raymond Carver's symbols, use of details, and his inventive title really bring together this unusual story, to convey the theme that not all relationships end happily. He describes every little bit of this story with brilliant detail. The symbolism is indescribable, and the title is tricky but yet it makes absolute sense when you pick it apart. Popular Mechanics is truly a very meaningful short story. Carver packs so much significance into such a short piece of literature that this is no other word for it but amazing.

The story “A Sorrowful Women” by Gail Godwin describes a woman that seems to be exhausted of her family and life. Unlike the first story, this is about a married couple who already have a child. The narrator does not give names to the characters and he/she engages on a third person role to tell the story. This story carries a depressing, sad and dark mood. The wife, one night tells her husband if he could “put the boy to bed and read him the story about the monkey who ate too many bananas(39)” since she was already tired of doing all the work at home. The husband thought she just needed a break, and he assume that there’s nothing wrong with the idea of taking care of the child, therefore he happily agreed to take care of the kid. Since that evening the husband noticed that his

The couple upsurges in violence. This causes the baby to start screaming and crying. After all their fighting and screaming the last sentence was “The issue was decided”. The "Issue" was the baby/ the symbolism of the couples relationship, and it was abolished. The "Issue" was the argument that was happening and they made the choice to end it.

An additional conflict that drastically swayed the stories ending includes the predicament the family had gotten into in the car. They had an accident, everyone had either a minor or major injury, and they were stranded on a back road. The reading states “The children were thrown to the floor and their moth, clutching the baby, was thrown out the door onto the ground; the old lady was thrown into the front seat. The car

The Contemporary State in Which Love Occurs The title “Popular Mechanics” invokes a variety of ideas in a reader’s mind. When relating the title to the story, it is insinuating how a mediocre couple is systematized. During the course of the short story, Raymond Carver illustrates to readers all that is amiss with modern couples; he leaves the characters anonymous as a way to make the duo a universal representation. Carver elucidates how domestic relationships between man and woman can be affected if a couple exhibits selfishness, and if they are uncaring toward their environment they will rapidly end up annihilating more than just themselves.

"Popular Mechanics" didn't fail on leaving the reader wanting more. The final line states ‘In this manner, the issue was decided.’ A passive sentence that conveys the reader into wanting more. Their could have been multiple incidents that have could occured. The baby’s arm has been broken or more sinister, also implying that neither the man or woman will succedd in getting the child.

The story that I selected to tell my classmates for this week's Discussion Assignment was "Popular Mechanics" by Rymond Carver. According to Carver (1978), this story is centred on a married couple that are having a disagreement. The unnamed man then begins to pack his belongings and leave his spouse. She yells at him saying, "Son of a bitch! I'm so glad you're leaving!

Carver begins with the story?s conflict, a relationship between a man and woman that has already gone extremely wrong. He does not need to tell the reader why or how this relationship came to this point. Carver relies on the reader to know the usual reasons that cause people to split up. Therefore, this gives readers the opportunity to attach their own explanation. As the title, ?Popular Mechanics? implies, it is the common workings of relationships that can be applied throughout this story.

During their short encounter, the reader is able to get to know the protagonist through the way the reacts to the man but also through the digressions she does while expressing her stream of consciousness. We see how anxious she is to escape her current situation, meaning the elevator ride and the pregnancy as well. One of the issues that worries her the most is that people no longer see her as herself. They see her as a mother. They treat her in a way that she does not feel comfortable with. No one respects her personal space and more often than not she is forced to go along with situations that make her feel uneasy. At one moment she mentions: “When you’re pregnant, you are public property, you are fair game” and there is certain truth to

Among all the short story in Starkey’s text, the one that really caught my attention is the “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver. The main element I focused on while reading is his style of writing. The application of a very intense tone is nicely play out through the story and even within the first sentence, his chose of word already uses the setting to foreshadow the problematic future. In most of the cases, whenever we think about snow, it will be more about its momentary beauty of falling pure white than its consequence of “melting into dirty water.” However, after more reading, I actually realize how this intention also creates more anxieties.

The pregnancy or baby can be seen as the “elephant” in the room. This couple is trying to decide whether or not to get an abortion. The antagonist in this short story is the male the main character (Jig) is taking to at a bar in a train station. In the story this male character is simply referred to as the American. The American does many things that make us believe he is mainly the decision maker in their relationship. He is in charge of their luggage as well as the destination of their travels. This implies a sense of control and dominance. The American is very supportive saying, “If you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to” (227). Despite the support he shows, throughout the story the reader can see that the decision of the women depends greatly on the American’s feelings and views.

He begins to force open her grip off the baby and pull it away. The female is worried she is going to lose the baby so she manages to catch one arm of the baby and leans back, as the male does the same but pulls back harder. And just like that the problem has been decided. Carver doesn’t give us a solid answer as to what happens with the couple or the baby. He leaves it up to the reader to decided how it all ended.