The Mood Of The Story 'Popular Mechanics' By Raymond Carter

When people first start reading a book there is one burning question: "What is this story about?" It’s a heavy question, especially for a fiction novel with so many fabricated details. You can fix this by saying a story is all about decisions. Of course, there are other themes, but the entire story is connected by the questions characters ask themselves and the outcome of their own answers. We can think about how this mimics real life. How every day we are forced to consider life's chance situations; some casual, some pressing, but all of them impacting our final growth as people and those around us to some degree. A good example of this is when in the book "The Outsiders", our protagonist Jonny decided to kill Bob in self-defense, this resulted in Jonny and Ponyboy going on the run. The decisions, the choices, that were made by Jonny change the course of his and his cohort's entire lives in an instant--directing the whole final tale and story outcome.

In “Popular Mechanics”, Raymond Carver’s visual details help the readers adapt to the text. Carver’s vocabulary makes the mood understandable. Repetitive words makes it clear that people can hurt the ones they love. People hurt the ones they love as simple as having an argument leading to who takes the baby, just like the short story describes. The use of descriptive words help know the story has to do with divorce

In the short story “Popular Mechanics,” by Raymond Carver there is a relationship between vanity and the human predisposition to rage when faced with loss. This is an analysis of the nature of human relationships and how tragedy tends to result from the vanity of certain individuals.

In life, sometimes random events will lead to one’s death. These two stories, “Popular Mechanics” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, both portray this idea. “Popular Mechanics,” written by Raymond Carver, has a baby torn apart by its own mother and father's hate for one another. The mother randomly saw the picture of the child and took it, and this stirred up emotions in the both of them. Enough emotions to stop paying attention to the child’s well being. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is written by Flannery O’Connor, and in it a family of six crash because of their cat, and a murderer of a sort drives by randomly, eventually leading to the death of them all. In these two stories, both the important characters die in the climax, and both characters, baby and cat, are catalysis in the story. The style of each story is negative writing and destructive in nature.

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 author was very heavy in the Pathos category. He invested strongly in using stories and vivid language to get their point across to the readers. For example, in paragraph 4 the author talked about living north of New York City. Talking about how most of the vehicles people would see on the road would be an SUV or a light truck. They went on saying

The readers first impression of the couple is dialogue. Dialogue is a very important element that contributes to the tone in “Popular Mechanics”. The dialogue in this story is almost exclusively short. The first time the reader gets dialogue is after the author sets the scene and initial mood. “I’m glad you’re leaving! I’m glad you’re leaving! She said. Do you hear?” (277). This automatically sets an aggressive and tense tone to the story. The reader is never told what the couple is breaking up over, the only thing the reader gets is that the couple is fighting over keeping the baby. The couple only really says that they want the baby, that is the majority of the dialogue in the story. Unspoken dialogue in “Popular Mechanics” is immensely important to the story. “He was in the bedroom pushing clothes into a suitcase when she came to the door” (277). This example shows the distance between the couple. The woman is constantly backing away and seemingly running away from the man, especially with the baby. There is finality in the story even though the reader never knows what the issues are in the relationship, why the man is leaving, or why they are separating. “In this manner, the issue was decided” (278). This short sentence sets the final tone of the story. There is something sinister and aggressive about this sentence. The audience does not know exactly what the issue is, but with the small

Major characters in stories often encounter moral conflicts. The way in which the characters respond to these dilemmas frequently emphasizes the author’s intended message. In “Good People”, written by David Foster Wallace, a young Christian couple is faced with an unplanned pregnancy, forcing them to make a decision regarding the termination of the child; causing them to battle with several moral and religious predicaments. Wallace mimics the anxiousness of a 19-year-old male through an unorganized style of writing and uses various details to illuminate the underlying message of the story. Similarly, in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, a man, referred to as the American and a women named Jig deal with an unexpected pregnancy, disrupting the normality of their relationship. Through symbolism, Hemingway is able to connote the limitation of language and demonstrate the complications the couple faces. In the short stories “Good People” and “Hills Like White Elephants”, both authors use literary techniques to reveal the struggles of communication, as well as the complexity of making choices.

Dr. Sacks also describes Dr.P’s lack of emotions and ability to recognize emotions throughout the text. When Dr. Sacks turned on the television, Dr. P failed to recognize a famous actress and Dr. Sacks writes, “what was more striking was that he failed to identify the expressions on her face or her partner’s.” (Sacks, 12). This detailed description of what Dr. P is experiencing helps the reader understand his position. (Change)

In "Popular Mechanics," a dark atmosphere sets the tone of the story. A story with characters who we aren't properly introduced to. The fact that we don't know the characters names or anything about them has already set a suspenseful ambiance. The suspense escalates when the stories male character is "...pushing clothes into a suitcase," and is soon interrupted by a frantic female character. She begins yelling at him and an altercation erupts. Moments later, they get in a verbal dispute over a baby. The disputes turns physical, and we aren't left with a clear understanding of what happens next. By leaving unanswered questions, Raymond Carver exceeds at leaving his readers in suspense long after the story has ended.

In the narrative “Popular Mechanics” the decisions that the unnamed characters make effects more than just their own lives. After all of the couple’s bickering, the narrator finally states, “The issue was decided.”(pg. 2) This statement signifies the death of the baby

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.

“Popular Mechanics “a short story written by Raymond Carver, shows the effect of two disagree sides. The father’s aggression and the mother’s best interest both effect the well-being of the baby. The father shows aggression from the context clues and his actions. The mother best interest in the child makes her makes some decision that lead to the harm of the baby. The whole story ties to the baby.

About a boy, written in 1998 by Nick Hornby explores the themes of mental health, 1990's culture and family through the friendship of two characters; Will, a thirty-six-year-old bachelor and Marcus, A 12-year-old outcast. In about a boy, the author has used a range of aesthetic devices that shape character representation. An Aesthetic device is an element that authors intentionally use to create intellectual/emotional responses in their novel. This analytical essay will explore how Nick Hornby has used irony, point of view and stream of consciousness to shape character representation.