The Short Story 'Popular Mechanics' By Raymond Carver

In the short story, “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver, two parents are having a fight that leads into a confrontation about who deserves to have control of the kid. The issues in the story raise is who is at fault for the marriage going downhill and who is more suited to gain custody of the child. This is backed by the basic elements of the story, such as the point of view, setting, and characters, to help reinforce the meaning that the story is about a typical divorce and how the blame can be put on both sides of the marriage. The plot plays a big role in reinforcing the meaning that the story is about a typical marriage or relationship and the issues that can come up and destroy it. Many relationships end in splitting up, and today more than ever, divorces are more common in society. Most of the splits probably stem from smaller issues that create bigger issues such as the one in the story. The original problem is unknown, but we can infer that something happened that would not allow for the guy to stay with the women any longer. Out of this we get the larger issue that is visibly seen, the fight over

The setting and tone go hand in hand during the story as both have dark elements that portray the message of the story. For instance, we get a glimpse of the setting when it says, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water” (Carver 344). We also get a preview of the tone when it says, “Cars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (344). Both of these lines set the mood for the story and provide of bit of foreshadowing for the events to come. Both the tone and setting in the story help to make the events of the story come into play and reinforce how things can go south in a hurry when it comes to