"Popular Mechanics" Question 2

                Raymond Carver’s “Popular Mechanics” consists mostly of action and dialogue but focuses very little on aspects such as setting or detail. Despite this lack of extravagant detail, the few descriptions of detail and setting that are mentioned have a great impact on the short story by the way in which they reflect the tone of the novel and the mood within the home of the maniac couple. At the beginning of the poem, Carver states, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water” (Carver, 334). This statement of setting, while very brief, carries very significant meaning to the entire essence of the poem by symbolizing the nature of the couple’s relationship. While snow often represents beauty and purity because of its pure white nature, dirty water carries with it the unpleasant connotation of being tainted and ugly. While Carver never indulges the reader on the state of the couple’s relationship prior to the hateful explosion that is depicted in this short story, the reader can assume that they once loved each other very much since, in the poem, the reader can see that they lived together, were likely to be married, and had a child together. However, the reader can clearly determine that, regardless of the past nature of their love, all that remains between the couple now is absolute rage and hatred. Therefore, the description of pure and beautiful snow melting into disgusting and tainted slush at the beginning of the poem symbolizes the couple’s relationship as it melted into a horrific catastrophe. The other brief description of setting offered in the poem lies in Carver’s statement that “Cars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (Carver, 334). This detail also carries important meaning in that it, too, reflects the nature of the couple’s relationship. While the fact that the day was literally growing darker outside could mean that it was literally getting darker inside the house, as well, Carver’s statement that the inside of the house was growing darker also carries a metaphorical meaning. Considering that love is often associated with light and hatred and evil are often associated with darkness, the fact that Carver describes the inside of the house as growing dark clearly symbolizes the way in which the couple’s relationship had grown utterly dark in the shadow of hate. This illusion of the house growing darker can also foreshadow the horrific fate of the baby at the story’s conclusion. Therefore, the few details that Carver included within his story carried a great deal of purpose and significance to “Popular Mechanics.”