Popular Mechanics Raymond Carver Analysis
The separation of a couple may lead to people behaving in uncharacteristic ways. This behavior occurs in “Popular Mechanics” when the man and woman escalate their actions to an inappropriate extreme. “Popular Mechanics,” written by Raymond Carver, is a concise story in which a man and woman go through a separation. The process of their separation brings out their incessantly blatant resentment toward each other. The result of the couple’s tensions is selfish behavior. To develop the theme of selfishness, Raymond Carver portrayed the relationship between the man and woman as a competition between rivals, and displayed them as unsympathetic. Carver explicates the couple’s relationship as analogous to an intense competition between two rivals.
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Carver’s apathetic tone accentuates the lack of empathy exhibited by the characters. Carver displays this tone when he wrote, “Bring that back, he said. Just get your things and get out, she said” (Carver 228). The blunt and disinterested voice of the author goes along with the non-sympathetic attitudes of the man and woman. When Carver said, “In the scuffle, they knocked down a flowerpot that hung above the stove” (Carver 229), it symbolized the demise of their loving relationship. Flowers are associated with love. Therefore, their love went down with the flowers as they were knocked down.. The irony of the changing of seasons further punctuates the conclusion of the couple’s romance. The spring season approached in the story, as implied when Carver stated, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting” (Carver 228). As the season transitioned from winter to spring, the couple’s relationship did not experience the rejuvenation of love that would correspond with the symbolic meaning of spring. Part of the reason that no rejuvenation of feelings occurred was that the two were too selfish and focused on pleasing themselves to feel empathy for the other person. The only emotions that influenced the two characters’ actions were hate and pride. Their hate toward each other and their craving of victory led to the disregard of the welfare of
Carver’s apathetic tone accentuates the lack of empathy exhibited by the characters. Carver displays this tone when he wrote, “Bring that back, he said. Just get your things and get out, she said” (Carver 228). The blunt and disinterested voice of the author goes along with the non-sympathetic attitudes of the man and woman. When Carver said, “In the scuffle, they knocked down a flowerpot that hung above the stove” (Carver 229), it symbolized the demise of their loving relationship. Flowers are associated with love. Therefore, their love went down with the flowers as they were knocked down.. The irony of the changing of seasons further punctuates the conclusion of the couple’s romance. The spring season approached in the story, as implied when Carver stated, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting” (Carver 228). As the season transitioned from winter to spring, the couple’s relationship did not experience the rejuvenation of love that would correspond with the symbolic meaning of spring. Part of the reason that no rejuvenation of feelings occurred was that the two were too selfish and focused on pleasing themselves to feel empathy for the other person. The only emotions that influenced the two characters’ actions were hate and pride. Their hate toward each other and their craving of victory led to the disregard of the welfare of