Symbolism In Raymond Carver's Little Things

In Raymond Carver’s “Little Things”, Carver utilizes an ironic title to portray a bleak setting of two people who were seemingly struggling with not only their relationship but their own mental and emotional stabilities. Carver’s ability to use symbolism to paint a picture that tells two stories simultaneously is quite profound. While reading about a man and woman who were trying to sever their relationship, it is discovered a bigger and possibly a darker situation exists, using symbolism. All big things are made of much smaller little things that can build up over time if ignored and as Carver shows us, this can be true as a negative aspect of life. “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting in to dirty water” sets the
Before leaving, he takes one last look around prior to turning the light off (Carver 35). As he enters the living room, the woman begins to struggle and deal with the fact that her relationship is failing as now the picture has disappeared and she is holding an actual baby. The man demands that she hand the baby over; the struggle truly begins between both parties and the baby here is symbolized as pride and dignity. The couple begins to become more antagonistic towards one another while the baby finds itself as a fulcrum in an emotionally and physiologically charged game of tug of war. As the tug of war intensifies, the argument quickly turns into a dangerous situation; a situation that could very easily get out of control. As the man tightened his grip on the baby, the baby grew more and more distressed. Carver writes “In the scuffle they knocked down a flowerpot that hung behind the stove”; the flowerpot is symbolic much in the same way that Carver used melting snow and dirty water as a sign of things to come inside the house. Everything warm and glowing about a relationship can be embodied in a simple flower pot, and the extent of the scuffle that brought it crashing to the ground as the couple’s relationship continues to shatter the flowerpot. This is comparative to the way many couples will allow themselves to do
Another example of this would be to revisit the baby picture as a symbol of their relationship and how it has failed. Although Carver never explicitly describes that the couple are indeed married, the inner struggle to maintain their own respective pride and dignity can nonetheless become extremely powerful emotions that can make someone feel as though they are on the precipice of mere survival when they find themselves in a heated and tense environment; this is a dangerous mental combination as this is more often than not the birthplace of fear and the sense of feeling threatened. The couple was too stubborn and proud to communicate their issues with each other and in doing so, allowed the little things to begin festering into the big things. It is also possible that the picture of the baby represents a child that the couple lost through fostering a physically abusive relationship. This notion is partially ironic in its own right as the baby picture ultimately leads to a tragic escalation of a domestic dispute incident for which Carver chose a baby to represent the limits and breaking points of pride, integrity, dignity and patience. It is through personal experiences that Carver’s story becomes so much more than just a story or even a fable. The willingness to do almost