Figurative Language In Popular Mechanics By Raymond Carver

In Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver, a contemptuous couple are driven out of rage to harm their only child. The story’s tone is that of resentment, aggression, and irony, which are constructed by the author’s deliberate choice of a third-person, unnamed narrator. Opening starkly with another nameless character, a male packing his suitcase, his spouse looks on from the other side of the room and continually rants that she’s glad her partner is leaving. Immediately, the reader can sense the physical and emotional distance between the two characters (she is standing by the door while he is standing by the side of the bed). This distance between the characters is important because it sets the mood and tone for later in the story when a†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, Carver uses short, choppy sentence structure throughout the story and specific diction, which help to convey to the finality of the couple’s relationship, and to create a somewhat distant and unsettling mood: â€Å"The kitchen window gave no light† (Carver 3). The curtness of this sentence and suspenseful mood it creates help to enhance his theme of miscommunication. Adding to that terse and disconnected structure, Carver also uses an interesting plot structure: placing the climax abruptly at the end of the story with no falling action. By doing so, he leaves the reader questioning what just happened and thinking it over. His diction throughout this work is an important piece of understanding the theme of the story. When describing the streaks running down the window, he describes it as â€Å"little†, and does so again when describing the â€Å"little† kitchen in which the mother stood. The use of this particular adjective suggests that the house doesn’t fit this couple and child, and likely never would, relating back to the intimation that this relationship isn’t one that will be reconciled. This story’s title also serves an important purpose, and was certainly a deliberate choice on Carver’s part to enhance his theme by use of tone. It alludes to the well-read science magazine ‘Popular Mechanics’, and this creates tone via irony in that, when considering the scientific mechanics ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Popular Mechanics By Raymond Carver1099 Words   |  5 PagesIn Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver a man begins packing his things in a suitcase on a rainy day. His spouse barges into the room and begins to berate him. She moves to the dresser and picks up a picture of their baby and leaves the room. The man follows they begin fighting about who gets the baby. As the women holds tightly to the baby, the man backs her into the kitchen and begins grabbing the child. They both have a tight hold on the child now and are pulling backwards. The story concludes