My initial reaction to “Popular Mechanics” was shock and disbelief. Besides all of the baby stuff, the story made me reflect on my previous relationship and think about all of the fights from an outside perspective. This piece was very interesting because of how universal and easy to relate to it is.
There are three main examples of irony in this story. The first example is that when the man is leaving, the woman says “I’m glad you’re leaving...son of a bitch...etc.” She is most likely trying to enrage him, resulting in the fight becoming more heated and him staying longer. The second is that while they are both emotionally blind-sighted and wrapped up in their own pride and selfishness fighting over who can keep the baby, they end up severely hurting if not killing the baby. In this way, Carver uses irony in a universally relatable situation to highlight the negative effects of selfishness that we, as humans, are so often consumed by.
There are three main examples of irony in this story. The first example is that when the man is leaving, the woman says “I’m glad you’re leaving...son of a bitch...etc.” She is most likely trying to enrage him, resulting in the fight becoming more heated and him staying longer. The second is that while they are both emotionally blind-sighted and wrapped up in their own pride and selfishness fighting over who can keep the baby, they end up severely hurting if not killing the baby. In this way, Carver uses irony in a universally relatable situation to highlight the negative effects of selfishness that we, as humans, are so often consumed by.
Were they fighting oer the baby? or the picture of the baby?
Did the baby die? get hurt? what happened?
What were they fighting over?
I thought they were fighting over a real baby. There are tons of clues to suggest this. When the dad says that he wants the baby and that he’ll “get someone to come by for his things,” he wouldn’t say that if there wasn’t a baby to get things for. Unless he already had the baby but then he wouldn’t be saying that he wants the baby. Another clue is right after the last one when it says, “The baby had begun to cry and she uncovered the blanket from around his head.” Unless this is describing what the picture is of this totally sounds like there is a baby in her hands that has started to cry. These clues along with several others completely prove for me that there was a baby and not a picture of one.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the same thing, Jessica; I thought they were fighting over a real baby. I like how you can always connect the stories to your life!! I also agree that it is a unique, but an easily relatable story. Your first example didn't even occur to me until now. Your emphasis on negative effects of selfishness was very slick; it is very common for us to not think of others first and to give priority to what is in favor of ourselves. But to answer your question, I hope the baby didn't die and both the parents realized how much pain they're causing to their baby.
ReplyDeleteI believe they were fighting over a baby. At one point the story tells us that the baby cried, and I don't think pictures can cry. haha. I agree that this story is easy to relate to for the audience. I think he did this purposefully to grab the reader's attention and have readers interested in this piece of work. I feel like the baby was injured through this mess. Honestly I don't think anyone can answer what they were fighting over, there isn't much evidence for the reader. Again I think the author did this on purpose so readers can apply their own experiences to the work.
ReplyDeleteI liked the examples of irony that you used. It is interesting sometimes to see how people express themselves when they are upset. Those are both very good examples of irony. I agree with Psalm and Jessica. I believe they are fighting over a real baby. The way the baby is described it is hard to think that they are fighting over a picture. The picture does spark the issue when the woman takes the picture from the man. When she wraps the child's head with a blanket it made it clear that a real baby was present.
ReplyDelete