Carver's "Popular Mechanics"

This was piece was very good in my opinion. Very fast-paced, thus making this rather violent scene all the more suspenseful. I think one of the ways Carver does this is by not using quotation marks for the husband and wife when they speak. This to me creates flow in the piece and helps it move faster, as the couple moves fighting for the baby. A very sort of frantic tone all throughout. Carver also draws the reader in I think by the constant movement he puts his two characters in. While the husband's packing, she's looking at the baby picture. When she takes the baby, he takes the baby, etc. Besides the beautiful, moving prose during the baby-fighting scene, I thought this event also offered great insight into the two characters, and the whole time while they're not saying anything, besides "I'm taking the baby"-esque phrases, you get a real sense of their personalities; the husband is very forceful, while the wife is ultimate protector of the child. A lot going on here in such a short piece, and that's what Carver does best here, his compression of the event and the words to describe the event. Great piece.