Popular Mechanics

"But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard. In this manner, the issue was decided."
Popular Mechanics 
Raymond Carver


This story involved a quarrel over a baby because a couple was separating or going through a divorce. This story reveals how controversial it can be to decide what parent dominantly cares for the child. The two obviously hate each other because the woman says, "I'm glad you're leaving!" The two do not want to be near each other. The fact that the two are hurting the baby amidst their fight shows that this argument is serious. The two are so involved within their argument that they cease to care about the baby itself. From the end, it is implied that the man won the argument and was given the baby, only because of how violent the issue was becoming to the baby itself. There is a tone of darkness and despair which is established by the weather as being "snow melting into dirty water," "getting dark on the inside" etc. and this continues throughout the story in the argument itself over the ownership of the child. This story most likely warns against divorce and how it breaks apart families as seen with the tug-of-war between the mother and father.  The arguments of the parents have a negative impact on the children because it affects their well-being too.