Popular Mechanics

The title of this short story is "Popular Mechanics," which is easily the worst title I've ever heard. The original title, apparently, was "Mine." That is a much better title. Popular Mechanics is already a thing Mr. Carver.

"How to Build a Flying Car." What could go wrong?

I suppose I'd best put on my serious hat and start some hardcore analysis on this lovely tale. I will be tackling question 4 with this here blog post, Why is this couple splitting up? Do we know? Does it matter? Explain in my response. Okay, I will.

We have no idea why the couple is splitting up. We know nothing of their relationship except that they have decided to end it, and they also happen to have a wee little baby together. There is no possible way that we can know what has caused them to sever their ties, and frankly, we are not supposed to know. Usually when things are kept vague in literature, there's a pretty good reason. In this case, the ambiguity is used to make the situation more universal and applicable to more situations. Y'see kids, this short story is a commentary on divorce itself. If the couple has a specific reason for splitting up, then it becomes less universal. If the couple breaks up because one of them cheated, then the story becomes less about divorce and more about infidelity, and that's a whole new can of worms. By keeping the reason vague, it is able to serve as a commentary on every divorce and the impact that it has on the children.

I find this to be in bad taste. Deliciously bad taste.