Fine storytelling, no matter how short the story, can aid in teaching complex lessons in a simple manner. Some stories teach these lessons in the form of a theme through the use of symbolism. “Popular Mechanics” by Carver and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Stetson are tales of grim relationship problems featuring symbolism to portray themes of everyday life. Both stories quickly reveal that life for the main characters is problematic. Both stories feature problems between two different couples, one being a marriage, the other being a mother and father. The mother and father featured in “Popular Mechanics” is never specified as a married couple. The only reason a relationship still exists for the two is the fact they are mother and father of an
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In “Popular Mechanics” the calm before the storm depicts the mother staring at a picture of the family. This one peaceful moment may show that the mother is more sentimental, and maybe she cares more than the father about the child. After the calm, Carver starts the commotion of the story with the father stating “I want the baby” (Carver 124). Upon this, the mom and dad express hatred towards one another. “In the scuffle they knocked down a flowerpot”, the flowerpot representing what little salvageable relationship they had left, and how it has moved beyond repair (Carver 124). The commotion ends up moving into the kitchen, with the baby left hanging over the oven in the kitchen. The oven represents the condemnation of the parents for the damage they have done, and the damage to come. It is left to assume that the child is wounded beyond repaired or even killed, over the oven. This action over the oven permanently condemns the parents for the horrid collateral damage of their struggles. Every scrap of symbolism in the story is based on the relationship issues. Both stories use their symbolism to play out the events realistically to appeal to modern life. However, both authors guide their short stories into different themes through use of symbolism. Stetson uses the color of the wallpaper to set the stage of her story. Yellow, being a vibrant color, also is the color of scorn and confinement. The woman finds herself confined by the very man she loves, her own husband. Feeling trapped, she begins to spend her days trying to figure out the pattern within the wallpaper, that she describes as “a constant irritant to a normal mind” (Stetson 653). Finally, she finds herself in the wallpaper, trapped by John. She no longer distinguishes the difference between her and the women in the wallpaper, after all, both live a trapped existence. In the end,
In “Popular Mechanics” the calm before the storm depicts the mother staring at a picture of the family. This one peaceful moment may show that the mother is more sentimental, and maybe she cares more than the father about the child. After the calm, Carver starts the commotion of the story with the father stating “I want the baby” (Carver 124). Upon this, the mom and dad express hatred towards one another. “In the scuffle they knocked down a flowerpot”, the flowerpot representing what little salvageable relationship they had left, and how it has moved beyond repair (Carver 124). The commotion ends up moving into the kitchen, with the baby left hanging over the oven in the kitchen. The oven represents the condemnation of the parents for the damage they have done, and the damage to come. It is left to assume that the child is wounded beyond repaired or even killed, over the oven. This action over the oven permanently condemns the parents for the horrid collateral damage of their struggles. Every scrap of symbolism in the story is based on the relationship issues. Both stories use their symbolism to play out the events realistically to appeal to modern life. However, both authors guide their short stories into different themes through use of symbolism. Stetson uses the color of the wallpaper to set the stage of her story. Yellow, being a vibrant color, also is the color of scorn and confinement. The woman finds herself confined by the very man she loves, her own husband. Feeling trapped, she begins to spend her days trying to figure out the pattern within the wallpaper, that she describes as “a constant irritant to a normal mind” (Stetson 653). Finally, she finds herself in the wallpaper, trapped by John. She no longer distinguishes the difference between her and the women in the wallpaper, after all, both live a trapped existence. In the end,