The story “Little Things” by Raymond Carver is short but eventful story. The story opens up with a man packing his suitcase filled with clothes with a woman then screaming in the background. Obviously a married couple that had just recently got into a very heated argument, the woman curses and screams at her husband to leave. Before the husband leaves, the argument turns to who will keep the child. As the couple bickers to each other, the baby gets caught in the middle and is being pulled back and forth by the mother and the father.
Since this story is short with paragraphs ranging from two to three sentences it is hard to pick a paragraph in particular that makes the story what it is. Although, on page 345 where the narrator starts with”The kitchen window gave no light…etc” I think plays a significant role. This small paragraph is in the middle of the story but it sets the mood for just how serious this argument really is. It develops the theme or marital problems in marriages and relationships in general. Even though there are not a lot of details, the imagery is very intense. Picturing darkness, which we see a lot in gothic literature, and the struggle between the infant is something that is not difficult to picture.
The ending of the story leaves much to be desired. One could assume that the baby was “ripped” which would settle the argument since the baby wouldn’t be alive, but that sounds a little bit grotesque. The baby could have fallen onto the kitchen floor and badly injured itself and maybe the couple would realize they were tearing their family apart by arguing. Of course it would be easier to assume that either the mother or father had taken the baby and there was a happy ending. However, I do not think that is what the author was intending to do. The author leaves much to be desired at the end which makes it more intriguing then the first couple lines of the story, “Son of a bitch!” (Carver 344).
I completely agree with you that the snow melted and became dirty was forshadowing how thier dispute will pan out. I also believe that the baby represents thier marriage. At one time it was pure, like a child, then when temptation comes in,the fighting began. I think the man cheated on his wife. The child, like the other lover, is want the man wants and can not have because the wife is not tolerant of it. She wants the baby all to herself, just like how she wanted the man to be. The couple could not get both thier ways, so like what they did to thier baby, they did to thier marriage. They split it.
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely think they killed the baby. It's almost like she wanted it to happen,well not the death of the baby, but the fight over him. By going into the room and taking the picture of the baby she started something right there. Maybe he wouldn't have even thought about the baby if she didn't take the picture, in other words saying leave, but I'm keeping the baby. An issue that really didn't need to be brought up right then and there.
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