There was much irony in the plot of Popular Mechanics by Carver. The parents were very much neglectful with their young child. While fighting for custody and possession of their baby, the parents physically harm their child to the point of death. The parents began to handle their son as an object, not as a fragile infant. They were so worried about who got to keep him, that they forgot to worry about the welfare of their son.
There was also much symbolism in this short story. From the very first paragraph, one should have noticed that the story was going to be gloomy and depressing. "...where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too" (Carver, 1). The flowerpot had significant symbolism as well. The flowerless flowerpot represented a baby-less home. It was a little bit of foreshadowing, too, in a very symbolic way. Also, carver used the terms, "slipping out of their hands" and "going from her." These terms seem to show that the baby would eventually slip completely away from them and completely away from life.
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