Popular Mechanics - Raymond Carver

Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver was one of the more disturbing stories that I have read.  Instantly, readers know that there are bad things happening in the house.  " ...but it was getting dark on the inside, too"(Carver).  This comparison between the dark on the outside and the inside instantly allows the reader to realize the darkness on the inside.  This story emphasizes something fundamentally wrong with some people.  Both of those parents love the child very much.  They also hate each other a considerable amount.  Hate causes people to wish ill on the target of their hatred.  I believe this is why the parents were so adamant about keeping the babies to themselves.  They loved that baby so much and wanted ill things toward the other so much that they neglected to think about what there baby tug-of-war was doing to the child.  In the end though, the battle was not about the child, it was about taking away what was most important to both of them.  In that struggle of pure selfishness, greed, and stupidity, they inadvertently decided that if both cannot have their most precious gift, neither of them can.