Function and Meaning of Literary Devices in "Little Things" by Raymond Carver

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Function and meaning of literary devices in "Little Things" by Raymond Carver
"Little Things" is a short story written by Raymond Carver. It tells the story of a couple to who the author only refers to he and she. The couple has trouble making the husband pack his stuff to leave the house. They have a baby together, who the man wants to leave with, but the wife does not agree. They have a long argument, each fighting to remain with the baby. The story ends in suspense when the baby falls. Carver uses various literary devices to tell the story. They include imagery, symbolism, situational irony, cliffhanger, and tone.
Carver uses imagery to show the reader the setting and the events taking place in the story. Imagery is a figurative language that evokes a sensory experience in the reader. The sensory details in imagery bring events in a story to life by making them actively engage sight, smell, taste, internal and external feelings, sounds, and deep emotions (Lehman, 76). In "The Little Things, " Carver's imagery excites sight and hearing. Carver says, "Early that day, the weather turned, and the snow was melting into dirty water. Streaks of it ran down from the little shoulder-high window that faced the backyard. Cars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too" (Carver 1). The reader can visualize the setting and the day and weather when the couple had the argument. The story is set in a cold region or during cold weather with snow water. It must have been slowly turning warmer because the snow was melting. It was also getting dark, indicating that the incident happened late in the evening. This imagery is important because it establishes the story's setting to the readers as they get into the main events in the story.
Another instance of imagery is evident when the husband catches the baby and is ready to leave with him. Carver says, "In the near-dark he worked on her fisted fingers with one hand and with the other hand he gripped the screaming baby up under an arm near the shoulder" (Carver 1). This description makes the readers create a mental picture of the man walking, holding the baby in one hand and his bag in the other hand. This shows determination in leaving the woman and tagging along everything he feels he owns, including the baby.
Carver uses symbolism throughout the short story to trigger deep meanings. Symbolism refers to using symbols including people, words, locations, marks, or abstract ideas to represent something beyond their literal meanings. In the short story, the baby symbolizes the only available unifying factor between the couple (Horn, 276). They seem to have fallen out beyond reconciliation. The man packs his stuff silently while the woman keeps shouting at him to leave. None of them seems to exert any effort to solve the issue, meaning both feel they have nothing to keep them together. However, the two suddenly have something in common when Carver introduces the baby. Both want to stay with the baby, meaning they would resolve to stay together for the baby's sake. Thus, the baby symbolizes a unifying factor between the couple.
The baby and the baby picture symbolize pride and integrity in the short s...