Little Things (short story)

"Little Things" is a short story by Raymond Carver. It was first published in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love under the title "Popular Mechanics." It was then republished with the title "Little Things," in Carver's 1988 collection Where I’m Calling From: New and Selected Stories.

Plot summary

"Little Things" is the story of a couple that has been having some marital problems. Raymond Carver uses ambiguity in the story to describe the situation that is going on between the married couple. Although the problems they are having are not stated specifically, it is clear that the couple is moving apart from each other. The narrator shows us the husband getting ready to leave his wife, which turns into a yelling match. The man is packing a suitcase, getting ready to leave, when he demands to take their child with him. However, the couple then argues about the child as well. The wife holds the child, and they begin to argue about who should take care of the baby. The wife does not want him to have the baby, but the husband thinks he should have it. The couple begins grasping the baby by the arms. The wife has one arm, and the husband with the other. Then, the baby begins crying because it is apparently in some pain, due to the actions of the couple. The husband begins forcing his wife’s hands off of the baby, her grip slips off, but she grabs the baby again harder. The wife does the same thing, and the husband grabs the child by the top of his arm underneath the shoulder. The baby was slipping from both people, but they held on harder and pulled in the opposite directions. As the couple pulled on the child from its arms, it is apparent that they harmed the baby in some way, hence the last line of the story:

Little Things

Little Things may refer to:

Music

Albums

Singles

Literature

See also

Little Things (novel)

Little Things is an original novel based on the U.S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Plot summary

Ever since her mother's death, Buffy has been having problems keeping herself and Dawn living together peacefully, and the lack of money is affecting both of them. When Buffy suddenly develops an acute toothache, with no dental insurance, she can't afford to have it fixed. She must bear through the pain and keep it a secret from her friends while the town of Sunnydale becomes terrorized by miniature vampires. The miniature vampire fairies are led by Queen Mab who has come to Sunnydale with her troop in order to hunt down Anyanka. Back in the day, Anyanka was accidentally involved in turning these fairies into vampires and Queen Mab wants revenge on this act. Unfortunately, Buffy has to figure out how to kill vampires that are smaller than her palm.

Continuity

Canonical issues

Buffy books such as this one are not usually considered by fans as canonical. Some fans consider them stories from the imaginations of authors and artists, while other fans consider them as taking place in an alternative fictional reality. However unlike fan fiction, overviews summarising their story, written early in the writing process, were 'approved' by both Fox and Joss Whedon (or his office), and the books were therefore later published as officially Buffy/Angel merchandise.