"Popular Mechanics" ~by Raymond Carver

(#7)
I Kings 3 in the Bible tells the story of two women who both claimed to be the mother of a baby. They both came to Solomon wanting to be given ownership of the child. Solomon's solution was to tell them to cut the child in half and split it between the two women. The false mother agreed to the solution. However, the real mother demanded instead that the child just be given to the other woman. Solomon realized that the real mother's love for her baby would be shown because she would rather her child be given to someone else than for it to be killed. This story is similar because it is about two people arguing for ownership of their child. The couple both claims to be deserving of the child, and they do not want the other to have it. However, this story does not have a happy ending. Instead of agreeing upon a solution, the couple lets their hate for each other get in the way of their child's safety. Their disagreement becomes violent to the point where they both end up killing the baby because they cannot agree. Instead of agreeing on something that would be best for the baby, they both are selfish and care only about themselves. They both want the baby, but in the end their carelessness and selfishness ends up killing the thing they are fighting about. They focused so much on their own problems that they lost sight of the baby and it became just an object to possess out of selfishness. "She would have it, this baby. She grabbed for the baby's other arm. She caught the baby around the wrist and leaned back. But he would not let go. He felt the baby slipping out of his hands and he pulled back very hard. In this manner, the issue was decided" (page 345).