Love and Death

The past few texts we have been reading in class have seemed to focus on these two themes; you can't seem to have one without the other either.

In the song "Frankie and Johnny" we see how they loved each other so much. Everyone one around them could see how much they loved each other. In the end, one of them still ends up dying.

In the short story "Happy Endings" the characters always died in the end. It didn't matter if their life went perfectly or if one of them cheated or if they got a disease or even if they married somebody else: the point is you still die in the end.

In "What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Love?" we learn of the death of Terri's ex-lover. She said that he loved her more than anything, even if he did have a different way of showing it.
Maybe it isn't even a physical death, maybe it is a spiritual or emotional death. Maybe it is like what happened to Mel and his ex-wife and the love just "dies" in a sense.

Even now in C.S. Lewis' book, A Grief Observed, we see a man dealing with the loss of his wife. These other stories may have briefly passed over the thought, but now we are going into depth, into the personal story of a man dealing with the loss of the love of his life.

Maybe love and death inevitably go hand-in-hand. Jesus died for us to have a relationship with him. Our parents' life without kids was sacrificed to have us. What is your husband or wife, or even your boyfriend or girlfriend, sacrificing to be with you? Can you have a deep, intimate relationship without this sacrifice?

Tuscana Ristorante Class Breakfast

When we think about literature, we don't normally think about it in everyday applications; we don't realize just how much literature affects us in our everyday lives.
Imagine a world with no bulletin boards. No novels. No magazines. No bibles. No mail. At first you might not literature has such a significant impact on our everyday lives, but when we start to think about it we discover that it, in reality, runs our lives. We discuss it in everyday social situations, much like we did for this class assignment.
We may not literally say, "I read this book and it said..." Instead we might say, "Well, I heard that...," or "Did you know...," followed by some witty remark or comment we read somewhere.
The internet is becoming one of the greatest sources of literature with access to news, novels, and other sources. We will continue this literary trend as long as we exist. The world was designed for literate people; ask anybody who can't read.

Reading isn't only for nerds, so why are we so afraid to let the world know we read? This class meeting, in my opinion, helped everybody see that. We all read.

"Happy Endings" Margaret Atwood

Pass

"What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Love" Raymond Carver

When I first started reading this story, I found the story of Terri and Ed very interesting. While I thought it was bizarre at first that she considered what he did to her "love," I realized if that was all she knew then what else could we expect. I also began to wonder what must have happened to Ed to make him "love" somebody like that. What does it take to make a person think that showing love means being abusive or abused? Do they think if they aren't loved then they will be hugged and kissed?

Then Mel goes on to say how he loved his first wife and now he hates her guts. Was what he called love, in fact, true love? Can you fall out of love with a person?

In another part of the story the group discusses how young and new Laura and Nick's love is, and to wait until they get further along in their marriage.

In the end of the story Mel says if he weren't with Terri and if Nick wasn't his best friend then he would fall in love with Laura.

Are any of these portrayals love?

I don't think so, at least not true love. As a Christian I have come to learn that true love never fails, it doesn't judge, it doesn't lust, it isn't jealous or selfish. I am not sure if humans are capable of pure, true love. We think love is an emotion, but it is more than that: love is a commitment. We need to be careful with the words "I love you" because what we may mean when we say it is not necessarily how the other person will interpret it. As seen in this story, there are many opinions about love.

Literary Profile

Growing up I didn't really have stories read to me too often; my parents weren't the type to sit down and read a bedtime story or have a story time or anything of the sort. When I first learned how to read, I started out with the basics that everybody does: The Hungry Caterpillar, Rainbow Fish, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (which happened to a be favorite ;D ), and many others. It wasn't too long, though, before I started wanting more, so I began to read novels. This has been a pleasure that I have carried throughout my educational career.
There are a few books over the years that I have found really have a significant impact on me. Some of them include The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, several of Ayn Rands novels, and many others. I love many different genres, from memoirs to self help to science fiction, and everything in between.
Literature has a substantial impact on society. It can dictate a country, brainwash a culture, educate a student, even start a revolution. It may not seem like an important matter, but it may, in fact, be one of the most important parts of society. We use it for communication, education, documentation, even pleasure. I do not see how it could be considered unimportant.