The Harshness of Unreturned Love
Love is a very intense feeling that can once be powerfully strong but can also quickly fade into nothing, without any reminisces of feeling. In Tennesse Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, there is a common theme of unrequited love, which centers itself on Brick’s relationships with Maggie, Skipper, and Big Daddy. Brick neglects to show Maggie love when she begs him for it, Skipper was in love with Brick but Brick denies it, and Big Daddy wants what is best for his son but Brick refuses to show interest.
Firstly, unrequited love is exhibited through Brick and Maggie’s relationship as Maggie longs for Brick’s affection, but he never satisfies her lust. Brick proves to Maggie that he no longer cares much for what
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she does, and it reveals how he does not love her. Brick says, "Maggie, I wouldn't divorce you for being unfaithful or anything else. Don't you know that? Hell I'd be relieved to know that you'd found yourself a lover," (I.722-725). This shows the corruption of their marriage because Brick says he would not care if Maggie cheated on him, he only wants her to suffer by being this cat on a hot tin roof. Their relationship is not very strong because of this, although Maggie cheated on Brick with Skipper, he now does not care if she does it with anyone else. Unrequited love is exemplified because it proves how Brick love for Maggie has faded, as he allows her to have another adultery while they are still married. In addition to Maggie feeling trapped inside a cage with Brick, others in their family also reveal that they know the relationship is quickly crumbling. Big Mama asks Maggie if she is satisfying her son, because that is what is important to Big Mama. When Maggie tries to say it is not her fault Big Mama points to the bed saying, “When a marriage goes on the rocks, the rocks are there, right there!” (I.729-730). This symbolizes the end to the love between Maggie and Brick because Brick has no desire to have sex with her, so their love is beyond going “on the rocks” because that part of their relationship no longer exists. It is because of Brick’s unrequited love for Maggie that has brought Big Mama to talk to Maggie about their withering intimacy. As well as Maggie longing for Brick’s love, she also yearns for him to let go of Skipper’s death. She feels as though if Brick sought the truth in his life instead of lies he wouldn’t be urged to drink as much as he does. Maggie bellows at Brick, “But Brick?!—Skipper is dead! I'm alive!” (I.1144). This reveals Maggie’s lust for Brick’s love that he does not provide her. He is still disturbed by Skipper’s death that he pays no attention to Maggie; his love for her is far fetched from what she feels for him. He goes as far as trying to beat her with a crutch when she accuses Skipper of loving Brick. Brick’s neglect and disdain towards Maggie proves how unrequited love exists in their relationship, as he puts up a barrier, blocking out any love she has for him. Secondly, Brick decided to ignore the feelings Skipper professed to him, ultimately leading to Skipper’s death.
He pretends that a friendship had only occurred and denied his true feelings for Skipper. Brick says, “You think so, too? You think so, too? You think me an' Skipper did, did, did!—sodomy!—together?” (II.1208-1209). Brick attempts to conceal his feelings for Skipper by using a biblical term like sodomy to seem as though he does not want to break any kind of Christian or societal beliefs. By saying this, Brick shows that he would not admit his feelings, which is why Skipper had committed suicide. Even Maggie knows that their relationship was more than just companions, as she says to Brick, “You two had something that had to be kept on ice, yes, incorruptible, yes!” (I.991-992). Maggie highlights the fact that the men had to keep their relationship hidden because it would have not been accepted during this time. She knows that the bond between them was incorruptible, however Brick tried to deny it, ultimately sending Skipper into a state of depression where he took his life. This represents unrequited love because Brick denies his feelings for Skipper, where as Skipper tried to profess them but was brutally turned
down. Additionally, Brick attempts to deny his love for Skipper, which is not mentioned throughout the play, but has been proved to potentially exist. The fact that Brick’s love exists but is not addressed reveals how it is unrequited or unacknowledged love. In Michael Bibler’s, A Tenderness Which Was Uncommon, he refers to the relationship between the plantation creators, Straw and Ochello, being a parallel to the relationship of Brick and Skipper. He says, “As the definitional center, the loving relationship between these two men reveals various emotional defects of every straight relationship in the play…More importantly, it directly determines how Brick’s attachment to Skipper must be read, for his and Maggie’s occupation of their room forces the suggestion that Bricks feelings for Skipper might indeed be homosexual−−even though Brick thought they were just platonic−−and that his marriage to Maggie might be a sham” (Bibler). This proves that although Brick most likely did have feelings for Skipper, but he decided that other opinions and acceptances mattered more, thus the theme of unrequited love is portrayed through Brick’s ignorance. Furthermore, Brick’s relationship with his father is constantly uneasy as Big Daddy tries to explain he solely wants what is best for his son, but Brick will never put his drink down to listen. Big Daddy loves Brick, however Brick is too consumed with finding the click that he gives no recognition to what Big Daddy tells him. The only way of getting Brick to be the slightest bit interested is by saying, “If I give you a drink, will you tell me what it is you're disgusted with, Brick?” (II.958-959). The only way Big Daddy can attempt at having a real conversation with his son is by offering up alcohol, Brick’s real true love. This reveals how Brick does not have it inside of him to even be truthful with his own father, he would rather drink to forget then show his dad any sign of love. Moreover, Big Daddy yearns for his son to face the truth in the lies he has told himself. He feels as though Brick is putting blame on other people to compensate for his own wrong doings. Big Daddy says, “You been passing the buck. This disgust with mendacity is disgust with yourself. You!—you dug the grave of your friend and kicked him in it!—before you'd face the truth with him!”(II.949-951) Big Daddy is making Brick understand the reality of the situation they are in because he wants Brick to understand the truth and not envelop himself in lies. Big Daddy does this out of the love he has for his son, even though it seems as though Brick cannot open himself up enough to his father. Brick admits to not having a fondness of talking to his father when he says, “Well, sir, every so often you say to me, Brick, I want to have a talk with you, but when we talk, it never materializes. Nothing is said. […] Communication is—aweful hard between people an'—somehow between you and me, it just don't,” (II.90). He mocks his father in saying that their conversations never lead them anywhere, so he allocates that talking is a waste of time, even with his own father. Brick goes on to say, "But this talk is like all the others we've ever had together in our lives! It's nowhere, nowhere!—it's—it's painful, Big Daddy," (II.99). Brick tells his father it is painful to talk to him, and he does not like when they speak to one another because their conversations do not have a resolution. Unrequited love is expressed because Big Daddy fights for Brick’s attention, but Brick merely does not care; it is a waste of his time. In conclusion, Brick proves to the audience that he is no longer capable of showing love in his relationships. Unrequited love is a common theme in this play, it focuses itself on Brick’s relationships with Maggie, Skipper, and Big Daddy. Maggie is the cat on a hot tin roof since Bricks pays her no attention and gives her no sign of affection; he denied his feelings for Skipper, which led to Skipper taking his own life. Brick also does not show any true love for his father, as he ignorantly ignores him while Big Daddy fights for his attention. This play reveals how tragedy can drive a man out of love and can change his life, as well as others, forever.
The Notebook (Cassavetes, 2004) is a love story about a young couple named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who fall deeply in love with each other. The Hamilton’s are financially stable, and expect for their daughter Allie to marry someone with the same wealth. Noah on the other hand works as a laborer, and comes from an underprivileged family. Throughout the film there were several negative behaviors, and interpersonal communications within the context of their relationship, which relates to chapter nine. This chapter explores relationships, emphasizing on affection and understanding, attraction, and the power of a relationship. The focus of this paper is the interpersonal conflict with Noah, Allie and her mother, Anne Hamilton.
“Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.” The main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford, possesses a seemingly unquenchable thirst for affection, and does not rest until she finds the man who is able to offer her the love she desires and believes to deserve. Janie defines love as a fluid force that is different with every man, and transforms with changing circumstances. Janie does not care to be wealthy, or to have high social standing; she wishes to be submerged in a sea of tenderness and to swim through waters of passion, and to be caressed by captivating waves of lust. Her idealistic conception of love and the corresponding desire for it developed from her sixteen-year-old obsession with a bee pollinating a pear blossom in the back yard of her grandmother’s house.
The idea of love is very complex and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Both “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Araby” by James Joyce portray the lives of two individuals who are in love. “The Things They Carried” is about a young lieutenant named Jimmy Cross during the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Cross was incapable of focusing on the war because of his constant thoughts of the girl he loved, Martha. “Araby” is about a boy who is infatuated with a girl he has never had a conversation with. Although both protagonists in “The Things They Carried” and “Araby” eventually realize that the girls they loved didn’t feel the same way about them, Lieutenant Cross tried to move on by destroying everything he had that reminded him of Martha, while the boy in “Araby” was left disappointed.
“Love is pure, love is painful, love is sweet and love is dreadful” (“20 Interesting Facts”). Love has both up’s and down’s. How people prepare and react to love’s down will determine the outcomes. Poets throughout history have had difficulties with love, and Edgar Allan Poe, author of “For Annie,” and Rick Springfield, songwriter for “Jessie’s Girl,” are no exception. Poe and Springfield’s approaches on love are like peanut butter and jelly, they can go together, but do not mix. While Poe is the fault of his disconnection from love, Springfield has no control over his love life.
Much like Lorraine Hansberry, Madeleine L’Engle believes that “the growth of love is not a straight line, but a series of hills and valleys.” Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Glass Menagerie, and Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias use the idea that even through struggles their characters show that love always endures. Although loving someone, who is not particularly loveable, is one of the most difficult parts of being human, it is possible by remembering that addictions can be reversed, blood is forever, and a ring is more than just an object.
Love is undoubtedly a universal theme with numerous characterisations in different genres. David Solway illustrates unrequited love in his poem The Dream as agonising, bewildering and hard to accept by the use of ideas, perspectives and language. In a similar way, Marc Webb’s film 500 Days of Summer and Gavin Degraw’s song Not Over You expresses this representation of unrequited love through their use of ideas, perspectives and language. They effectively translate this representation of unrequited love in their genres in order to create an emotional response from their audiences.
The Lais of Marie de France is a compilation of short stories that delineate situations where love is just. Love is presented as a complex emotion and is portrayed as positive, while at other times, it is portrayed as negative. The author varies on whether or not love is favorable as is expressed by the outcomes of the characters in the story, such as lovers dying or being banished from the city. To demonstrate, the author weaves stories that exhibit binaries of love. Two distinct types of love are described: selfish and selfless. Love is selfish when a person leaves their current partner for another due to covetous reasons. Contrarily, selfless love occurs when a lover leaves to be in a superior relationship. The stark contrast between the types of love can be analyzed to derive a universal truth about love.
Gaitskill’s “Tiny, Smiling Daddy” focuses on the father and his downward spiral of feeling further disconnected with his family, especially his lesbian daughter, whose article on father-daughter relationships stands as the catalyst for the father’s realization that he’d wronged his daughter and destroyed their relationship. Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” focuses on Mel and his attempt to define, compare, and contrast romantic love, while leaving him drunk and confused as he was before. While both of my stories explore how afflicted love traumatizes the psyche and seem to agree that love poses the greatest dilemma in life, and at the same time that it’s the most valued prospect of life, the two stories differ in that frustrated familial love causes Gaitskill's protagonist to become understandable and consequently evokes sympathy from the reader, but on the other hand frustrated romantic love does nothing for Carver's Protagonist, except keep him disconnected from his wife and leaving him unchanged, remaining static as a character and overall unlikable. In comparing “Tiny, Smiling Daddy” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”, together they suggest that familial love is more important than romantic love, which we relentlessly strive to achieve often forgetting that we’ll forever feel alone without familial love, arguably the origin of love itself.
This passage marks the first of several types of love, and gives us an intuitive
There exists no power as inexplicable as that of love. Love cannot be described in a traditional fashion; it is something that must be experienced in order for one to truly grasp its full enormity. It is the one emotion that can lead human beings to perform acts they are not usually capable of and to make sacrifices with no thought of the outcome or repercussions. Though love is full of unanswered questions and indescribable emotions, one of the most mystifying aspects of love is its timeless nature. Love is the one emotion, unlike superficial sentiments such as lust or jealousy, which can survive for years, or even generations. In the novel The Gargoyle, the author, Andrew Davidson, explores the idea of eternal love between two people, a union that spans over centuries spent both together and apart. Davidson, through the use of flashbacks, intricate plot development and foreshadowing, and dynamic characterization, creates a story that challenges the reader’s preconceived notions regarding whether eternal love can survive even when time’s inevitable grasp separates the individuals in question.
Love has the power to do anything. Love can heal and love can hurt. Love is something that is indescribable and difficult to understand. Love is a feeling that cannot be accurately expressed by a word. In the poem “The Rain” by Robert Creeley, the experience of love is painted and explored through a metaphor. The speaker in the poem compares love to rain and he explains how he wants love to be like rain. Love is a beautiful concept and through the abstract comparison to rain a person is assisted in developing a concrete understanding of what love is. True beauty is illuminated by true love and vice versa. In other words, the beauty of love and all that it entails is something true.
Anton Chekhov and Ernest Hemingway both convey their ideas of love in their respective stories The Lady with the Pet Dog and Hills like White Elephants in different ways. However, their ideas are quite varying, and may be interpreted differently by each individual reader. In their own, unique way, both Chekhov and Hemingway evince what is; and what is not love. Upon proper contemplation, one may observe that Hemingway, although not stating explicitly what love is; the genius found in his story is that he gives a very robust example of what may be mistaken as love, although not being true love. On the other hand, Chekhov exposes love as a frame of mind that may only be achieved upon making the acquaintance of the “right person,” and not as an ideal that one may palpate at one instance, and at the another instance one may cease to feel; upon simple and conscious command of the brain. I agree with Hemingway’s view on love because it goes straight to the point of revealing some misconceptions of love.
Love is a concept that has puzzled humanity for centuries. This attachment of one human being to another, not seen as intensely in other organisms, is something people just cannot wrap their heads around easily. So, in an effort to understand, people write their thoughts down. Stories of love, theories of love, memories of love; they all help us come closer to better knowing this emotional bond. One writer in particular, Sei Shōnagon, explains two types of lovers in her essay "A Lover’s Departure": the good and the bad.
Maggie is claiming that her relationship with Brick was always like a three-way love triangle that she always seemed left out of. Even back in the college days she felt as though she was just chaperoning Brick and Skipper to keep up a public appearance. She also claims that when Skipper and Maggie made love they did so wanting it to be Brick instead of each other however it made them somehow feel closer to Brick in an odd way. Based on all the evidence it pretty clear that Brick had something more than just friendship with Skipper no matter how much in denial he tries to
Brought together by their mutual friend, Rinaldi, Henry seems to fall dangerously hard for a girl he only lays eyes on once. This instant is the start to an interesting relationship. Henry’s spontaneous love for Catherine has him returning everyday to see her. The reader soon discovers that Barkley feels the same way towards Henry. They are quick to proclaim their true love to each other leaving Henry in a state of insurmountable happiness. Hemingway does not leave the couple to have a happy ending - for when love is involved, pain closely follows. The war separates the two lovers as Henry has to tend to all those who are going to be wounded on the offensive. The separation causes not only emotional but physical pain. Henry is injured and is dealing with an enormous amount of pain. This pain is sy...