Raymond Carver (what We Talk About When We Talk About Love)
Essay by review • November 19, 2010 • Essay • 940 Words (4 Pages) • 2,383 Views
Essay Preview: Raymond Carver (what We Talk About When We Talk About Love)
Mel McGinnis of "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" seems like
that one guy that everyone seems to know. He stands out from others; he's unique. You
either love him or hate him. Mel is very much like one of my good friends. They are
both very individualistic and hey are both annoying drunks. They are both interesting
characters though. I think the author Raymond Carver created the character Mel based
off someone he knew. Carver created Mel for one reason or another.
Mel is just like one of my good friends. One day I like him; the next day I hate
him. People like this tend to get annoying to others around them. They are very
argumentative. My friend will argue forever and Mel is the same way. Mel is touchy and
does not seem to take a joke well. Despite these characteristics that frustrate most
people; Mel stands out. He seems to be a leader.
Mel is very individualistic. He is a Cardiologist who is always busy. This job
creates for good stories. Mel is telling stories throughout this whole story. He will start
to tell a story, get sidetracked, argue all of his points, and then go on to the story again.
He is constantly talking. It seems like there would not be much of a conversation between
Mel, his wife Terri, Nick, and Nick's wife Laura if it was not for Mel's constant babbling.
He surely leads the group. The problem is that he never clearly expresses his ideas. I
think that this is due to the Gin that they are drinking.
Mel seems to be drinking more than everyone else. He gets drunk, rambles, and
always seems to get sidetracked. The conversation from the beginning was brought to the
topic of love. Mel was married before his marriage to Terri as was she. The topic shoots
off towards Terri's ex-husband. Terri was in a marriage with an abusive husband named
Ed. She called it love; Mel called it insanity. Ed tried to kill Terri, and even threatened to
kill Mel. He ended up killing himself. Terri and Mel argued for a little over whether or
not Ed loved Terri. Mel thought not. That started Mel off on what love is. Mel thinks
that real love is nothing less than spiritual love. He explains that everyone is going to love
one way or another. He claims he loved Marjorie his former wife, but he mentions that he
would not mind her dead now. Then he goes on to explain that he loves Terri now, but if
for some reason he lost her he would end up falling in love with somebody else. He
believes that one will always love. To me that almost does not seem like love. It seems
like the fear of being alone. That is an opinion though. Everyone around the table argues
their points. Then Mel goes on to tell yet another story to support his theory of how dumb
people act and live when it comes to this. He talks, gets sidetracked, tells more stories
and babbles about nothing; Then is reminded to finish his original story. After he does so,
they run out
...
...