Love, forgiveness, and the loneliness that results from a life devoid of love are the overarching themes within many pieces of literature. Louise Erdrich, within the short story “Love Medicine” presents the story of a love between a family and its perseverance through difficult times with the healing power of forgiveness. The poem by William Carlos Williams, “This is Just to Say” focuses on the aspect of forgiveness and remorse that one feels when they cause trouble to someone that they love. Finally, the poem “l(a” by E.E. Cummings is representative of the loneliness one experiences during a life missing the comfort of love.
There is no comparison to the kind of love that is shared within a family. Even within a family, however, love is tested. Lipsha, the main character, gifted with the healing power of “love medicine,” always thought that “love got easier over the years so it didn’t hurt so bad when it hurt, or feel so good when it felt good I thought it smoothed out and old people hardly noticed it” (225). Through observations of his grandparent’s weakened relationship status, he realizes that love takes work, healing, and forgiveness. In the name of love, Lipsha believes that feeding his grandma and his mentally failing grandpa the blessed heart of geese will reconnect them forever. When he is not able to kill two geese, however, he uses turkey hearts which he picks up from the market. Blessed with holy water, Lipsha feeds the single heart, a half to each, to his grandparents. Grandma eats her part of the heart raw but when she attempts to feed it to grandpa, he lets it sit within his mouth, unwilling to eat. Angrily, grandma slaps grandpa on the back to make him swallow the bite. Unfortunately, this action causes the grandpa to choke on the heart and eventually to pass away. The passing of his grandpa, Lipsha feels is his fault. Faced with grief and despair, Lipsha contemplates the meaning of love, life, and the validity of his own power of “love medicine.” His thoughts culminate and conclude in a final event when both he and his grandmother have visions of grandpa in a ghostly state. Finally, he understands that the influence of love and its staying power is out of his control. He cannot buy love in a store, nor can he fix it with his own powers. Rather love is maintained through the power of faith and forgiveness and although “faith might be stupid…it gets us though…its belief even when the goods don’t deliver” (231).
The act of seeking forgiveness always seems to be easier with ones that we love. As it occurs within the poem by William Carlos Williams, the speaker has eaten the plum this his spouse was saving especially for breakfast. The structure and style of this poem suggest several things, both about this individual relationship and relationships between loved ones in general. Specifically, the style in which this poem is written, proposes that this speaker has done this kind of thing before within their relationship and the fact that they are still together signifies the kinds of things that you can get away with in the midst of the ones that you love. The word choice of the speaker, especially to mention that the plums “were delicious/ so sweet/ and so cold,” (line 11-13) implies that the speaker can push the patience of his spouse and still receive her love. Within most married relationships, both husband and wife are usually guilty of taking a little more than they give within the relationship but are able to seek forgiveness easily.
A life devoid of love and attention, whether from a spouse or a relative, leads to depression and loneliness. Within the poem by E. E. Cummings, the speaker relates his message of loneliness in a very creative manner. In a poem without real words but giving a clear message, the poet communicates his feelings of emptiness as it seems that his life is losing love or has lost love. Putting together the lines of the poem between the parentheses, spells out the sentence, “a leaf falls“. The remaining part of the poem spells the word “loneliness.” The way in which this poem is conveyed is representative of several important facts and basic human feelings. First, the speaker’s inability to clearly state or admit that he is lonely is a sign of depression. Furthermore, the speaker’s choice to communicate his ideas within the short, sporadic manner and they way in which the lines represent leaves falling from a tree is significant. Possibly, the creative and almost secretive way of describing this emotion evidences his uneasiness about telling his deep-seeded feelings.
Love and attention are elements that everyone needs as basic units within our hierarchy of needs. Within the short story “Love Medicine,” and the poems “This is Just to Say” and “l(a” the exact importance and implications of a life with and without love are presented. Although the emotion of love may present conflict and turmoil, a life with love is always better than a life without love.
There is no comparison to the kind of love that is shared within a family. Even within a family, however, love is tested. Lipsha, the main character, gifted with the healing power of “love medicine,” always thought that “love got easier over the years so it didn’t hurt so bad when it hurt, or feel so good when it felt good I thought it smoothed out and old people hardly noticed it” (225). Through observations of his grandparent’s weakened relationship status, he realizes that love takes work, healing, and forgiveness. In the name of love, Lipsha believes that feeding his grandma and his mentally failing grandpa the blessed heart of geese will reconnect them forever. When he is not able to kill two geese, however, he uses turkey hearts which he picks up from the market. Blessed with holy water, Lipsha feeds the single heart, a half to each, to his grandparents. Grandma eats her part of the heart raw but when she attempts to feed it to grandpa, he lets it sit within his mouth, unwilling to eat. Angrily, grandma slaps grandpa on the back to make him swallow the bite. Unfortunately, this action causes the grandpa to choke on the heart and eventually to pass away. The passing of his grandpa, Lipsha feels is his fault. Faced with grief and despair, Lipsha contemplates the meaning of love, life, and the validity of his own power of “love medicine.” His thoughts culminate and conclude in a final event when both he and his grandmother have visions of grandpa in a ghostly state. Finally, he understands that the influence of love and its staying power is out of his control. He cannot buy love in a store, nor can he fix it with his own powers. Rather love is maintained through the power of faith and forgiveness and although “faith might be stupid…it gets us though…its belief even when the goods don’t deliver” (231).
The act of seeking forgiveness always seems to be easier with ones that we love. As it occurs within the poem by William Carlos Williams, the speaker has eaten the plum this his spouse was saving especially for breakfast. The structure and style of this poem suggest several things, both about this individual relationship and relationships between loved ones in general. Specifically, the style in which this poem is written, proposes that this speaker has done this kind of thing before within their relationship and the fact that they are still together signifies the kinds of things that you can get away with in the midst of the ones that you love. The word choice of the speaker, especially to mention that the plums “were delicious/ so sweet/ and so cold,” (line 11-13) implies that the speaker can push the patience of his spouse and still receive her love. Within most married relationships, both husband and wife are usually guilty of taking a little more than they give within the relationship but are able to seek forgiveness easily.
A life devoid of love and attention, whether from a spouse or a relative, leads to depression and loneliness. Within the poem by E. E. Cummings, the speaker relates his message of loneliness in a very creative manner. In a poem without real words but giving a clear message, the poet communicates his feelings of emptiness as it seems that his life is losing love or has lost love. Putting together the lines of the poem between the parentheses, spells out the sentence, “a leaf falls“. The remaining part of the poem spells the word “loneliness.” The way in which this poem is conveyed is representative of several important facts and basic human feelings. First, the speaker’s inability to clearly state or admit that he is lonely is a sign of depression. Furthermore, the speaker’s choice to communicate his ideas within the short, sporadic manner and they way in which the lines represent leaves falling from a tree is significant. Possibly, the creative and almost secretive way of describing this emotion evidences his uneasiness about telling his deep-seeded feelings.
Love and attention are elements that everyone needs as basic units within our hierarchy of needs. Within the short story “Love Medicine,” and the poems “This is Just to Say” and “l(a” the exact importance and implications of a life with and without love are presented. Although the emotion of love may present conflict and turmoil, a life with love is always better than a life without love.
posted by Molly F. @ 6:41 PM
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