Summary
Love in L.A.” is a story that is set on the streets of Los Angeles in the heat of traffic. Love should be an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment (DK). But in the short story Love in L.A., the definition of love is the exact opposite. Through “Jake,” the protagonist’s definition of “love” is expressed in different fashions, none results in anything positive outcome; He portrays being lazy, irresponsible, somewhat poor, and perhaps something of a scam artist, looking for his freedom. “Jake was thinking about this freedom of his so much that when he glimpsed its green light he just went ahead and stared bye-bye to the steadily employed. (Gilb 311)” Due to his lack of attention and a crash, he is forced to meet a young girl named Mariana. Mariana is foreign, not from Los Angeles, and obviously quite naïve. This crash of fate leads to the noticeably smooth and very dishonest Jake getting away with fraud, leaving Mariana to handle the damage he caused. Lie, deception, and fantasy are a few of the main themes portrayed in "Love in L.A.".
Student Response
Love is a powerful force that drives one person to draw a deep affection towards another. As we can imagine, a romance or love may be collided out by an accident between a single man and woman if our protagonist is an honest guy. However, Jake barters his love and lie for the freedom he pursue. And apparently, he was expert at shirking responsibility. Even his license plate had “expired so long ago, (Gilb 313)” that he got one from the junkyard. Being without a job, and insurance, Jake is left with out anything to do, other than to lie to the lady he hit. Besides, Jake also lied for satisfying his vanity; and lived in his own world that created by lying and illusion in order to fulfill his demand of being respected. “"I'm a musician,"; "I act too," he lied to enhance the effect more. "Been in a couple of movies." (312)”. Here, he lied and fantasized to treat himself as a “movie star” and seek to realize his dream in his own world where all things are possible.
Answer to Study Question 1: Is “Love in L.A.” a love story? Try to argue that it is. (If the story ended with paragraph 37, how would your interpretation of the story be affected?)
No, it is not a love story. It’s a story of the internal conflict of reality and fantasy inside a man who lives in a real dissatisfied world results from his laziness and irresponsibility and hides himself into a world created by his lying and fantasy. If the story ended with paragraph 37, the interpretation wouldn’t be affected. Because the last paragraph 38 mainly describe his obstinacy on fantasy, “though he couldn't stop the thought about that FM stereo radio and crushed velvet interior and the new car smell, (Gilb 313)” emphasizes the theme one more time.
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