Love in L. A. by Dagoberto Gilb and Carnal Knowledge by T. Coraghessan Boyle
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the short stories "Love in L. A." by Dagoberto Gilb and "Carnal Knowledge" by T. Coraghessan Boyle. Specifically it will discuss the development of the two main characters in these short stories, and how their development differs. Jake in "Love in L.A." is a static character with no development, while the protagonist in "Carnal Knowledge," named Jim, does develop and grow from his development. "Love in L.A." is a simple story of Jake, a con man and loser who begins and ends the story lying to himself and everyone around him. He meets a girl through a car accident, and can only think about himself while he lies his way through the experience. He will never change, or amount to anything, and that is the point of the story. The protagonist in "Carnal Knowledge" does change. He meets a girl totally different from himself, and changes to please her, but finds that is not enough. After he turns vegetarian, helps her picket for animal rights, and follows her to free turkeys before Thanksgiving, she leaves him for another boyfriend. He finds that changing for someone else leaves him empty and hurt, and that he has to follow his ow
Jake only thinks about himself, while Jim cares about others and what others think. He is not cocky at all, and he is lonely. He does things he would normally never do in his desperate need to belong to someone. He also wants love, and will do anything to get it. We can all identify with that somehow, because just about every one of us has done something similar in a fit of hopelessness or the desire for "carnal knowledge" of someone we are attracted to. He wants real things, while Jake just wants his freedom and no responsibility. Jake does not change, while Jim learns about himself and how vulnerable he is. In most stories, characters change or learn from their mistakes. He is shallow and self-centered, and represents the people of L. Besides, being casual, the author shows that Jake is a very confident person" ("Love in L. He is responsible and "nice," while Jake is decidedly not nice and quite annoying. He learns about himself and how desperate he is for love, while Jake simply returns to his same old thoughts about freedom and a new car. Boyle writes, "Back in his car he took a moment or two to feel both proud and sad about his performance" (Boyle). He is also unhappy, while Jake seems quite carefree and happy.
Common topics in this essay:
Carnal Knowledge,
Jake Jim,
Alena Boyle,
Love LA,
Boyle Specifically,
Develop Don't,
carnal knowledge,
protagonist carnal knowledge,
protagonist carnal,
throughout story,
love la,
makes vulnerable,
car shallow,
develop grow,
follows rules,
jake confident,
follows rules life,
vulnerable jake,
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