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.
The Essay on Situations His Good Friend Candide Voltaire Pangloss
Candide, written by Voltaire and published in 1759, is based in the Age of the Enlightenment. Candide is a satiric tale of a virtuous man's search for the truest form of happiness and his ultimate acceptance of life's disappointments. The illegitimate son of the Baron's sister; Candide is raised in the Castle of Westphalia and taught by his friend and philosopher of metaphysic o-theology -- nig ...
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 of gin and he stops talking; So does everyone else. That is the end of it. That is all we as the reader learn.
It seems that when Mel finished they all finished and sat in silence. We as a reader only see Mel when he is drunk. He may be a completely different character when sober. Carver created Mel this way for a reason though. I think Mel is based off of someone Carver knew. There still has to be a reason Carver created Mel though.
I believe Mel was created to represent Carvers theme. His theme seems to focus on everyday life as a working class American. The predominant theme that Mel and the other characters represent is that of the socially immobile, working class Americans permanently deadened to their own condition developed through regularity. They are people trying to stand out and represent the good ol’ American working class. Mel’s ideology is developed through the post-modern fate of contemporary working class society. Mel has incomplete and disconnected theories though.
The Essay on Love as a Theme in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
A German philospher by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. ” Love, therefore, can cause some madness in a person and can make him or her forget reason. What then is reason and what then is logic if love exists within the depths of one’s soul? What then is common sense if love resides in the very ...
He tries to show how to be yourself and be unique but he is just another victim of the mainstream. I think Mel represents what Carver is against. Mel definitely got drunk, and surely did not make a lot of sense on the topic, but he did keep talking. Mel as a character makes things interesting to others around him. He keeps things going, and going. Like I said before, he was strong to voice his opinion, it just did not make much sense.
Mel is loved by his friends and family, he is just a little out of hand, a little bold. I compared him to my friend, who I cannot stand to hang out with for more than a day without wanting him to disappear. I wonder if Mel’s family and friends feel the same way. Mabey Carver felt this way about someone. Mabey Carver was like Mel or ma bey Carver was completely against the way Mel is as a person. Nonetheless, Carver created Mel to get his theme across..
