Short Story Love In L. A. By Dagoberto Gilb

June 1, 2011
“Love in L.A.” by Dagoberto Gilb

Selfish, deceitful people exist throughout America. Yet, from reading the short story “Love in L.A.” the rest of America would probably view the way the city promotes it’s lifestyle as disoriented. The story is centered on a man born a raised in the city of L.A. rear ending a young woman, but lying to her about every facet of his life. Reading the story you would know that it is not about love as its title states but about how everyday people lead their daily lives, using trickery, schemes, and lies to get what they want, how they want it, by any means necessary. Stereotypes of the city drive this whole story. L.A. is an extremely fast paced and callous city. The city as a whole is superficial
The fact the collision took place on a crowded highway during rush hour tells us that during this particular time of day people are in a haste to get to their destinations neglecting the feelings and safety of anyone else. This is one of the main reasons why we experience and witness the amount of road rage, and hostility in many drives. Many intimate relationships stem from moving at such a quick pace and lacking compassion. This is why the situation is more than just a situation. Jake and Mariana fit the typical stereotype of how almost every male and female in L.A..He’s infatuated with himself and she’s trying to make it in an over inflated city working a nine to five still depending on the help of her father like many people in
Controlling his behavior displaying a false persona incorporated with many false tales Jake pretends to be concerned about rectifying the situation. The story clearly points out how shallow the people of this city can be in when the stated while talking to the accident victim, Jake straightened out his less than new but unhip clothing, all while trying to straighten up the mess in which he had gotten his self into. Jake is truly displaying how those in L.A. totally lack any concern for others focusing only on themselves and how they look. This act is merely saying that those residing in L.A. are conceited, selfish and have little or no respect for others. While on the other accord the victim of this accident Mariana is portrayed as a sort of dumb blonde with limited knowledge. One example of her as being naïve was when she pretty much believed almost every lie that was being handed to her out of Jakes mouth. When Jake tells her that he has stared in several movies and is a musician, Mariana starts to smile as if a she is a groupie, then she tells him to call her before she pulls off. Her lack of inexperience can be due to the fact that she is not from the United States, as many of the women living in L.A are and in a sense slow to the new surroundings. Migrating to a big city like Los Angeles can be over bearing. It has to be even harder coming from a background where