Without Love a Marriage Cannot Work
Research Paper
Without Love a Marriage Cannot Work In the past when talking about marriages, more specifically arranged marriages your parents could force you to marry someone and you would stay in that marriage even if you were unhappy. As times are changing, more and more people are looking for that special one person that makes them so happy they want to spend the rest of their lives with them. For some people they get it right on the first try, but with others it takes some time after the marriage to realise that they made a mistake and quickly decide to separate or divorce their spouse. Other people just stop loving the person they married altogether and that is when the marital problems start. In the story, “The Gift of the Magi” (O. Henry 148-153) we are shown a really healthy marriage. It is obvious that Della and her husband Jim love each other very much, so much so that they are willing to sacrifice one thing each of them hold very dear to their heart so that they can get each other really nice Christmas presents. In the end of the story they discover since they both sacrificed their most treasured items in order to get a present for the other, their presents are useless. Even with useless presents, they still love each other very much and decide that they should keep their presents. Sylvia Felendler from NYU states that this story shows us, “Unselfish love shared,” by a young married couple. Even though they are young, and not wealthy all they need is each other. It takes a little bit of irony to make them realise that what they really need is not materialistic things, but each other’s love. Another example of a healthy marriage because of how much the husband and wife love each other so much is the story, “Marriage is a Private Affair”(Chinua Achebe 196-201). Nnameka is the main character who marries Nene against his farther, Okeke wishes. Okeke has picked a wife for his son unknowingly that his son already has decided who he wants to
Without Love a Marriage Cannot Work In the past when talking about marriages, more specifically arranged marriages your parents could force you to marry someone and you would stay in that marriage even if you were unhappy. As times are changing, more and more people are looking for that special one person that makes them so happy they want to spend the rest of their lives with them. For some people they get it right on the first try, but with others it takes some time after the marriage to realise that they made a mistake and quickly decide to separate or divorce their spouse. Other people just stop loving the person they married altogether and that is when the marital problems start. In the story, “The Gift of the Magi” (O. Henry 148-153) we are shown a really healthy marriage. It is obvious that Della and her husband Jim love each other very much, so much so that they are willing to sacrifice one thing each of them hold very dear to their heart so that they can get each other really nice Christmas presents. In the end of the story they discover since they both sacrificed their most treasured items in order to get a present for the other, their presents are useless. Even with useless presents, they still love each other very much and decide that they should keep their presents. Sylvia Felendler from NYU states that this story shows us, “Unselfish love shared,” by a young married couple. Even though they are young, and not wealthy all they need is each other. It takes a little bit of irony to make them realise that what they really need is not materialistic things, but each other’s love. Another example of a healthy marriage because of how much the husband and wife love each other so much is the story, “Marriage is a Private Affair”(Chinua Achebe 196-201). Nnameka is the main character who marries Nene against his farther, Okeke wishes. Okeke has picked a wife for his son unknowingly that his son already has decided who he wants to
Cited: "The Gift of the Magi Themes." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. The Gift of the Magi; Intro to Literature; Sylvia Felendler." The Gift of the Magi; Intro to Literature; Sylvia Felendler. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. O.Henry. “The Gift of the Magi.” Stories About Us Ed. Geri Dasgupta and Jenifer Jiang-hai Mei. Toronto: Nelson, 2005 147-153 Chinua Achebe. “Marriage Is A Private Affair.” Stories About Us Ed. Geri Dasgupta and Jenifer Jiang-hai Mei. Toronto: Nelson, 2005 147-153 'Marriage Is a Private Affair ' .Researchomatic. 9 , 2011. 9 , 2011 < http://www.researchomatic.com/essay/Marriage-Is-A-Private-Affair-82986.aspx >. Fredric Raphael. “Acute Triangle.” Stories About Us Ed. Geri Dasgupta and Jenifer Jiang-hai Mei. Toronto :Nelson, 2005 147-153