Hmmm...current events you say? I'm not sure if this fits exactly, but as I was reading "What We Talk About..." I could not shake the image of Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan standing in front of a judge. Hassan was the man recently convicted of stabbing his wife to death, a murder that culminating with Hassan beheading the woman he once claimed to love. I feel the question raised in "What We Talk About..." is an interesting one, and I can picture my friends and I debating the same thing over a few drinks. The intense violence of Hassan's actions, and the vehement defense that he was merely defending himself were the talk of Buffalo the last couple months. Hassan claimed his wife had a history of verbal abuse and the stabbing was last stand. He claimed he was the victim. Whether this mad man's story has any validity is not important. The characters in Carver's story recount details of past abusive relationships and question whether they exhibited true love or not, despite the presence of violence. Terri talks of how her ex, Edward, used to beat on her, yet she felt he loved her still. "Sure, it's abnormal in most people's eyes. But he was willing to die for it. He did die for it" (313). Her husband Mel can't fathom this, and the table continues their discussion. I can't seem to decide whether Hussan is Terri or Edward in this case...I guess it depends on whether his story is true (thus contradicting my earlier statement). All in all though, Carver asks us to ponder whether love can exist in the face of violence. Can we hurt those that we claim we love? When you say you love someone, is that love forfeited the moment we lay a hand on him or her? Interesting ideas to think about, and I like that it is brought up in such a quaint setting. It's an intense philosophical question taking place in the suburban home of a doctor with a couple bottles of gin. It's almost appropriate. As if Carver is saying that the debate is not only for the defunct and tragic stories we hear secondhand, but it is something we can examine in our own lifetime (god forbid).
I included an article about the Hassan story, in case anyone is not familiar...
http://www.buffalonews.com/topics/mo-hassan/
I also am super lame and decided to include the Eminem video for "Love the Way You Lie," which depicts a couple struggling with the violence/love dichotomy. Sometimes the most passionate relationships can't contain their fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U
Really, really like your connections to "what we talk about..." I've talked with several people about the Hassan case, and even if he is crazy, you're right in that in raises the question, can you love someone if you abuse them, or even kill them? Seems a silly question, but I know that high schoolers can relate to this question. If not with a crazy bf or gf, then some with their own parents.
ReplyDeleteMy wife thinks that Eminem song is terrible and gives women a terrible standard to look to, but again, an excellent and timely video to have students debate. I guess I should really start watching mtv. Hmmm, that'll be tough.
I think there's so much hinting at more violence or at least unsettledness in this story. I really started to get worried for Mel and Terri. While they really are probably in love, it seems to have some major flaws. (of course what relationship doesn't)