Dissecting T.C. Boyle’s “The Love of My Life”
China and Jeremy are two young people eager to attend prestigious colleges of Brown and Binghamton and to have a bright and hopeful future. Seemingly, their fates were destined to be great, and just like ordinary human beings, they were attracted to each other and fell in love. Boyle uses these two characters in his book to show how slight mistakes can turn a seamless love life into a nightmare overnight. China and Jeremy are in a very positive frame of mind, and the relationship is in a very vibrant, positive energy. Still, as the story unfolds, it deviates to a gloomy and confusing mood. The short story portrays the irresponsibility of a couple and unwanted pregnancy.
China and Jeremy were madly in love and were inseparable. The author describes their affection sharply when he states that “they wore each other like socks.” Essentially, this description of the characters is unyielding with detailed imagery and resonates with the readers since all have had the same experience (Sadoski et al., pp 23). The two characters were always together, and the author lists down the things they did together, such as going to the mall, to the game, movies, shops, and classes (Boyle). In particular, this shows how much the two loved each other as they conducted most of their activities together. From the story, Boyle narrates the love story of Jeremy and China and how their lives were changed once they were expecting a baby. In essence, this sets the tone of the narrative. Notably, in spring, the two love birds engage in unprotected sex, and during fall, China discovers she is pregnant with Jeremy’s baby. Being young, both are scared and do not know what to do. Importantly, their relationship starts to change as both of them become reserved and are afraid of the decisions to make regarding the pregnancy.
The author, with his mastery of language, can create a noteworthy mood throughout the story. In the beginning, he depicts the characters who are deeply in love being ready to die for each other. Jeremy and China do not comprehend the ignorance of people getting unwanted pregnancies. The couple described them as “breeders overpopulating an already overpopulated world and messing their lives in the process” (Boyle). However, they were a self-confident couple and focused on meeting their goals in life. Thus, it could be supposed that total darkness set in the lives of them both after realizing that China was expectant.
China lived a life of self-denial and deception wearing oversized clothes and telling herself that it was reasonable to gain weight like everyone else. Instead of sharing with others and seeking professional advice, the couple decided to keep it a secret. Notably, although they were determined to succeed with their plans, they were afraid of society’s reaction. A short time ago, they had called others in the same circumstances’ breeders. Jeremy still loves China despite the situation they find themselves in. However, he tells her to procure an abortion. China does not want to share this with anyone except Jeremy; the love birds start arguments that were not common in their love life before.
Previously, Boyle had depicted Jeremy and China inseparable as they did everything together. Imagery impacts how the story is interpreted: “They wore each other like a pair of socks…’ You told me to get rid of it'”. In particular, Boyle uses this stylistic device to allow the audience to relate to the story for more natural understanding. Combining imagery and symbolism in the story makes it more interesting. For instance, the author employs symbolism to add a cultural history: “They would not let China see Jeremy…as if she were Heidi Fleiss or Monika Lewinsky.”
To keep it a secret, the couple goes out and rents a motel room where China delivers a baby girl with only Jeremy as the attendant. The bed is nothing but a birthing table for the ‘problem’ that China has carried for nine months. In a chilling voice, China tells Jeremy to get rid of “it.” Boyle uses imagery to show how the couple had no regard for the baby. Moreover, when China asked Jeremy whether he still loved her, he answered positively, though with a hesitant shaky voice (Bessey & Donata pp 29). In a somber tone, the author shows a dark and gloomy situation where these young parents selfishly and without any hesitation, kill an innocent baby just to ‘go on with their lives.’ At this point in the story, the audience has a feeling that the love between them is fading (Bessey & Donata, pp 29). Having said he still loved her, Jeremy agrees to get rid of the baby by wrapping it in a plastic bag, calling it a mass of meat and throwing in a garbage bin and closing the lid (Boyle).
With the help of these characters, Boyle demonstrates how infatuation and irresponsibility could lead people to make wrong decisions in life. After investigations, Jeremy and China are arrested and charged with first-degree murder of the infant. Jeremy is determined to deny it all, but his love for China claims that he was part of the abortion plan. China tries to convince the court that she was ignorant of the crime and that it was Jeremy who did the murder and disposal of the baby (Boyle). Here, the author meticulously brings out a situation of love lost on the part of China that she could point an accusing finger on Jeremy just to save herself.
As the story develops, one cannot fail to realize a situation where parental guidance is missing. In most cases, Jeremy and China engage in adventures without informing their parents. Again, the parents are ignorant as they do not get involved in activities carried out by their children. As role models, they were oblivious, especially Jeremy’s mother, who portrays a bad example by having sexual relations with a man she is not married to. Therefore, she lacked the moral authority to tell Jeremy, her son, what was right to do (Boyle). Notably, this describes what is happening in our society today, where the youth have no role models to look up to.
Boyle concludes the story with Jeremy sitting in his room trying to relieve the scenes and trying to remember his love China, but what vaguely comes back to his mind is the baby that they murdered. With his mastery of the language, Boyle uses imagery to take the reader to the scene with Jeremy when he writes, “…Only then did he think of that thing in the garbage sack and the sound it made when he flung it into the dumpster like a sack of flour, and the lid slammed down on it…” (Boyle). China, on her part, remembers the first time and occasions they shared together with Jeremy. From the prison cells, she asks to see her Jeremy. Notably, she still loves him despite what they had been through.
In conclusion, the tone, language devices, and central idea in Boyle’s story reflect the love and the crime done by Jeremy and China. A somber tone warns the reader of the gloom to come. Symbolism assigns multiple meanings to the characters and settings. Importantly, Boyle employs a lot of imagery to allow readers to connect their minds to the story. Ultimately, with metaphors, the readers can attach effectively with the narrative.
Works Cited
Bessey, Donata. “Love Actually? Dissecting the Marriage-Happiness Relationship.” Asian Economic Journal, vol. 29, no. 1, Mar. 2015, pp. 21–39, 10.1111/asej.12045.
Boyle, T. “The Love of My Life.” The New Yorker, 6 March 2000, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/03/06/the-love-of-my-life. Accessed 4 December 2016.
Sadoski, Mark, and Allan Paivio. Imagery and Text: A Dual Coding Theory of Reading and Writing. Routledge, 2013.