Love

The word love is one that is hard to understand, and is quite often misused.  There are many ways you can define love, for example a dictionary definition, and a biblical definition from Corinthians.  The dictionary definition describes love to be a " strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties" as well as an "attraction based on a sexual desire".  Basically, the dictionary defines love as being physically and sexually attracted to someone, and that's it.  As for the Corinthians definition, it defines love mostly by what it is and is not; it goes to reason that when you love someone, you are forever patient and kind to them, no matter the circumstances, if they are to make a mistake, you will not hold it over their head continuously, you will forgive them.  Love is always optimistic and always keeps faith and hope in the other person, as well as in yourself.

These two definitions differ in a great way.  The dictionary definition is much less meaningful and written as you would define any other word in the English language.  I feel that this particular word is much more than an ordinary word, and should be used, treated, and defined as such.  The Corinthians version does it much more justice, by not just simply defining the word, but by giving it meaning.  It gives people who haven't had the feeling of love before a much better understanding of the word and of the feeling itself.

Personally, I like the biblical definition much better than the dictionary version.  Love is not an easy word to define, and is tossed around much too much.  Many people who used the word tend to question its true meaning, and this definition really helps you to understand it better.  I think it truly encompasses what someone in love, honestly and truly in love, would feel towards their partner, whether it would be a spouse, a boyfriend or a girlfriend.  It also doesn't just apply to a partner, but to family and friends as well; many of the things that love is that are given, you practice with them, too.

Metaphor Relationship

I think that a metaphor to describe my relationship with the person that I currently like can be compared to a race.  In some races, you have to work really hard at certain points in order to cover some ground.  At other points throughout, you can just coast along and enjoy it.  Then you have other races, where you don't have to work as hard, because you already know things are in your favor and that you will do well.  However, no matter what, you have to have confidence in yourself in those races, because if you can't believe in yourself and throw in the towl early, you're pretty much wasting your time, and everything will end in disappointment.

Checkouts Crush Comparison

In the short story "Checkouts", a bag boy at a grocery store embarrassingly drops a jar of mayonnaise in front of his crush, splattering it everywhere.  She thinks nothing of it, but nonetheless he is grief stricken for the rest of his shift.  As human beings, none of us are perfect, and will come to embarrass ourselves over and over again throughout our lives, particularly in front of people we are attracted to.  I can think of numerous times where I've done just this.  One time, I was hanging out with a guy that I'd liked for a while, and we were just sitting around, getting to know each other.  He asked me a question about a previous relationship, and not thinking I replied with a very stupid remark, however it sounded perfectly normal to me at the time.  He then proceeded to make fun of me the rest of the night, and I honestly could have died of embarrassment because of it!  As you can see, this compares to the story through the fact that the boy embarrassed himself awkwardly in front of his crush, and I then did the same thing, unknowingly.

The Most Dangerous Game & Modernism

     At the ending of the story, "The Most Dangerous Game", Rainsford gets his revenge on General Zaroff, by killing him.  Personally, I believe that this action was necessary for Rainsford to perform.  Although the General had already lost his "game" and was no longer in pursuit of Rainsford, he was still put through a lot by the deranged general.  In addition to feeling the need for revenge, I'm sure, he may have also been considering the fact that he wasn't the first man General Zaroff had hunted on this island, nor would he have been the last if he had lived.  Rainsford not only made sure that he himself was safe, but also prevented the same thing from happening to many others.
     The interpretation I have from this story, relates to my current understanding of the term "modernism" as well.  The entire game that is played between the men during the story, in addition to the ending where the general is murdered, only adds to the concept of modernism in which people are made aware of their mortality.  It shows that people can die at any time, through many ways.  Also, through the way the story is written, it seems that it was set in a a modernism setting; happening before World War II.  In a way, the fact that General Zaroff came up with his own "game", showed uniqueness in his art form; another concept of modernism.