Analysis Of Sarah Cole: A Type Of Love Story

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The unceasing question of what defines love continually inspires writers to share their perceptions with their audience. Throughout our childhood we are naturally inclined to believe and expect what media depicts for us. Disney movies such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White all follow the standard plot of a beautiful girl and a handsome young man falling in love without any complexity to their relationship. Their newly discovered love for one another forms quite simply throughout the movie and then they live happily ever after. As we mature, our innocence fades and the naïve perception of love slowly begins to be disassembled as we are brought into reality. Simply observing our own parents’ relationship can prove that love does …show more content…

Russell Banks’ “Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story” is definitely not what a reader would expect upon reading the title. This story does not contain all elements of a cliché romance and the finale is shocking and unexpected. Banks, in his authorial role, sought to surprise and make the audience uncomfortable by a rare, unforeseen romance. He creates a dichotomy between his two main characters Sarah and Ron. Ron is a young, extremely handsome man and Sarah is slightly older and extremely unattractive. Even though in our hearts we know that physical beauty does not have to be the basis for attraction, our heads tell us that there is no possible way that Ron and Sarah will end up falling in love. “A Type of Love Story” illustrates that love is not based solely on physical beauty and strives to break the stereotypical image of what love and a normal couple looks …show more content…

Years after his disconnection with Sarah, he ran into one of her coworkers who told him that she had gotten back together with her abusive husband. The coworker commented on the odd nature of their relationship and began to degrade Sarah. Ron stands up for his past relationship with Sarah, “Well… I loved her.” Ron was only able to admit his love for her once they were no longer involved. His true love for her is further solidified by the fact that it would have been easier for him to joke along with Sarah’s old coworker. Instead, Ron is sincere and firm in his feelings. Running into this situation caused Ron’s memories of Sarah to stir up in his heart. For the first time, he feels the absence of Sarah and can say for sure that he loved her, “In that way I learned that I truly did love her…I have begun to grieve over her death, to wish her alive again, so that I can say to her the things I could not know or say when she was alive, when I did not know that I loved

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