Judith Ortiz Coffer Lessons Of Love Summary

Love, Lust and Obsession The short story Lessons of Love by Judith Ortiz Coffer is about falling in love too quickly and the painful aftermath that follows when being infatuated with someone who does reciprocate the love. Through the use of an allusion, hyperbole and simile, Coffer shows that the protagonist of her short story is not truly in love but is obsessed with the boy. Firstly, Judith Ortiz Coffer uses a simile to show that the protagonist is obsessed with the boy because the young Puerto Rican girl compares the boy she loves to a movie star. The girl says, “He looked extraordinary like a young Marlon Brando- down to the little ironic smile.” The young girl compares the boy she loves to Marlon Brando, an extremely attractive movie

If he was not physically attractive she would not have even noticed the boy. However since he looked like a “young Marlon Brando” she became infatuated with his appearance and therefore becomes obsessed with him. Subsequently, the girl reveals that she is obsessed with the boy through the use of an allusion. Mecca is the Holy City of Islam. All Muslims must travel there during their lifetimes to fulfill a special sacrament. Mecca is a very important place because it is the birthplace of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The girls says, “I felt like a pilgrim waiting for a glimpse of Mecca.” The girl uses this allusion to show that she felt like an eager Muslim to see a sacred city belonging to their god, when she wanted to see the boy. She is putting the boy she loves above the place of god and she is comparing him to such a sacred place in the Islam religion. When refers to the boy as a god and puts him before god she is so enchanted by his looks that she is obsessed with this boy and is overtaken by him, through love. Furthermore, the protagonist exaggerates the way she feels because the feeling of obsession has consumed her. This is revealed through the use of hyperbole when she says, “I remember that he did