In the short story "Love in L.A." by Dagoberto Gilb, the main characters Jake and Mariana seemingly have a "love at first sight" reaction upon the first look. However, their interaction isn't as lovely as it may seem since they dance around the idea of possibly meeting up following their interaction, but are undeniably wary of one another. Love in L.A. is a perfect metaphor for modern-day romance because it highlights surface-level attraction and shared suspicion paired with deception. To begin, “Love in L.A.” details Jake’s casual flirting with Mariana after their accident, exemplifying the stereotypical first love encounter. Jake is drawn to Mariana due to her attractiveness and attempts conversation with a: “.how you doing? Any damage to …show more content…
This one-sided surface-level attraction described at this moment is similar to modern-day love, as most “relationships” are superficial, where physical appearances take the pedestal over genuine human connection. Mariana reacts to his attempts and responds in short sentences like: “Thanks, but I really can’t,” “I don’t eat breakfast,” or “I have to get to work,” embodying her disinterest and how her feelings aren’t as strong (page 257). This baseless flirting and emphasis on only appreciating physical attributes begins the argument that Love in L.A. is a perfect metaphor for modern love, with deception and untrustworthiness coming hand in hand as well. Furthermore, Jake and Mariana both demonstrate selfishness and engage in deceptive tactics to serve their interests and motives. This use of deception and manipulation to appease their interests without taking into account the other person is a common issue in relationships today. Keeping this in mind, Jake tries gassing himself up to get away with hitting or paying for Mariana’s car by saying: “I’m a musician,” as well as “I act too.Been in a couple of movies,” trying to make himself out as a hot commodity, maybe even attempting to distract her from the collusion, showing his deception (page