Summary Of Sarah Cole A Type Of Love Story

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We live in a society that has increasingly demoralizes love, depicting it as cruel, superficial and full of complications. Nowadays it is easy for people to claim that they are in love, even when their actions say otherwise, and it is just as easy to claim that they are not when they indeed are. Real love is difficult to find and keeping it alive is even harder, especially when one must overcome their own anxieties and uncertainties to embrace its presence. This is the main theme depicted in Russell Banks’ short story “Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story,” as well as in Richard Bausch’s “The Fireman’s Wife.” These narratives, although similar in some ways, are completely different types of love stories. “Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story” is the tale of a young, handsome man who has an affair with, and ends up falling for, “the homeliest woman he has ever seen” but refuses to admit to others and himself that he loves her. The story seems to fit in any day and age, as well as any setting. From the moment we read the title, we know that the story is the tale of a dysfunctional romantic relationship, and the ensuing story does not disappoint. The main character, who is also the narrator, takes us on a journey to ten years prior, when he became involved with a woman named Sarah Cole. It is through the interchanging of first person and third person narration that we realize the reason behind Ron and Sarah’s failed relationship: vanity, shame, and insecurity. Throughout the story