What We Talks About When We Talk About Love Summary

In both “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” and “Champion of the World”, the act of winning is symbolic of what type of philosophy is considered accurate however, “Champion of the World focuses the collective perception on racism while “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” focuses on an individual perception on love.
“Champion of the World” delves into the emotions present in the African American community during a boxing match between Joe Louis and his contender. Here, the boxing match is symbolic of how African Americans put up a fight against racial discrimination and dehumanization where Joe Louis represents the fight for equal rights while his contender, a white man, represents the racial bias present in America during

In the beginning of the story, Terri asserts that her physically abusive ex-husband, Ed, “loved her so much that he tried to kill [her]” while her current husband, Mel, argues that “whatever it was, it wasn’t love.” Here, Terri tries to explain to the audience that love can be expressed in numerous different ways, even in ways that could hurt someone. She makes it clear that while Ed committed suicide, threatened to kill Mel, and beat her, his form of love is not any less valid even though the relationship failed. Next, Mel talks to Nick and Laura, a happily married couple, on how Nick and Laura also previously loved other people and how those people are now just a memory. Mel then continues on to explain his narrative regarding love. He tells the story of his ex-wife, Marjorie, and how he loved her but now he hates her guts after divorcing her. Mel’s view towards love compels the audience to question if love has a time limit or if it is something that is, by definition, supposed to be infinite. This view challenges society’s outlook on love and how society often believes that love must be forever in order to be true. These narratives from both Terri and Mel show that there is no clear winner in love, even on the instances of failed relationships, meaning that there is no one clear formulation or