Poor Ol Jake Love In La Essay, Research Paper

Poor ol Jake

Love in LA a story by Dagoberto Gilb, provides a glimpse of a young mans superficial view of what is important in life. Jake the young man in the story, is so caught up in his dreams, he never takes the time to find out what is important in his life. His view of the world is very superficial. For example, when he is involved in an auto accident he is more concerned about deceiving a girl than being a responsible adult. Jake also wants the material things in life but wasn t willing to work to get them. Jake s situation is further complicated when his need to impress people, results in lies and deceit.

While daydreaming about fancy cars, FM radios, cruise control, mellow speakers and his certainty that he did not want to be involved in life s daily grind, his mind wanders from reality and he causes a car accident. Jake has no intention of being honest with the woman involved in the accident. His intention is to distract her from getting important insurance information so that he doesn t get caught. When she asks to see his driver s license his response is, One little problem, he said. I didn t bring it. I just forgot it this morning. I m a musician, he exaggerated greatly, and, well, I dunno, I left my wallet in my pants I was wearing last night. If you have some paper and a pen I will give you my address and all that. Jake knows ahead of time that he will give her a false name, address and telephone number. As Jake sits in his car, he must struggle with his mixed feelings, about whether or not he was more happy or sad about what just occurred.

Jake s desire in life to have the material things is complicated by the fact that he is not willing to work for them. Jake had no problem of thinking about sexy women in tequila ads or fancy perfumes but struggled greatly with the reality of how to acquire these material things. The problem for Jake is that he would have to change his whole lifestyle in order for these things to happen. As Jake sits stuck in traffic he questions how his life would be better if he maintained a steady job. He didn t really mind because he knew how much worse it could be trying to make a left onto the onramp. He certainly didn t do that everyday of his life, and he d assure anyone who d ask that he never would either. A steady occupation had its advantages and he couldn t deny thinking about that too. The quote illustrates, how Jake was stuck. He knows the answer to his problems is work but he can t commit to the responsibilities of having a daily job. When faced with this reality he retreats into his daydreams rather than doing the work.

While Jake is trying to figure a way out of his problem he begins to notice his attraction to Mariana. He realizes that if he continues to lie that he will never get the chance to get to know her and this makes him feel uneasy. When Jake gave Mariana the fake phone number he told her that he was an actor too. Jake hoped this would enhance the lie even more. So how about your phone number? He was rebounding maturely. She gave it to him. Mariana you are beautiful he said in his most sincere voice. Call me she said timidly. Jake beamed. Well see you Mariana he said while holding out his hand. Her hand felt so warm and soft he felt like he had been kissed. Back in his car he took a moment or two to feel both proud and sad at his performance . Jake was successful in deceiving Marianna but in deceiving her he lost any chance of them having a relationship.

Jake s morals and ethics are very distorted. His daydreaming has helped him to avoid dealing with the serious problems he has encountered in this story. Jake is more sad and concerned about not having a fancy car than breaking the law and dumping an expensive repair bill on an innocent woman. His obsession with material goods is a continuing obstacle in his journey to achieve his goals.