Reading Selections for Essay #1: Comparative Analysis

We are told in the classic 1955 song that “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.” According to Oxford Languages, when something is “many-splendored,” it is full of magnificent features or marvels. That definition could certainly pertain to all sorts of love—but are those “magnificent features or marvels” always positive? Can two people in similar situations have vastly different feelings where love is concerned? Clearly, love is complicated; it is also a concept pervasive throughout time and across cultures. Many, many authors have tried to understand this concept that affects all of us by writing pieces that explore love in detail. We will be reading three such tales: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, “EPICAC” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver. As you will see, each of these will provide a very different picture of what it means to love someone, and to be loved in return.