Toni Morrison's "Love"

Toni Morrison doesn't define love in this book because there is no one simple definition. She shows her readers all the aspects of love; how it can be pleasant and how it can be poisonous. Morrison has characters who are seductive and passionate because of love, and others who are broken-hearted and bitter from the most complex human emotion. I find it fascinating how she incorporates all these different forms of love and how it can affect individuals. People are driven by it; everybody wants it, but some throw it away when they really want to protect it.

One way she depicts desire is with a young lustful couple who are obsessed with each other. They're constantly on each other's minds; practically always sexually. They thrive off passion and security. Their desires make them happy. But there is another example of desire littered throughout the story-- the relationship between Heed and Christine. Both constantly want to have the full attention of Bill Cosey. Fighting for the desire to be his "lil Cosey child." This desire eventually drives them insane not knowing who which one he was referring to on his will. Formerly best friends, this desire drives them apart; creates tension and anger; almost death.

Race plays a huge role in the plot. Morrison takes the reader back in history to show what it was like being an African American in a time period when civil rights movement was occuring. And in this time period, Bill Cosey marries an eleven-year-old girl, Heed, when he is in his fifties. I don't know if this was a normal occurence back then, but I think Morrison wrote the story like this to show how he stole her innocence and how "love" was thought of at such a young age-- so oblivious.

This book took me through a tour of love, as if I was walking around in a love grocery store looking at all the different brands that are out there. Some I could relate to, others I couldn't even imagine. I think the point of her book was to show what such a strong emotion can do to your life and how it controls you, and in this case how long it can affect you even if the person is dead and gone.