LOVE STORY

ERICH SEAGAL

Rising events:

Oliver wants to borrow a book at Radcliffe library when he meets Jenny. She works there and
helps him to find the book. Later they have coffee together and then Oliver invites her to come to
an ice-hockey game, he is playing. After the game Jenny is waiting for him and when Oliver sees
her he kisses her. Later on the telephone Oliver says that hes in love with her, but Jenny doesnt
reply.
For another ice-hockey match, Olivers father has driven a long way to see Oliver playing. After the
match they have dinner together, but as always Oliver found it difficult to communicate with his
father. His father wants him to go to law school or to join the Peace Corps, which is a programme in
which young people spend two years working in developing countries. Oliver has to think about it
and after he leaves the restaurant, he goes to see Jenny. She is on the telephone with someone
called Phil and says that she loves him. Oliver thinks that she is cheating on him, but later Phil
turns out to be her father. Oliver finds it difficult to understand how close they are, because his
relationship with his father is very different.
One afternoon Oliver and Jenny make love and later, when Jenny tells him that she got a chance to
study music in Paris, Oliver asks her to stay and to marry him.
Jenny says yes to him, so at one Sunday they go to see Olivers parents to tell them the news.
Jenny is very impressed with their big house and about the athletic career of Mr. Barrett. The
conversations are stiff and they all feel uncomfortable.
On the way home Jenny says that she thinks that Oliver not only loves her because of who she is,
but also because of her descent. And she says honestly that she also loves Oliver because of his
name and title. Oliver says that this statement is true and doesnt mind that she also loves him
only for his name.
When Oliver and his father have lunch together, Mr. Barrett tells Oliver that he is sure that Oliver
also wants to marry Jennifer to rebel against the family traditions. This is only because Jenny is a
poor girl. He says that if Oliver marries her before he finishes law school, he doesnt want to
support him financially anymore.
Oliver is afraid that his appointment with Jennys father wouldnt be a success either, because he is
now a poor man too, but it was the other way around. Her father is very kind and even asks Oliver
to call him Phil.
A few days after theyve received there B.A. degree they get married, despite Mr. Barretts wish.
The first three years of their marriage they have a little bit of money and they even work at their
honeymoon. Back home, Jenny starts to teach music and Oliver is studying for his law degree.
When they receive an invitation for Mr. Barretts sixtieth birthday Oliver doesnt want to go and
visits him. Jenny calls Mr. Barrett to tell him and before she hangs up she tells him that Oliver loves
him very much. Oliver is so mad about it and in all his anger he tells Jennifer to leave. At the same
moment that Jenny had disappeared he feels so stupid and goes to look for her. When he returns
home after a few hours he sees Jenny sitting on the steps leading to their front door. When he
wants to apologize, Jenny says: Love means not ever having to say youre sorry. And with those
words everything is forgotten.

Climax: Oliver and Jenny wanted to be parents. Already working and settled down in New
York they were ready to bring a baby to this world, they also had a name for one: Bozo.

After trying a couple of months they decided to see a doctor and check their probabilities of
delivering a baby. Dr. Sheppard was in charge of the examination and he informed Oliver
that Jennifer was the problem. She would never have a baby. In addition to that, she was
sick, she had a blood disease; Jenny was dying. This moment of the story we face and
discover a big conflict for the couple since all their dreams of becoming parents were
impossible. Now they would have to fight against the disease and the sadness of that.

Falling events:

One evening, when Jenny is playing piano, she suddenly stops and asked Oliver to bring her
to the hospital. Oliver asks the doctors to give her a private room and to give the very best
care. Money isnt important, he says. But it wasnt true. He hasnt enough money, so he
goes to his father and asks him to borrow him five thousand dollars for a very good reason.
Oliver doesnt tell him the reason, but his father gives him the money.
Now Oliver has to tell Phil that Jenny is in the hospital. Phil takes the news good and calmly
closes his door and goes to live with Oliver in their apartment. From now on their days
excited of visiting hours and doing nothing.
When they ae in the hospital again, Jenny asks Oliver to do her a favor and to hold her very
tight. Oliver did so and just after she thanks him, she dies in his arms.

Resolution: The story has a resolute ending since the reader understands what is the
resolution of it. The story ends when Oliver and his father are speaking outside the hospital.
Jenny dies, Phill decides to be alone and Oliver tries to do the same. Oliver the III wants to
help and feels sorry, however Ollie repeats Jennys words: Love means never have to say
sorry. Even though the chapter is called Strong men dont cry Oliver IV end up crying for
Jennifer and maybe for his father and his relationship with him. The reader understands that
after Jenny dies nothing else can happen. Phil and Oliver the IV feel alone and also Oliver III.

Deep Analysis

Setting in time and place: The story takes place in the 1960s in America. Oliver studies
at Harvard and Jenny at Radcliffe, which are both part of Harvard University in Cambridge, a
town near Boston, Massachusetts. Later on, when they married they moved to New York

City.
Characters:
Main:
Protagonist: Oliver Barrett IV, also called Ollie - Jennifer Cavilleri, also called Jenny
Antagonist: OLIVER IV: His pride // JENNY: Jennys blood disease.

ANTAGONIST:

PRIDE: Olivers pride affected him to build real bonds, except with Jenny. His
relationships were a problem for Ollie, especially with his family. He wanted to be
independent mostly because he wanted to sop being related to his father and his last
name. He sometimes overreacted to some situations where he rebelled acting as a
violent and aggressive person. He never said sorry to his parents and it was really hard
for him to accept that belonged to an important family in the country. He did not want
to be fooled by anyone.
BLOOD DISEASE: we never get to know what the details of her disease, but we
assume it was leukemia. Her goals and objectives in life, specially having a baby
become impossible to accomplish. She gives up everything to be with Ollie, however,
she wants to be a mother above all but at the end of the book she gets sick and all her
dreams end up going with her death.

Secondary: Oliver III, Phil Cavilleri,

Tertiary: Alison Forbes Barrett, also called Tipsy, is Olivers mother, Ray
Stratton.

MAIN CHARACTERS DESCRIPTION:

EMOTIONAL

PHYSICAL

General
information

JENNIFEL CAVILLERY

OLIVER BARRET

She was really

sarcastic and
ironic at the
moment of
meeting Oliver.
She was really
honest and direct.
She a determined
person who
wanted to
accomplish her
goals.
She was
intelligent and
humble.
She was not
interested in
social status or
money.
A very
sympathetic and
understanding
person.
She was very
independent and
hard working.
She seemed to be
strong but deep in
herself she was
emotional and
sensitive as every
woman.
She loved and
cared about the
people near her:
Phil and Oliver.
She desired a
family.
She tried to get on
well with
everyone.
She thought that
loving someone
does not mean
having to say
sorry.

She was
beautiful: she
had nice legs and
a nice smile.
She was brunet,
pale skin and
wore glasses.
She was tall and
slim.
She did not care
about clothes or
material things.

She was 25 at
the moment of
dying.
She was and
only child.
Her mother
was dead and
her father was
Phill Cavilleri.
She was born
in Craston,
Rhode Island.
She lives in a
dormitory and
then in New
York.
She graduated
from Radcliff
in Music.
She worked as
a teacher and
librarian.
She was
married to
Oliver Barret.
Her goals had
to do with:
graduate from
university, go
to Paris to
study music
with a teacher
there and
finally to be a
mother.
She loved
playing pianos.
She died at the
age of 25 from
a blood
disease.

He was proud and He had curly and He was 23 at

blonde hair.
the moment of
arrogant.
He had blue eyes
He was very
Jenny dying.
He was and
and a big nose.

jealous of Jenny.
He felt insecure
most of the time,
especially with his
father.
He felt inferior and
pushed by his
family to be
successful in
everything.
He felt pressured
by the reputation
of his father.
He was distracted
and fool
sometimes.
He overreacted to
every
conversation with
his father.
He rebelled
against his family
s pressure by
studying, working
and pushing
harder.
He wanted to be
independent of his
family.
He loved Jenny.
He felt ashamed
by the importance
of his last name.
He was pretty shy.
At some point he
was worried about
his social status.
He reacted in a
violent and
desperate way
under pressure.
He was really
emotional and
sensitive too,
especially with
everything
happening to
Jenny.

He was fit
only child.
His mother
because he
was Tipsy and
played hockey.
He was white.
Oliver the III.
He was born in
He wore only
Massachusetts
formal clothes.
He seemed to be
.

He lives in a
good looking.
dorm and then
in New York.
He graduated
from Harvard
in law. He
became a
great and
famous lawyer
He worked at
the firm Jonas
and Marsh.
He married
Jenny.
His goals had
to do with:
graduate from
University and
become
independent.
Be successful
in everything
and have
money. And
marry and
have a baby
with Jenny.
He was a
hockey player.

Conflict: OLIVER III AND OLIVER IVS RELATIONSHIP:

Actually the Barret family has been a very important family in the country. Since all the men
in the Barret generation has been good at everything, rich, important, successful, popular
and well known, Oliver the fourth generation is almost pushed to respect and follow that
line. This pressure over Oliver makes him feel upset and frustrated therefore they, Oliver III
and Oliver IV have a bad and poor relationship. Ollie wants to emancipate from this, he want
to be himself and not feel obligated to be like his father. Old Stonyface is not very
communicative and they never had the relationship they should have. Ollie feels this
pressure all along the book and he fights against it. He even has problems with Jenny
because he cant stop being proud and fix the relationship with his family.

Symbols:
o

Money: it represents solution and problems. A solution because most of the difficulty
the characters have are fixed with money, or at least they try to fix the situations
with money. It is also problems, because Jenny and Oliver are from social status really
different, he is rich and she is poor, that make them have problems sometimes, and
also Olivers father feels that Jenny is not good enough for Ollie.
Last Names: it represents the difference between Oliver and Jennifer. They belong
to different social status. They grew up homes where the most important things were
opposite. They want to be together but sometimes they face their goals in life, or
background and their last names determine who they are and where they come from.