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1、 Character Analysis of Dobie Gillis in “Love Is a Fallacy”“Love Is a Fallacy” is a story written by Max Shulman, an American writer popular in the third quarter of the 20th century. In this story the author created a successful character Dobie Gillis, which makes Shulman a distinguished writer of sh
2、ort stories. As the narrator of the story, Dobie firstly describes himself as an intelligent and logical person. However, the analysis of the whole story demonstrates his image more clearly and objectively. This essay focuses on the character analysis of Dobie through his language and behavior. Firs
3、t, Dobie is a self-conceited person. At the beginning of the story, Dobie firstly describes himself. “Cool am I and logical. Keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute - I am all of these. My brain is as powerful as a dynamo, precise as a chemists scales, as penetrating as a scalpel. And - think of it!
4、 - I am only eighteen” (Zhang, P.67). Dobie uses many commentary words to praise himself as an intelligent and smart person. However, the images of the other two characters are described in a totally different direction. Dobie doesnt use commentary words on his roommate Petey Burch and Polly Espy wh
5、om he likes. He describes Petey Burch as a “faddist and nothing upstairs” (Zhang, P.68) and described Polly Espy as “beautiful but not smarten enough” (Zhang, P.69) who needs Dobies guidance. However, afterwards the girl not smarten enough refutes his proposal using the fallacies he teaches her. And
6、 the roommate “nothing upstairs” (Zhang, P.68) wins the girls love by a raccoon coat that Dobie scorns while the smart Dobie gets nothing. Dobie claims himself as a logical and perspicacious person, but it proves to be that he has much prejudice on and despise of the other two characters. Its eviden
7、t that Dobie is a self-centered person exaggerating his own merits and the others demerits.Second, Dobie is a ridiculous and self-contradictive person. Love is the most divine and beautiful affection on earth. However, Dobie takes it as a qualification for being a lawyer in the future. “The successf
8、ul lawyers I have observed are, almost without exception, marry to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omission, Polly fits these specifications perfectly.” (Zhang, P.70). He emphasizes many times that his desire for Polly is not emotional in the nature. But after teaching fallacies to
9、Polly, he falls in love with this girl and determines to tell her. “It must be thought that I am without love with this girl. Quiet the contrary” (Zhang, P.82). Dobie has a ridiculous view of love and denies his own description of himself, which makes him a self-contradictive person.Third, Dobie is
10、an emotional person and not that reasonable and cool as he thinks. After spending one night teaching Polly fallacy, he wants to discard the intention to enlighten that stupid girl. Though he abandons that idea after reconsideration, he reveals his disgusted emotions in the conversations with Polly.
11、Originally, Dobie “hides his exasperation” (Zhang, P.75) but gradually he loses control on his emotions. First, he feels desperate, and then his says sharply and sighs deeply. At last he is frowned by the teaching process. Actually the Pollys progresses on the Fallacies prove that she is an intellig
12、ent girl. Therefore, it can be concluded from this process that Dobie is an emotional person and not that reasonable as he thinks.In conclusion, Dobie Gillis in “Love Is a Fallacy” is a self-conceited, self-contradictive ridiculous and emotional person. Though Dobie praises himself with his characte
13、ristics of being logical and perspicacious at the beginning, the whole story give a real demonstration of his characteristics. Moreover he neglects an important fact that love is a kind of emotion which is not controlled by logic or reasons. That is also the reason he loses the girls love in the sto
14、ry. Love is a Fallacy by Max ShulmanA literary analysis of the short story Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman.Written in 2005; 675 words; 0 sources; Paper Summary:In this paper, the clever finality of this story which Shulman imparts on the narrator is that Polly has actually been trained well enough
15、to actually refute the very man trying to impose his authority over her. According to this paper, all of the logic that has been taught to her is now used against the narrator, as Polly logically breaks down his sexism through the logic she has come to learn.From the Paper:In this literary study the
16、 short story Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman will be analyzed. By critically pointing out the sexist nature of the narrator of the tale, Shulman uses arguments based on logic. However, the narrators inability to realize his own hypocrisy in gaining a trophy wife through treachery and guise devolves his misogynist actions and behaviors. In essence, Love is a Fallacy uses hypocrisy, sexism and
