CoNjOiNeD

Ryan Jones
4-6-10
Conjoined and A Valediction
Marriage always tends to be a difficult task that possesses its ups and downs. Whether it may be the beginning of a new relationship or a marriage that seems like an eternity, challenges are always something that is to be faced. In Conjoined, by Judith Minty, and A Valediction, by John Donne, love becomes an emotion that can easily be taken granite for and heavily misinterpreted.
In Conjoined, Minty brings in the metaphor of “The onion in my cupboard, a monster, actually two joined under one transparent skin:…” The shows the cruel reality of ho a relationship is and how the two partners are often able to see right through each other and they become monsters towards one another. They begin to form a bond and eventually become rather comfortable around each individual and perhaps “used to” therefore not allowing them to feel the love that they once had when they were wed from the beginning. Minty also eludes the lines “Ah, but men don’t slice onions in the kitchen, seldom see what is invisible. We cannot escape each other.” This line insist that humans as individuals are selfish and they will do whatever they need in order to get the object that they desire. We are only to see the imperfections rather than the things that make us into one perfect image as an individual ourselves. Therefore in the end, it makes it impossible for one to flee, for we are engulfed in our own wants and the love in the relationship begins to slowly deteriorate.
In A Valediction, Donne brings about the lines “Dull sublunary lovers’ love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elements it.” Love is an emotion that people often take for granite. What people do not realize is that once they give their life to someone by asking their hand in marriage, they are giving their life to someone! Nowadays, marriage is also something that people take for granite. Divorce is a common thing and people believe that it is no big deal thinking they can get married and divorced and then go through life picking spouses as if they are picking candy from a candy store. However, if someone does stay in a relationship, and it brings them trials that they have to face and the love seems to be lost, they usually realize how great their love was for that one special person as they are mourning looking over them in their grave realizing what they have just lost. Donne also says that “As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixt foot, makes no show To move, but doth if th’other do.” Love can also bring about its directions and misdirection’s. Some spouses are lead to do what they do not want to do, however, they feel a connection and if it is what the other wants then it can very easily be made possible. On the contrary, love can guide people to a wonderful place and can create a sense of security and belonging that everyone needs to experience in his or her life.
Love is an emotion that people have begun to toy around with and lose track of what is really means. People find it an emotion that is very easy to abuse and they are willing to take full effect on that power that society has given everyone. Love is an emotion that is often not experienced until something is lost or betrayed. In the end, love is something that should not be messed around with and it is something that should be cherished for it does not come in everyone’s life.