Love and Obstacles

In the story Love and Obstacles we talked at length about the symbolic connection the author was trying to make between the teenager trying to lose his virginity, and the idea of war and independence in the region of Yugoslavia. At first when I read the story, I was thinking to myself "Why am I reading about a boy trying to lose his virginity?" but as I continued to read I started to pick up the subtle connections between the teenager's journey and the region's journey. I think also maybe what the author was trying to do, was to show the absurdity of life and war. For instance one day all the kid can think about is sex and his desires, and then a war or conflict comes about and all of that changes in an instant. Similarly the author does this with the freezer at the end of the story. He shows how at one time a freezer maybe so important and then the next minute it is useless.

Here is an article showing the absurdity of war in different movies and films
http://arashworld.blogspot.com/2011/04/symbols-revealing-absurdity-of-war-in.html