Wednesday 19 March 2014

Saira's Speculating Mind: Love Triangles



Love triangles! We see them in movies, books and real life but I’m going to be talking about the ones in literature. The ones that we see splattered across our pages as we read a newly bought book. I’m not just on about the love triangles where there’s that one person who trying to date two other people and is trying to keep it all a secret. I’m on about all kind of different love triangles. 

I think we can pretty much find love triangles in most books both old and new. Whether they be the main point in the plot of just a side plot to make the story that little bit more interesting. But are they overrated or are we still finding that we are clinging on to every single word being written? 

There tends to be a typical love triangle of the girl’s best friend being in love with her but she’s going out with someone else and that guy hurts her and she ends up falling into the arms of her hero… who is none other than her best friend. Are we tending to find these plot line boring though? There are a countless amount of books that I have read where this is somewhere in the plot and it tends to just be too predictable now. You know what happens. You know the author will make you fall in love with the “other guy” but still make you want to root for the best friend, knowing that he’s going to be the one who ends up with the girl. 

That’s what’s different with The Hunger Games though. Instead of Katniss ending up with Gale, the boy that she’s known for years and is in love with her – she ends up with the “other guy”. The one who’s been watching her from a far and has never spoken to her but still knows so much about her (that does sound slightly stalkerish though…). Her hero isn’t Gale, it’s Peeta. He’s the one that fixes her and they are the ones who help each other out after the aftermath of everything. 

For some people though, love triangles are the one thing that leave us clinging to the book for hours to make sure that our pairing does end up together. Is that the problem though? Do we spend too much time focusing on the love aspect of the book instead of the plot? Or is that what the author wanted us to do in the first place? 

Personally, I feel like sometimes a really well thought out plot can be overshadowed by a love triangle. It takes away from what’s going on and I’m often left in conversations with people who are just taking about the love triangle. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind talking about love triangles but there’s so much more going on in the plot as well. 

A love triangle can often add to the plot though, it help it develop and can help the character develop. But it seems as though love triangles in books are starting to lose my affection. I don’t mind them being there and I’m don’t mind reading about them. What I am finding though is that I want to read more about the plot, I want to be able to delve into the thick nitty gritty parts of the plot, without someone having to being battling with the feelings about which person they like. 

As much as I like love triangles, I do think that they can be slightly overrated and I could survive a book that didn’t have one in. However, when they are executed well and are not the main point in a story that isn't of the romance I don't mind them being there.

What about you? Are you still in love with love triangles? Or ready to break up with them? 



*Image of Katniss, Peeta and Gale taken from Google 



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