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064 – Thursday, Shift 2 – Group 5

REFLECTION
“There are all kinds of love in the world, but never the same love twice”.
When I first read through The Sensible Thing, my eyes were on the verge of bursting into
waterfalls of crystal tears. The beautiful story details the tragic loss of once innocent love,
but reborn as a mature, deep passion at the end. George O’Kelly, fresh-off-the-boat
construction engineer graduate, was encased in a boring accounting job when he was
broken free by the “nervous” cries in ink sent by his lover. Granted a permanent vacation
by his old firm, he merrily boarded the train to Massachusetts to reunite with her. Before
long, their tangling embrace and emotional kiss were cut short by signs of jealousy from
George, as he is introduced to very close, incredibly wealthy fellows of Jonquil, his bride-
to-be. His desperation resulted in him becoming a snake-oil salesman, advertising a
falsified prosperous career to her family to push for the marriage approval. Jonquil, well-
aware of his antics, confronted him whether he was truly “ready to marry” her yet.
George accused his own lover of infidelity and materialism, causing them to fall out.
Even though they reconciled somewhat, there was already distance between their hearts,
but George promised to meet again when he was truly ready. For nearly a year later,
George has achieved the position of his dreams, and was now more than capable of
answering Jonquil. However, her response to him was nothing short of a cold shoulder,
and when they finally met again, it was as if they were strangers, even in “the enchanted
chamber where he has passed those poignant hours”, which has since lost its magic. After
a small adventure in the chrysanthemums garden, however, something, no, some feeling,
had crossed their minds once more, but they both knew that the chance had long passed.
It was when George was about to leave that he asked to be held in Jonquil’s embrace one
last time. “A shock of emotion” overcame them, and by some romantic magic, their lips
found their ways together again. The story utilized the booming setting of the Jazz 20s to
condemn the notion of pursuing the “American Dream”, a perfect future, in exchange for
the most precious thing in life, that is love. “Money cannot buy happiness” is clearly
portrayed by Fitzgerald, before, it was the invisible hand that denied our couple from an
early happy ending, and even almost prevented their reunion after. “Love conquers all” is
also a prominent theme, as even after such a lengthy period of separation, when Jonquil’s
well of emotions had seemingly dried up with the spring of youth, the blossoming of new
love still managed to fertilize the deserted soil. In some ways, this new love of theirs was
like that of their extinguished one, burning fiercely and passionately, but in many ways, it
now has a profound meaning and purpose, and this time will not be so easily separated
again.
 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Do you think that the end of the story was reasonable? Why/ why not?
Love is precious, as it is fragile; one wrong move and the heart would start to
crack, leaving the ones in the game skating on thin ice. Long-distance love was, and still
is, a prophet for the demise of relations. Coupled with a lengthy 10 months, even the
depth of Jonquil’s love could not hold itself against the drought of affection. There was
nothing George could do to win her back, besides holding on for a miracle; and a
miraculously satisfying ending he did receive. Before the ending, it had seemed like we
had no hope left for our distant couple, now mature at the cost of their youthful passion,
as George prepares to leave the “the room which had seen the beginning of their love
affair and the end”. It was then just a room, a physical setting in Jonquil’s residence, “and
not the enchanted chamber where he had passed those poignant hours”, devoid of the
magic of fresh love, in exchange for success, security, and “the sensible thing”. “You
won’t marry me, will you?” was not really a question, but a sad realization by George
himself, confirmed by Jonquil’s silent nod. It was when he tried to escape this
heartbreaking scene with a lie to see a client in New York, lies that played a role in his
severed love back then, that out of desperation, he asked if she would sit in his lap like
they once passionately did. By some miracle, Jonquil agreed, and the familiar figure of
warmth of her body “sent a shock of emotion over him”, and probably her as well. His
arms “had a tendency to tighten around her” resisted the urge to embrace her, as he leaned
back to “talk thoughtfully into the air”. Was he talking to distract his feelings from
encompassing her, like the young, rash boy self once did? Was he really talking to her,
boasting about his achievements and success that is worthy of her hand in marriage now,
or to himself, “the fool”, or rather, to the air – to nobody? As he struggled to keep up with
his false story and the made-up urgency that is keeping him away from her, “not a
minute” to spare, “not even for-“… “For what?”, confused was both the readers and
George, until the beautiful sight dawned on him, and his lonesome lips. Hers was “half
open like a flower”, her sweet nectar of love awaited the lonely wandering bee to land
upon. “Yes”, his words of realization now “half parted” for her, and then for the two,
there was “all the time in the world”. The kiss, although the painful nail in the coffin for
their youthful past, was now the catalyst for something more beautiful, mature; like the
wedding vows they never have the chance to exchange, the star on Jonquil’s fingers that
George can now afford. “Art imitates life” in this very instance, as Jonquil’s shutting up
George’s rambling lies with a sealing kiss, the purest and deepest form of love, sealed the
deal for what once was lost and capped off the previous tale of tragedy with a most
suitable subversion of fates.
 2. Do you think that the young couple in the story did the sensible thing?
What if Jonquil accepted George’s first proposal? What if she accepts his
second proposal?
Readers upon their first stumbling into the story would most likely be puzzled
by the title, and would still be after their first read. The term was never explicitly
explained, but we can infer it as “financial security”. Their age was the Roaring/ Jazz 20s,
where technological advancements and spiritual enrichment reached its peak, where
luxury was the norm, and the world was moving forward 2 steps at a time. Georgy-boy,
too, dreamed of jumping into the bandwagon, with the incredible prospects of being an
MIT graduate and “working for a firm of construction engineers”, where he “all his life
he had thought in terms of tunnels and skyscrapers”. Unfortunately, he was already one
step behind progress, as he could only afford “one room in a high, horrible apartment-
house in the middle of nowhere”, and “he was an insurance clerk at forty dollars a week
with his dreams slipping fast behind him”. Even during the time of progress, judgmental
and polarized views were still predominant, as the husband was the sole breadwinner, and
the wife was to stay at home and bake it. This notion obviously was a huge burden on
George and Jonquil, as the former had to lie his way through the family dinner to get the
marriage approved. “Everything’s going fine” – it was not. “I’ve been promoted – better
salary” – he had been promoted to Client, and his salary was nonexistent. Jonquil was
rightfully worried. They had to have “the sensible thing” to sustain themselves after the
wedding. Withdrawing from the engagement then was indeed “sensible” from Jonquil,
for had she agreed to go through the unforeseen hardships with George, it would cost
them an arm and a leg, figuratively and literally, to work things out in an economy that
does not have “decline” in their vocabulary range. “The sensible thing” was also a bit
sensitive; no one wanted to discuss their financial problems, even with their potential
lifelong partners, and so the meaning was obscured for the rest of us. In all his infinite
rashness and hormone-filled brain, he decided to listen to Jonquil for once and pursue
that ever-elusive “sensible thing”. After almost an entire year, he had achieved it, and was
now more than ready to properly ask for Jonquil’s hand in marriage once more. However,
by then, Jonquil has grown distant and cold, unresponsive to his pleas for love. From an
outside perspective, it was as if George was obsessed with a static human doll. And that
would be all Jonquil would ever be, should she accept his second proposal. Before their
abandoned hearts were reignited with the passion of new love, their youthful desires had
long been snuffed out. It would be a crime, no, an inhumane oppression of love to enter
such an emotionless relationship. As successful as he was when he arrived at her
doorsteps again, she would been viewed as no more than a trophy wife, a dwindling
flower cut off from its roots. Indeed, “he traded his first youth for strength and carved
success out of despair. But with his youth, life had carried away the freshness of his
love”.
 3. How do you understand the quotation “There are all kinds of love in the
world, but never the same love twice”?
Even though between George and Jonquil bloomed a new sprout of love at the
ending of the story, it was something else entirely different from what came before, a
separate entity to that of the love of their youths. Given the length of their time apart from
each other in pursuit of “the sensible thing”, much has changed. The residence “had
assumed a strange unreality” where it has lost the charm and magic, back when it was the
safe haven for the lovebirds, where he had happily fled to from his job, “seven hundred
miles” away. The maiden herself, Jonquil also changed. Once she had “her arms raised to
him, her mouth half parted for his kiss”, now grown cold, distant, uninterested, and can
barely keep up a conversation with the man whom she had spent “poignant hours” with.
Before, their love was all they had, and they had the world: passionate, deep, sinful even.
Now, it has changed, like a slumbering cocoon metamorphosizing into a great butterfly of
mature love. “The sensible thing” had cost them their previous chance, but now “there’s
all the time in the world”. And as “he bent his head forward suddenly, and she drew
herself to him in the same moment, her lips half open like a flower”, they have been
given something to appreciate in that time. To call this “true love” would be dismissive of
the love they shared before. Though it was cumbered by the rashness of youth and ended
by the pressure of society, it was never anything short of a poetic display of true
affections, one of those “happily ever after” before the “ever after” part. Instead, this love
is fueled by a perpetual fire, burning slowly yet intensely at the same time. It is like an
imported Cuban cigar – the kind of deep, shimmering pleasure and love that adults share.
Real life mimics this too: when we first receive a gift or begin a journey, there is a sense
of novelty, discovery and awe that can hardly be experienced twice; because from the
second time onwards, we have explored all the ridges, found all the cracks and flaws, but
then comes the appreciation for what they are, what they represent, and their profound
importance and connection to us, and even their faulty aspects. What once was lost
cannot be found again, but in its wake will surely remain the seeds for much, much more.

4. What do George and Jonquil symbolize?

The lovebirds, George and Jonquil, in their pursuit of “the sensible thing”, has
inadvertently became icons and symbols that represent the faults of the society of their
time. Jonquil, first and foremost, triggered the chain of events that lead to their miserable
loss of innocent love; the catalyst of which is the little letter sent to George, detailing her
growing “nervous” of their engagement and marriage. She feared for the lack of “the
sensible thing”, and the inevitable tragedy that would be their marriage should she had
accepted his proposal. The letter itself represents the inanimate little things that keep one
awake at night, that can keep a love that is “oh, so much, so much” from realizing its
potential. Materialistic was Jonquil, but who could have blamed her. It was the Roaring
20s, and if they could not sustain themselves and follow the pack, they would have no
other fate than being devoured amid cages of steel. George, on the other hand, saw the
cold, unrelenting, unfeeling steel as inspiration. “He loved steel”, in fact, “and there was
always steel near him in his dreams”. From an outsider’s perspective, it would have
seemed so foreign, so incredibly bizarre to romanticize such notions, to pursue such an
abstract and unreliable career. Such was the reality of “the American Dream” that lured
up-and-coming youths with a vague promise of prosperity and was the main fuel for the
fire during the warring periods, when the fumes of barrels and the smoke of gunpowder
drowned the world into a period of recession. Even after the dust had settled, the
lingering effect of the Lost Generation was still being felt, as “he was in a mess, one of
those terrific messes which are ordinary incidences in the life of the poor, which poverty
followed like a bird of prey”. If that was not enough, George had even been let go from
his current position as an insurance clerk to pursue the love of his life. In such a critical
period, a job would have been infinitely better than no job, and with this blunder, the
chances of his and Jonquil’s marriage working out have effectively been voided.
However, his loyalty to love persisted as he forgone his stubbornness to listen to the pleas
of his girl and ventured out to bring back “the sensible thing” that would save their
endangered relationship. Even after nearly a year apart from her, and Jonquil’s now
exhausted affections for him, he still clings to the final moments, and his faith was then
rewarded. They had been “out of sight” from one another, but not for a single moment did
they stop holding the other’s image dear in their hearts. And unlike the tragedy that is
Alice and Ned from “Adventure”, their loyalty for one another, especially his for her,
triumphed in the end.