Name: Detuya, John Robert B.
Rationality and emotions are two polar
Year & Section: BSED – English 1B
Score:
Date: October 4, 2023
Love is a Fallacy (Reaction Paper)
The short story titled “Love is a
Fallacy” by Max Shulman is a very well-
made story that encapsulates and dives
into the reality of logical reasoning, the
emotional intelligence of the average
people in our day-to-day life, and its
interrelationship with each other in the
context of human relationship. In this
reaction paper, I will analyze the messages
behind the story that is conveyed with the
use of logical fallacies. In this way, they
can somehow relate to our personal
experiences and understanding of love, as
well as the use of rationality.
In the story, the protagonist, a young
noble and a smart man uses logical
thinking in order to persuade and get
Polly’s heart as they are talking. The way
he uses rationality is one of his distinctive
traits. His character symbolizes logical
reasoning used in our everyday lives such
as interacting with people. As the story
goes on, we can observe that this young
man tries to teach and educate Polly, but
her emotions get the better of her as time
goes on.
opposites with each other, making it the
main conflict of the said story. Let us
evaluate the characters, we have the main
protagonist, a highly rational and logical
thinker, who lacks emotional intelligence
and empathy. Every time he teaches Polly
on the logical fallacies and how to debate.
By ignoring the emotional component that
is crucial in human interactions, this
approach reflects the misunderstanding
that relationships can be established only
on logic and reason. As a result, he
develops the erroneous idea that he can
improve Polly by educating her on logical
fallacies while ignoring the subtle
emotional nuances that make interpersonal
connections nuanced and meaningful.
Polly gives the impression of being a
young woman with no formal education or
experience with logical reasoning. She is
portrayed as naive and a little timid. She
is the type of person who uses emotional
intelligence. As the story progresses, it is
visible that Polly initially embraces the
protagonist's logic but later recognizes the
limitations of this approach.
It can be observed that while the young
man uses logical reasoning, he lacks
emotions because he always uses his mind
as a way to analyze situations. Polly on the
other hand, uses empathy but lacks
rationality which leads her to take
questionable actions. Both of them have way we rationalize with people from our
the other trait while lacking the other, emotional state so that people can
which leads them to misunderstandings in understand each other at a deeper level.
their conversation. It emphasizes the idea
In conclusion, "Love is a Fallacy" is a
that for good communication and
fascinating and humorous investigation of
understanding in any relationship, a
the interaction between reason and
balance between logic and emotion is
emotion in the context of romantic
essential.
relationships. It serves as a reminder that
The message of the story tells us that although reason can be a helpful tool, it
we cannot control the emotions of a certain will never be able to fully express the
person maybe because everyone of us has depth of emotion and empathy that define
different personal experiences in life. love. The story serves as a lovely
Although logical thinking is a crucial skill cautionary tale, reminding us to value the
that is needed for us to master, love is a unique qualities that make each
complex topic and logic can’t overshadow relationship unique and to accept the
the importance of empathy and complexity of love.
understanding of another’s state. Though it
can guide us in making judgments and
navigating various elements of life, logical
thinking is unable to fully comprehend or
have any control over matters of the heart.

As I was reading the story, I came to

reflect that there are many complexities
that are happening in this reality of life, in
this case, love and rationality. We can’t
always convince anyone to be logical as it
only sometimes causes fallouts and
miscommunications. This story serves as a
reminder that while reason has its place, it
shouldn't take priority over the value of
understanding, empathy, and emotional
connection in our dealings with people.
This is why we should try to balance the