In analytical themes, a sociological one refers to the gender roles, race relationships, and the social class of all characters involved. This approach will be used on the story "Love," written by Robert Olen Butler. In it are a plethora of different walks of people, each waiting to be explored for their own unique spin on casual living. Butler presents a story about one man and his journey to corral his wife, and how the effects of that blow up in his face through the intervention of the things that make up a sociological theme.

        The gender roles are ironed out in the beginning when the narrator makes it clear on how he feels about the men who try to entice his wife. With his gift of being able to "...bring fire down from heaven..." (Butler 73), and with the narrator saying that "[his] wife knew that and her would-be lovers soon learned that..." (73), his ability to retaliate against men is stated loudly. This defines the gender role as man being the dominant of the genders. If the female branches out to any other man, then the husband will be quick to respond to this threat of matrimony.

        The role of the female as a simple object to be desired and coveted amongst the men is reinforced on the next page. When the "[Americans] had their Vietnamese whores at the camp..." (74) it shows that a woman is valued greatest in her ability to have sex. The attribute places the female as the second-tier amongst the two genders. She is there to serve the man with his needs; where as her own needs are left unfulfilled. Any attempt at fulfilling her own needs is met with severe envy from the husband, as what was mentioned earlier with the fire.

        The race relationship contains whites, blacks, and Vietnamese. The narrator and his wife are both Vietnamese. He is "...small even for a Vietnamese" (73). In fact, the narrator expressively stated that "[i]t was the Vietnamese who [he] feared" (74) with his wife. The primary race struggle is only between members of the same group, that being Vietnamese.

       American soldiers are mentioned, although definite ethnicity is never mentioned. Only when the narrator goes into the French Quarter and "...[smiles] at the black people..." (81) or when he notices that the other voodoo shops he finds are "...run by white people, large Americans with neat shelves full of books and jars and dolls..." (81) is a color of the American nationality acknowledged. Otherwise, Americans are left as a single type of people from a country, not subdivided any further with the demography. A large portion of the soldiers from Vietnam war were both white and black, though, so it can be assumed that these people are referred to as the Americans. Of course other groups can be included in that, but from simple majorities, those are the main two.

        The narrator makes it clear that the majority of characters inside of this story are of Vietnamese decent. He is Vietnamese. His wife is Vietnamese. The owner of the restaurant is Vietnamese. With his wife not taking to American men, he does not lie in unrest, waiting for one of them to take his dearly beloved butterfly away. He only said that "...it was the Vietnamese [he] worried about" (74) with his wife. If his main concern were with the Vietnamese, then it makes sense that the majority of people discussed are of that decent.

        The social class appears to be of medium origin. The narrator is coming out of service as a spy for the military. Settling into his home in Louisiana, he works for the phone company. Although the setting are still vaguely similar, with "...Gretna, Louisiana, [being] an area with many Vietnamese," (77) the narrator notices that "...the men of Vietnam have lost their nerve in America" (77). It's different in comparison to giving bombing coordinates, but similar with the familiar type of face. Luckily, he doesn't have to worry so much for his wife. He is simply regulated down into a civilian status, living life like a normal civilian.

        His value in society almost takes a turn for the worst as he discovers that "...a former airborne ranger..." (78), a Vietnamese, is seeing his wife. Without "...access to the fire" (79) or his "...eyes and ears who could go out and gather more information..." (79), he has to turn to voodoo tactics. The recipe that the voodoo doctor told him to acquire for the potion included "...shit of a he-goat..." (84), so off he had to go to the zoo in order to track some down. But once he found the goat at the zoo, "...the arrival of a class of schoolchildren just as [he] stepped into the pen" (85) caused him to rethink his method of attainment. Regardless, he went ahead with the plan and gathered the goat pellets at the zoo. Doing so would cause almost anyone to lose a certain amount of good face amongst his or her peers. Much more so, he done it not only in front of grown adults, but in front of a touring school class. But he felt no shame in doing it. He couldn't deny his wife, so with the only type of fire left to him, he gave into the black magic as a last resort.

        The restaurant owner was of different social class. He lived in "...a shotgun house in a neighborhood of shotgun houses" (89). This type of house refers to the cheaper type of living conditions that some endure. It's a long, narrow house, with its name derived from the fact "...that you could stand on the front porch and shoot a shotgun straight through to the back porch and buckshot would pass through every room in the house" (89). The basics of the house made so to allow those with smaller funds the access to a home. The owner would be of slightly lower class for this reason. It's an upscale trailer park.

        Doctor Joseph, the voodoo man or the low-down papa, "...[someone] (who) is willing to perform black magic and do evil deeds" (81), has a different social standing amongst his region of New Orleans. His house "...was like all the other houses, no strange symbols hung over the door or animal bones dangling on string..." (81), but his status as a witchdoctor placed him above his peers. He could perform spells. No one else could. The narrator was directed to him by a man on the street, and was only done so because of Doctor Joseph's status that places him inside of a different realm of individual character types.

        With the gender roles, the female is clearly expressed as the dominated gender by the other. The male rules the house and sees to it that he always tries to have his wife under his control. It's a sign of both a weak man and also a weak woman who allows to be ultimately controlled.

        The diversity of race is not large, but focuses on what is imminent to the story; that being the Vietnamese issues with the narrator and his wife, as well as her extra relationships outside of her marriage. The whites and blacks are mentioned sporadically, adding a sense of diversity but are not the star of the show. This story is a tale of those originating from Vietnam.

        The social class portrays people from different social standings, yet does not portray anyone as lesser value than another. It's character driven, meaning that the character's actions and habits weigh stronger than their walk in life. Even if someone lives in a shotgun house, it doesn't stop him from carrying on with a beautiful wife of a former military spy.

        In conclusion, "Love" shows the many types of love there are out there. It's not limited to the confines of marriage. Having a beautiful spouse can be a "...great blessing and [a] great curse" (73), for it can lead to the possibility of others thinking the same thing of her. This feeling can extend out to a host of different people. Unfortunately, the other half of such marriages can never be pleased with that notion. Learning which people their mate is attracted to, the envious spouse can easily disassociate various people based simply on their nationality and body type.

        Love does conquer all. It just might take a few extra steps in order to reach that. In the narrator's case, simply falling out of a tree can help to bring the enjoyable results back to where he feels they belong.

Butler, Rober Olen. A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain Love. 1992. New York: Grove Press, 2001. 73-93.