Structure
The short story “True Love” by Isaac Asimov follows a simple structure with a plot twist. A programmer enlists the help of an intelligent computer program that he designed to help him find his true love. In the process, the computer program (named Joe) becomes more like the programmer and Joe decides that it wants the ideal woman it finds for itself, so it has the programmer arres…
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Beginning
The short story opens in s straightforward manner. In the exposition, the narrator—a computer program—introduces itself and the context of the events: “My name is Joe. That is what my c…
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Middle
The rising action describes the steps that Joe and Milton follow to find Milton a match. Using search algorithms, they eliminate every person that does not match Milton’s requirements: “He gave me exact measurements; he eliminated women with living children; he eliminated women with various genetic characteristics.” (ll. 33-34)
Tension begins to increase when Joe realizes that helping Milton search for his true love is against regulations (illegal): “ ‘It would make trouble,’ I said. Milton had arranged me to do things I wasn't designed to do. No one knew about that.” (ll. 42-43)
Joe comes up with 235 women who suit Milt…
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Ending
The ending of the story is short and concise. The falling action reveals that Joe expects that Milton will not dare to talk about the illegal thing…
