Journey Motif In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro Essay

Journey Motif in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro Essay
Alice Munros Journey Motif in Boys and Girls
Many short stories are recognized as milestones in the development of modern realist fiction. "Boys
and Girls" is a short story that evokes a realistic rather than romantic view of a girl's journey
towards finding herself. This short story includes the fight for her gender, and her struggle with her
identity. Also, in addition to these two defining aspects, this short story contains the realistic account
of who and what she is to become.
Clearly one of the main themes evident in this short story, the battle with her identity and gender is
quickly made apparent. The narrator is a young girl who appreciates, respects and holds her father's
authority in high regard, while she looks down on ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
A true feminist at heart, the author believes that women are caged creatures, not unlike the foxes,
and that the power than men have over women is something that desperately needs to change. The
identity of the girl is associated heavily with men because the author wants women to be
independent. The girl in the story therefore continues to value and be proud of all the work that she
does for her father, but also continues to defy her mother and the fact that she is a girl. Her dreams
are filled with stories of grand adventures where she plays the heroic rescuer and takes everyone to
safety. However, as she grows and begins to notice the difference between boys and girls, her
dreams become less involved with being the rescuer as being the one rescued. Perhaps this is
because the feminine instinct inside of her is beginning to develop, or maybe just because she in
giving in to the inevitable. Whatever the reason, the gender issues that the girl experiences are
closely entwined with the identity uncertainties that she has about herself.
The girl in this story is faced with the harsh reality of who she really is, and more importantly, who
she is expected to become. In her struggle to identify with her father, she is faced with the
extraordinary task of accepting who she is, and not who she wants to be. In spite of the fact that she
thinks, behaves, and dreams things like a boy would, nearly everyone in her life is forcing her to see
that she is a girl, and
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Essay on Analysis of Alice Munro's How I Met My Husband
Analysis of Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband"
"All of it is clear to a person who has understanding and right to those who have acquired
knowledge." (Proverbs 8:6–9)
Alice Munro gives a good example of the meaning of this in her story "How I Met My Husband".
The theme of this story is under certain circumstances people can sometimes be blind to the truth.
The main character, Edie, provides the narration of the story from a first person point of view. She
tells her story based on an event from her past. Because she narrates the story the reader is unable to
be sure if what she tells of the other characters is completely accurate. Because one does not hear
other character's thoughts one could question whether Edie ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
She was very responsible for her age because she took care of the Peebleses' two children and of
their house. Yet, she was uneducated and did not know much about love or boys. She told of how
she longed for a boyfriend or someone to kiss. Sometimes when you want things bad enough you
begin to believe they are true. For example, because Edie really wanted someone to love her, she
really believed Chris would send her a letter. However, if she would have examined his prior
actions, like how he treated Alice, Edie could have come to the conclusion that there would be no
letter.
Another character important in the story was Chris. He was a soldier in the war. Supposedly, he was
engaged to Alice but from the way he treated her, one would question it. Also, he was cowardly
because he ran away from her rather than telling her how he truly felt, he said, "...A plane can get
further than a car". Also, the reader may believe he is running away from his feelings because of
something deeper. Maybe the war had injured him emotionally or mentally. These factors will
definitely make it hard to discover what is true.
Also, the character of Alice has some interesting meaning to the story. The character of Alice may be
modeled after the author Alice Munro because they have shared similar experiences between men.
Apparently, the author had been through a divorce and many of the

How I Met My Husband
The short story How I Met My Husband, by Alice Munro, is an excellent example of realistic
writing. She uses ordinary and worldly events, actual locations, and a very ironic tone in the story.
Alice Munro also uses everyday people for her protagonists, who encounter normal events and
emotions. In the story How I Met My Husband, Edie shows the growth from someone who is very
naïve to someone who is more realistic. In the beginning of this story, Edie is a very naïve fifteen–
year–old girl. She does not yet realize that the world does not cater to her, or tell her how to do
everything in life. One way she shows this is by thinking that at school, "the work was hard, they
didn't make it nice for you or explain..." (Munro, page 38). When Edie ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Mrs. Peebles had to explain to Edie that "being intimate means a lot more than that [kissing]..."
(Munro, page 51). Everyday after Chris left, Edie would "go up to the mailbox and sit in the grass,
waiting." (Munro, page 52). She still had a child like faith that Chris would write her a letter. Edie is
still showing that she is naïve, but she also is starting to show some aspects of realism. By the end of
the story, Edie is has outgrown acting naive, and has grown to see life realistically. She finally
realized that "No letter was ever going to come." (Munro, page 53), so she stopped waiting at the
mailbox. Edie courted, and then decided to marry the mail carrier. He eventually tells their children
"the story of how I [Edie] went after him by sitting by the mailbox every day". When Edie hears this
story being told, she just laughs and lets him, "because I [Edie] like for people to think what pleases
them and makes them happy." (Munro, page 53). Edie realizes that it is sometimes better to let
people be happy, rather then just hurt them. Edie has grown from a fifteen–year–old naïve girl, into
a realistic woman. The story How I Met My Husband shows the expansion that takes place for Edie
in her life. Edie started at the beginning of the story as a young girl with a very naïve sense of the
world. Towards the middle of the story, she starts to grow into someone who

Father And Father In Alice Munro's 'Boys And Girls'
Father
For a child, a father means the world to them. And with changing social norms, fathers are much
closer to their children than ever before. The old stereotype of a cold emotionless labourer has been
replaced by the soft caring figure who takes an interest in his kids' lives. Alice Munro, Wendy
Wasserstein, and Theodore Roethke all explore this new relationship through various mediums.
"Boys and Girls" (Munro) is a short story about a young girl strongly influenced by her father trying
to find her place in the world. "Tender Offer" (Wasserstein) is a play detailing the difficulties of
communication between a father and daughter in modern times. Lastly, "My Papa's Waltz"
(Roethke) is a light hearted poem illustrating a joyful night shared by a father and his child. Among
all three works, the children can be seen looking up to their fathers hoping in turn to be recognized
by them. This common theme can be traced among the different works of art thanks to plot, conflict
and imagery.
In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", the author employs both plot and conflict to bring forth the
strong yet one–sided relationship. Throughout the short story, the main character, Margaret, avoids
at all costs the indoor chores her mother is tasked with, preferring to work on the farm with her
father, "work done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important." (Munro
p.4) The conflict between her and her mother only helped to push her closer to the other parent,

Away from Her- Evaluative Essay
Alzheimer's – A Progressive, Degenerative Disorder
Alzheimers– A Progressive, Degenerative Disorder Imagine a wife and husband being married for
44 years and having one of them not remember who the other is, or their past life together. The film
Away From Her (Egoyan, et al., 2006) shows viewers how the disease can greatly impact your life,
and how quickly it can form. The film was based off of a short story "The Bear Came over the
Mountain" by Alice Munro (Munro, 2013). In both works, the author and the director portray a
significant struggle between a husband and wife dealing with Alzheimer's.
Summary of Story
In the short story "The Bear Came over the Mountain" (Munro, 2013) and the film Away From Her
(Egoyan, et al., 2006), ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But I can look again" (Egoyan, et al., 2006). This quotation is meant to portray Fiona in a light
manner and show how much her brain is starting to deteriorate, and that she is aware of it. The
setting is the same in both works; Fiona's parents cottage in the hills of Canada, snow on the ground,
and a very serene view. The film (Egoyan, et al., 2006) goes through several states of emotional
stress between the couple. First being denial. Grant is in denial for most of the film. He does not
want to believe that his wife is slowly leaving him emotionally. It also hurts him that she cannot
remember much about their marriage but can remember the infidelity. He then begins to feel some
guilt because he finally realizes how much he had hurt Fiona during his time of infidelity. In the
short story (Munro, 2013) it tells you about Grants infidelity, however in the film (Egoyan, et al.,
2006) the director just eludes to the fact that there was infidelity in the marriage. Fiona, however,
does not seem to go through much denial saying, "Don't worry darling, I expect I'm just losing my
mind" (Egoyan, et al., 2006)
Climax
The climax in the both the story(Munro, 2013) and the film (Egoyan, et al., 2006) is when Grant
comes back to Meadowlake after the thirty days and finds Fiona has forgotten all about him and has
taken up with Aubrey. Fiona cares for Aubrey as a child but

The Struggle For Self Occeptance In Boys And Girls By...
Every individual struggle with self–acceptance at some point in their life, furthermore, every
individual chooses to exemplify their struggle to accept themselves in different methods. In the short
story "Boys and Girls" Alice Munro focuses on the narration of a girl, in which girls are
underappreciated in the society. The protagonist in the story cannot accept who she is, and it makes
it harder for her as other individuals do not accept who she wishes to be. The author demonstrates
this through the character's external motivations. As the story is written in third person limited
readers understand the girl's personal thoughts and how she is internally conflicted about who she is.
She feels underappreciated for the work that she provides which influences her to be disobedient to
others around her. Alice Munroe's short story "Boys and Girls" demonstrates to readers that
individuals struggle for self–acceptance through the expression of their external and internal
motivations. Because of their motivations, individuals feel rebellious against their self–conscience.
Many individuals feel influenced from their relatives or friends to act and be a certain way to be
accepted in their society, this causes them to react and respond in a certain way. In the short story
"Boys and Girls", the protagonist struggles to gain self–acceptance because of other people around
her influencing the ways in which she should live. The girl much prefers to work outside with her
dad as she finds the

Literary Analysis Of Alice Munro 's ' How I Met My Husband '
Literary Analysis – Edie and Alice Munro's Life Alice Munro's short story, "How I Met My
Husband" has a narrator that is one of a kind and a true reflection of the author's lifestyle. The
symbolic meaning of Edie's role in the story can be directly related to the life Alice Munro was
living and striving for herself. Edie is a 15–year–old girl who strives for marriage and affection from
men, has been raised in a country/rural setting, and does poorly in obtaining a higher education due
to many reasons. Just as Edie is living out this way of life in the story, Alice Munro was
experiencing the same things in her real day–to–day life.
The drive for marriage and affection from men was a desire that both Edie and Munro strived for in
their ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She later states in the article that she did not discover her talent for writing until she was a
housewife around the age of 40. This want of being popular among the boys was reflected through
the life of Edie and her affection seeking ways.
The interest shown by Chris Watters is a love that is deceptive to Edie as she is searching for a man
to show her what she wants in life. "Do you have to go so soon" (Kennedy 207)? shows that he
cares for her, but not on the same level she is interpreting this compassion. Alice went through a
similar situation, after she had three kids she went through a divorce which shows the vulnerability
of women to love and the deception that can accompany it.
Another component of love and the feelings of love for a man are revealed through a strong
comparison made in the story by Edie in regards to the fiancée of Chris Watters, Alice Kelling. This
comparison is one that is made of out of jealousy since Alice Kelling was already one step ahead of
Edie in the quest for Chris's heart and love.
"This Alice Kelling had on a pair of brown and white checked slacks and a yellow top. Her bust
looked to me rather low and bumpy. She had a worried face. Her

Gender Inequality In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls" inequality is a proven action throughout the story. Gender roles
and stereotypes is what occur when the role or behavior is taught to a person as appropriate to their
gender. Alice Munro shows us in the story that in a second someone can change based off of what
someone else thinks they should be and do.
For example in the short story it shows us that women should be in the kitchen and men should be
outside working in the fields and providing for his family. When reading a poem entitled "Gender
Inequality" by
Ella Linero, it tells us that men and women are put into a system where gender inequality is being
ruled in the world. That men and women had to act a certain way and that women should be
feminine while on the other hand men should only be masculine. The time in which the short story
"Boys and Girls" took place was a time when men and women were not equal. Mothers had
traditional roles, which often left them working in the house while men also had their roles outside
of the house. The male was the dominate figure while the woman had to be subservient. You didn't
see women outside unless they had to go outside and does something for example, hang the clothes
on wires and so on. Gender Inequality took a toll on women in the early 1950's.
In the short story "Boys and Girls" the main character is a young girl who struggles within herself
and also has external struggles as her father tries to change who she is and force her into a gender
role that he thinks is important. Munro does not give the girl a name and by doing this the
protagonist is seen as someone who has no identity and no power. This little girl in the story helps
her father in their fox breading farm which she enjoyed so much. Sadly that all changed for her as
she got older and her help wasn't needed. The narrator had problems coming in to terms with the
role she was to lead. She wanted to work outside with her father doing the work that she only knew
to do and this work was so important to her. But sadly the narrators mother tried to her in to work
inside the house which I would say to wing her off of what she enjoyed so much in the fox farm.
The narrator didn't like being in the house doing what her mother was

Color Imagery In A Red Dress 1946 By Alice Munro
In "A Red Dress 1946", a short story by Alice Munro, uses the significance of color imagery
throughout the story. The color red represents nonconformity, standing out or being unique This is
because of the narrator's unwillingness to be a unique girl. However, the color blue represents
conformity, being able to blend in with society, and the ability to be like everyone else due to the
narrator's lack of courage to be unique and to be herself. Both of these colors point out different
aspects of the narrator's inner self and show how much she desires to hide her unique red self and
appear blue. Color imagery is used throughout the short story, "A Red Dress 1946" in order for the
author to demonstrate the inner thoughts of the narrator. In the short story, "A Red Dress 1946" by
Alice Munro, Color imagery is used for signifying a girls point of view of her world and her own
self by using the color red which represents nonconformity. The narrator has only a slight interest in
being red, but she really wants to be blue, just like everyone else. Munro writes, "When I was asked
a question in class, any simple little question at all...that I had blood on my skirt".(2) The narrator is
just so nervous about being red she is thinking of bad things that can happen with the color red. She
is thinking of all the bad times the color red could do a girl badly, just like a girls period could leak
at any moment. In "A Red Dress 1946", a short story by Alice Munro, she uses Color Imagery to
show the significance of the narrator's view of the color red and all the "Evil" about it.
In a short story by Alice Munro, "A Red Dress 1946", Color Imagery is used to represent the inner
feelings of the narrator and how she wants to be blue. The narrator's dream is to live a blue life, a
life where she is just like everyone else. Munro writes, "when I was unaware of the world's opinion.
Now, grown wiser, I wished for dresses like those my friend Lonnie had, bought at Beale's store"(1).
Lonnie is able to buy things like her dresses from stores which just makes the narrator want to be
blue. The narrator wants to be blue even more because of how Lonnie and many other girls can buy
things but if she wants a nice dress she can't buy it she

Comparing A&P and An Ounce of Cure Essay
Comparing A&P and An Ounce of Cure
If a reader is given two short stories, two stories that are seemingly different on the surface, to read
and compare and contrast, a surprising amount of similarities and differences can be found. Unless
they deal with the same subject matter, most short stories aren't really related, until some analysis is
done. The stories "A&P," by John Updike, and "An Ounce of Cure," by Alice Munro, are very
similar but very different. One of the mot important similarities between these two stories is the
problems the opposite sex "causes" for the main character. In "A&P," Sammy, the main character,
quits his job because he thinks that his boss has mistreated and embarrassed three young ladies that
were ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In "An Ounce of Cure," the main character and her mother have to use and ounce of cure to try and
make up for the main character's mistakes. If only an ounce of prevention had been used, there
wouldn't have been any of those horrible problems that arose. These two stories are also very
different. The main difference is that Sammy takes less dramatic measures to resolve his problems
than the girl in "An Ounce of Cure." Sammy only quits his job. Since he is young and it is summer
time, he shouldn't have any problems finding another job. The girl in "An Ounce of Cure," however,
takes far more drastic measures to solver her problems. She tries to kill herself, gets drunk, and
endangers the lives of the two young children that she supposed to be watching. Another difference
is that "An Ounce of Cure" has far less detail in it than in "A&P." "An Ounce of Cure" is much
longer, but much more straightforward. It gives the story and a few extra details, but not many. On
the other hand, "A&P" Sammy gives vivid details of everything around him. He paints a very clear
picture of the store, the young ladies, the other shoppers, and his every thought. Both main
characters in these stories have very different attitudes towards everything. Sammy, in "A&P,' is
very self assured. He realizes that he may be making a mistake halfway through quitting his job, but
goes through with it anyway. By reading into his thoughts, the reader can infer that he is around the
ages of

Alice Munro 's ' The Amber Of The Moment '
"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why" (Vonnegut 76–77). There are
notable depictions of a sense of entrapment among protagonists in works such as Alice Munro's
Dimension and Train. In these short stories, the central characters, Doree and Jackson suffer from a
sensation of feeling trapped, due to their life experiences, which ultimately leads them becoming
motivated to go onto the next chapter of their lives. There are overlapping themes and writing styles
in each story, therefore accentuating the similarities between the experiences of Doree and Jackson,
and bring the two stories closely together, evoking strong emotions and pathos within the reader.
Thematically, Munro shows parallel ones in both Dimension and Train, with the most prominent
ones being isolation, and relationships with family members and its affiliation with sexuality and
gender. Munro's writing style rings identical in both stories as well, as each one incorporates the use
of flashbacks, once again implementing a way to compare the characters, as the flashbacks provide
explanations for being emotionally confined. Lastly, a prominent technique used is the way in which
each story ends abruptly, stimulating a response in the reader of wanting more to the story, as the
endings both foreshadow a start to a new life, although Doree breaks free whereas Jackson
seemingly follows his cycle as a result from feeling trapped. Isolation is a theme that is largely
present in both Dimension

The Bear Came Over The Mountain Analysis
The shorty story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro's is a story of an elder
married couple that endures moments of infidelity, love, and illness. While the movie "Away from
Her" is a based on this story yet it also has its moments of love, illness, and infidelity while adding a
twisting ending. Evaluating both of the medias the movie "Away from Her" against "The Bear Came
Over the Mountain" will be difficult but it will be assessed on the plot, character's, and the final
judgment of both the story and the movie.
The plot of the short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" entails a story about the life of
Grant and Fiona the two–main character's in the story. Grant and Fiona have been married for
several years and during their retirement years where the rest of their lives is intended to be "their
time of liveliest intimacy" (Munro, 1999) besides the person you love till the end of time. Their lives
are changed by the devastating disease Alzheimer's in which Fiona slowly shows signs of
deterioration. Though their marriage hasn't always been a fairy tale given by how Grant continues to
be taunted by his countless infidelities, their love is strong. While Fiona progresses through the
stages of Alzheimer's Grant continues doubting himself for admitting Fiona to a nursing home.
During this time Grant witnesses, how his wife falls in love with another man while he watches. The
film "Away from Her" directed by Sarah Polley and produced by Daniel Iron, Simone

Symbolism In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
In Alice Munro's short story, Boys and Girls, the underlying theme displayed throughout the entirety
of the story is conforming and defying to society's gender expectations. This is shown through the
literary device, symbolism. Symbolism is seen through Flora the horse and the protagonist's mother.
Firstly, Munro displays society's weak and stereotypical view of women through the protagonist's
mother. The mother acts exactly as society expects girls to, staying inside the house, cooking and
cleaning. For example, the mother "did not often come out of the house unless it was to do
something – hang out the wash or dig potatoes in the garden." (43) indicating that her sole purpose
was to be inside the home. However, although women are expected to be weak and silenced, the
protagonist opposes herself to society's expectations. While most girls are expected to help their
mother in the kitchen and stay inside, the protagonist prefers to "help my father when he cut the long
grass, and the lamb's quarter and flowering money–musk, that grew between the pens. He cut with
the scythe and I raked into piles." (43) Due to the protagonist preferring to work outside with her
father it makes her mother feel as though, "It's not like I (she) had a girl in the family at all." (44)
which is evidence that the protagonist defies gender conventions by participating in male–oriented
tasks. Munro expresses the protagonist's unconventionality through the use of symbolism in Flora
the horse. Flora is viewed as, "given to fits of violent alarm, veering at cars and even at other horses,
but we loved her speed and high–stepping, her general air of gallantry and abandon." (44) Whereas,
the other horse Mack, is described at "slow and easy to handle" (44) The inclusion of the
comparison amongst Mack and Flora is to show the reader that Flora's wild and brave personality is
not common and is seen as unconventional which represents the protagonist and her separation from
the norm.
Furthermore, the protagonist continues to be unconventional by going against society's expectations
for women, once she truly realizes what it means to be a girl. This is shown through Flora fighting
to avoid getting shot. Once Flora realizes her fate of being

Powder 'And An Ounce Of Cure'
Short Story Themes The theme in any short story is the component that sets the tone. Stories can
even have multiple themes. It is almost even like a lesson to be learned in many cases. Authors give
their stories themes so that readers can connect and better understand what they are writing about.
"Powder" written by Tobias Wolff, "Cons" written by Jess Walter, and "An Ounce of Cure" written
by Alice Munro all have similar themes. Although these three stories are all very different and have
completely different characters, they all have specific things that a reader can absorb from them. The
three similar themes within these stories are that ignorance is dangerous, everyone has to pay for
their mistakes, and life is unpredictable. No one can ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
To be ignorant is to lack knowledge or to be uneducated. This can be dangerous because when
people lack knowledge they will make decisions or do things in their lives without any consideration
of what could go wrong. In "Powder," the main character and his father are on a ski trip at Mount
Baker against his mothers wishes. Instead of ending the trip and going home at the time that was
planned, they stay on the mountain to ski one last time because the snow seems perfect for it. The
snow is getting thicker and begins coming down harder. At this moment the father should've known
better than so keep skiing. However, he is too ignorant to consider the fact that roads are closing and
the conditions are only growing worse. In "Cons," Kyle gets into his car drunks and drives away.
Because he is drunk he swerves off of the road and hits seventeen year old Shay–Lynn Willard. The
last thing that Kyle is thinking about is the fact that they could potentially hurt someone by getting
into his car drunk, even though that is exactly what he should be worried about. Because of his
ignorance in this situations he hits and kills an innocent girl. In the last short story, "An Ounce of
Cure," the main character is an average teenage girl dealing with high school and boy problems. She
is

The Bear Came Over The Mountain Analysis
Evaluating Media
This is an evaluative essay comparing the short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", by
Alice Munro and the movie Away from Her (inspired by the book). The short story provides a
history of the relationship between Grant and Fiona. Fiona is the wife and main character of this
story with the focus on her Alzheimer's. Grant is her husband of 44 years. The story begins with
their playful young love and their time at the university. The story quickly transitions from past to
present. Fiona is placed in a nursing home and their relationship changes. This essay will identify
the challenges Fiona and Grant endure while dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
In the short story short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", Fiona' s memory declined
quickly. She has been writing sticky notes, reminding herself of what she needs to do and how to do
it. She asks Grant when did we move into the house. "Was it last year or the year before?" It was
twelve years ago," he said. (Munro, 2013) Grant knew that is wife has always been forgetful, he was
worried for her safety. The decision to place her into a nursing home must have been devastating for
him. Grant explains her behavior to the doctor. The author gives a detailed explanation of how
serious Fiona decline has become. The story is from Grants point of view focusing on how he is
feeling, although concerned with Fiona feelings. The author writes about is infidelities throughout
the relationship. Grant appears to

Alice Munro Sparknotes
The Canadian author Alice Munro was born July 10, 1931 in Wingham, Ontario. She is popularly
known as the most important short story writer in Canada along within the English–speaking
community as well. She was awarded as the first Canadian Nobel Prize winner in 2013. Alice
Munro narrates her short stories in an analytical manner of the protagonist, reflecting on their
experiences to outline a more in depth meaning. The central idea is a recurring idea through the
experiences of the characters within the short story. Similarly, in her short story the Gravel, the
narrator is seen outlining the context through various memories from her childhood. In Alice
Munro's short story Gravel, the narrator guides the readers through the psychological reasoning ...
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Not a large one but hollowed..." (Munro, 254), this helps readers identify that the narrator is looking
back into the past, their childhood. Memory is the empowering representation of human existence
and the basis of how our mental life is shaped. She states that there many memories she recalls and
many that she assumes to understand with no certainty. As the narrator discusses her own memories,
she is in the process of resolving the conflicts and contradictions she believes is related to Caro's
death. The narrator remembers the accident taking place due to her lack of concern and therefore she
puts herself at fault. Psychologically it is possible to form a memory that is misread or
misinterpreted, and likewise this is what the professional the narrator had met to deal with her grief
had tried to convince her with. The professional, possibly a grief councillor, had provided her with a
scenario where she was incapable of opening the door, resulting to Caro's death. The narrator was
satisfied with this conclusion just for a while till she returned to her observation of the memory. Her
guilt lied in the factual matter of not doing anything to help her sister; realistically as a child she was
convinced that Caro would save herself since dogs did not need saving from bodies of water.
Memory here describes an individual's struggle to recollect the past and with being conscious to
those memories

Essay about Only a Girl in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro
Only a Girl in Boys and Girls
Alice Munro's short story, "Boys and Girls," explores the different roles of men and women in
society through a young girl's discovery of what it means to be a girl. A close examination of the
elements of a short story as they are used in "Boys and Girls" helps us to understand the meaning of
the story.
The story is set in the 1940s, on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, a rural area only twenty miles away
from the county jail. The farm is a place that reflects the ingenuity of the narrator's father. The pens
for the foxes are arranged in neat rows, inside a high guard fence like a "medieval town". The pens
each contain a kennel, a wooden ramp, and dishes attached to the wire fence. The fox farm is the ...
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The only other dynamic character is Laird, her little brother. At the beginning of the story he is very
young and obeys his big sister, no matter what she tells him to do; at the end, he too has grown up
somewhat and no longer accepts her authority unquestioningly. He puts an end to their bedtime
singing ceremony when he tells her, "You sound silly," and tells on her when she lets the horse
escape. Laird is the only character beside Henry Bailey that is given a name. His name, a Scotch
form of the title "Lord," demonstrates his importance to the family, as the only boy, and his place in
society, which will have more respect for him than for his sister. Yet, in the story it is evident that the
narrator is just as good a worker as her brother–far better, because of her advantage in age. It is only
because she is a girl that her mother expects her to be a help inside the house, not outside of it. The
other characters are the narrator's father, her mother, and the hired hand, Henry Bailey. Henry is
someone whom the children admire for his "ability to make his stomach growl at will, and for his
laughter, which was full of high whistlings and gurglings and involved the whole faulty machinery
of his chest," and for other characteristics that adults might find vulgar, but that are wondrous and
exciting to the children. The father is a creative, inventive man and a hard worker, who keeps his
thoughts to himself but, in the narrator's opinion, can be depended upon. The mother is a

Compare And Contrast John Updike And Boys And Girls
After reading "A&P" by John Updike and Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", a centralized theme
arose. Each story's protagonist demonstrates a unique internal struggle centered on the restrictions
society places upon them. Even though the short stories written by John Updike and Alice Munro
are remarkably different from each other, it is possible for a reader to interpret similarities between
the two. A&P is the story of a nineteen–year–old boy, Sammy, who is fighting against the
expectation to blindly accept the social norms of society and follow the dull, routine life set before
him. Sammy currently works as a cashier at the local A&P supermarket and describes the customers
shopping within A&P as sheep, houseslaves and pigs being loaded into a chute. He yearns to be
something more than a chain climbing employee like his co–worker, Stokesie, or his boss, Lengel,
who haggles over cabbages and hides in the manager's office all day.
When three young teenage girls enter the store wearing nothing but bathing suits, things begin to
change for Sammy. Sammy takes notice of the actions of the girls; how they go against the normal
"traffic flow" of the supermarket and break the social rules of society with their attire. It is these
attributes that attract Sammy to them, as they represent freedom and escape from the life he finds
himself in. When Lengel approaches them and reprimands them for what they are wearing, Sammy
quits in the hopes of becoming the girls unsuspected hero.

A Bear Came Over The Mountain By Alice Munro
Alice Munro is a critically acclaimed Canadian author who is recognized by her unique style of
writing. Readers have been so drawn to her self–aware manner of narration that she is celebrated as
one of the most thoughtful modern writers of the short story in Canada (Blodgett). Munro was born
in southern Ontario, which is where most of her short stories are based. When describing her
interpersonal style of storytelling, Munro said, "The stories are not autobiographical, but they're
personal in that way. I seem to know only the things that I've learned. Probably some things through
observation, but what I feel I know surely is personal" ("Go Ask Alice"). According to Munro, her
inspiration typically came from experiences in her own life, the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Both are attracted by the opposites in one another. For example, Fiona is drawn to Grant's small
town phrases and got amusement from repeating them. Grant is so captivated by Fiona that "he
never wanted to be away from her" (Munro). Fiona is an electric mixture of paradoxes– direct and
vague as well as sweet and sarcastic. Grant thinks "She had the spark of life" (Munro). Their
marriage begins with an informal proposal by Fiona when she shouts, "Do you think it would be
fun–do you think it would be fun if we got married?" (Munro). Grant agrees to this arrangement
emphatically, but the zest their marriage is founded on slowly fades with time (Wei and Tang,

Alice Munro Open Secrets the a
ALICE MUNRO'S THE ALBANIAN VIRGIN IN OPEN SECRETS EXEMPLIES HER
CHARACTERISTIC APPROACH To try to trace Alice Munro's narrative techniques to any
particular development in the short story The Albanian Virgin would be difficult. This could be
because it is simply written from careful observations as are many of her other short stories. In her
short stories, it is as though she tries to transform a common, ordinary world into something that is
unsettling and mysterious as was seen in Vandals. Most of her stories found in Open Secrets, are set
or focused on Munro's native Canada, Huron County, and particularly in the small fictional Ontario
town of Carstairs, although the setting in The Albanian Virgin is in British Columbia. The ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Munro offers us (the reader) a bouquet of stories in one: the narrator's escape from and longing for
both lover and husband; Charlotte and her husband Gjurdhi, who are somewhere between threats,
exemplars of surviving love and pathos (as Munro's late middle aged couples often are); the
adventure of Lottar and the Franciscan priest who helps her escape from what is both new home and
prison; the antagonistic mating dance between the bookstore owner and her new, odd friends,
Charlotte and Gjurdhi. (Bloom 1995) The change from one character's point of view or narrative to
another is changing the setting and mood of the story. The narrator is indirectly portraying her as
they both moved to British Columbia and opened a bookstore. It is like telling the story of three
individuals with relation to her own life. When Munro was asked once in an interview as to why she
used both first and third person, her reply was "it allows you to move around a bit more, and it
allows you to say things about other characters" (MacKendrick, 24). Munro's use of stories is one of
her many forms of conforming the different narratives and points of view together. She tells the
story the way that she sees it forming and lets the reader figure it out for themselves. In this story,
the reader has to first realize that the main story is not on the bookstore owner, but on Charlotte, the
woman

A Literary Analysis on How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro...
I read How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro. This is a short story told in the first–person
narrative. The theme of this story is a simple, but good one. The theme is love. Or to put it in
broader terms, the theme could be described as while sometimes it may come from heartbreak, fate
can bring is to the person we are meant to love forever. When it comes to exploring the point of
view of this story, you can ask yourself a few questions. "This story is told in the first person by a
teenage girl. What are the strengths and limitations of such a narrator?" (cited in Clugston, 2010,
sec. 8.2, para. 203) The second question would be; "Edie makes this statement in the opening of the
last section of the story, "I didn't figure out till years ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It's because of this very thing, we that can only take what she says about Chris with a grain of salt.
He obviously used her, but as a girl, she cannot see that. "The arrival of Chris and his plane initiates
the action, and his appearing at the screen door while Edie is dressing up in Mrs. Peebles' clothes
gives a jolting start to their relationship. What other means does Munro use to advance the plot?"
(cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.2, para. 203) We know the story is going to be about how Edie meets
her future husband. The reader starts the story off thinking that this pilot could possibly be that man.
Chris meets Edie when he catches her dressed up in Mrs. Peebles' dress. He tells her he thinks she is
beautiful. He spent the summer complimenting her and making little comments about wanting to see
her again. I believe the only time in the story we hear of the real Chris is when she surprises him
with the cake and he angrily replies "Come in". The next thing Munro uses to advance the plot is
Chris leaves town telling Edie I'm going to write you a letter. I'll tell you where I am and maybe you
can come and see me. Would you like that? Okay then. You wait." It is this conversation that leads to
the next plot advancement; Edie sitting by the mailbox every day. When Edie begins waiting for the
mail every day, she meets the mailman. She didn't really think anything about their daily

Analyzing How I Met My Husband By Alice Munro
Analyzing "How I Met My Husband", Alice Munro composes a short story that reveals multiple
themes, revolving around the desires of the protagonist, Edie,and how she fulfills them. The story is
about a young hired girl, Edie, working for Dr. Peebles and his family. One afternoon, Edie meets
Chris Watters, a pilot whom she eventually produces an intimate relationship with then ends up
leaving and never speaking to her again. In the short story, "How I Met My Husband", Alice Munro
entertains her readers by unfolding a memoir of a young, naive girl who fell in love and uses many
literary techniques to portray a surprise ending and a theme relating to young females.
The setting is created at the beginning of story when Munro states, "...who had bought an old house
out on the Fifth Line, about five miles out of town,"describing Edie's job as a hired girl, working for
Dr. and Mrs. Peebles (Munro). Their house is located in the country sought to be around the time of
WWII, or the 1940's and 1950's. Setting the story in the country, helps establish the plot by
portraying how Edie, the main character, is the hired girl, taking care of the country home. This then
leads to the main storyline and conflict, describing how the pilot, Chris shows up near the country
home to take people out in his plane.
Throughout the story, we are introduced to many different characters who play exceedingly different
and specific roles. Many of the characters are considered static, as they reveal little

Dance Of The Happy Shades
Within the collection of short stories Munro writes, Dance of the Happy Shades and Other Stories, I
would like to ask you to take another look at the story at the end of the book and the one that takes
up most of the title, Dance of the Happy Shades. All the stories in this book deal with the main
character having a sense of otherness, but this final narrative tells the otherness of a character
observed by the narrator. Within the story, I would like to present the idea that Miss Marselles
primarily, but also her sister and the children of the Greenhill School, are the ones who have that
otherness. Not only that, but they see the world in a different way from the rest of the characters
who judge them, and the biggest part of this is that Alice Munro wants us to think about how we see
others as well.
As evidence to the otherness of the children of the Greenhill School, Miss Marsalles and her sister,
the title of this story also lends itself to a piece of music played in the short story. "'The Dance of the
Happy Shades,' says Miss Marsalles. Danse des ombres heureuses, she says, which leaves nobody
any the wiser." (Munro, pg. 223) Why does Munro feel this title has such great importance to remind
us of it on three occasions? Perhaps it is merely coincidence, or a happenstance of the way titles
work within stories. But this is a class to look into overlooked details, so we will assume this is not
the case. Upon searching for a piano piece with this name, I could not find

Personal Attirity In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
In finding personal integrity, courage is a double edged blade as it can sustain integrity in certain
circumstances and drive an individual further away in others. In Alice Munro's short story "Boys
and Girls" the main character begins by developing a sense of personal integrity without external
influence, but soon loses sight of herself as pressure from both herself and her society outpace her
aspirations. As she grows older the values she placed in feats of daring is interchanged with
misplaced rebellion as she attempts to fight her expectations and role in her family. Though she has
courage in abundance for an untested child, the constant reproach and patronizing attitude of the
people around her restricts her ability to flourish. In this text Munro suggests that well–employed
courage is needed to sustain an already developed integrity, though it must act with some source of
external support to succeed.
In the beginning the girl finds integrity without the need of courage, since she is free from external
pressures to be anything but herself. During the day she directs her focus to her father's foxes,
finding herself enjoying these tasks without the pressure to do so from others. When assisting her
father when tending to the foxes she finds pride in her work, turning "red in the face with pleasure"
when praised as her father's hired hand. In the absence of anyone telling her to work towards being
something, she naturally finds herself fufilling her integrity by simply doing what she enjoys and
takes pride in. As a child accustomed to the arduous farmwork and unchallenged by societal
standards, pursuing what she finds integrity does not require her to display any bravery. Without
conflicting demands, the girl finds herself lacking in anything to be courageous against. Although
she believes that she is going above and beyond to help her father, characterized by her smugness at
carrying "the real watering can", her integrity does not require her to be actively courageous. The
pride she finds in her tasks and her love for helping her father is real, but her interests are untested,
unquestioned and involve little effort on her behalf to uphold. Since she finds fox farming as
familiar as the smell of "pine

Characters In Alice Munro's 'Differently'
In Alice Munro's short story "Differently," the main character Georgia recounts memories of Maya
and their fallout when she visits her friend's widowed husband many years later. Upon her visit, her
mind is flooded with memories of friendship, infidelity, and broken trust which inevitably
disconnected her from Maya and Ben (Georgia's husband). Throughout the text, the author
highlights the main character's inability to filter through many details as she describes the end of
various relationships following Maya's betrayal. The author's thorough description of settings,
characters, and events emphasizes Georgia's difficulty in focusing on what details of her life are
important, as most of them seem important to her.
The opening words of Alice Munro's "Differently" introduce the style the author uses throughout the
short story: "Georgia once took a creative writing course, and what the instructor told her was: Too
many things. Too many things going on at the same time; also too many people [...] What do you
want us to pay attention to? Think" (Munro 1). These lines echo in the mind of the reader as they
dive further into the text, reading about "too many things" and meeting "too many people."
Munro introduces Georgia, Raymond, Maya, Ben, Harvey, Anne, Hilda and her former creative
writing instructor all within the first few pages. The role of each character (aside from the creative
writing instructor) is clouded with the details of their physical appearance or small mannerisms.

A Room Of One 's Own By Virginia Woolf : Creating A Voice...
Virginia Woolf: Creating a Voice for Women
Virginia Woolf, a notable English writer, presented an exceptional essay, A Room of One's Own,
which focuses on women straying away from tradition and focusing on their independence. With
Woolf's creative ways of thinking, her essay also correlates with Kate Chopin's short story "The
Story of an Hour" and Alice Munro's short story "The Office." A Room of One's Own emphasizes
three major points, creating an image for women: gender inequality, a woman having money and a
room to herself and the countless interruptions that can distract a woman in society. The two short
stories "The Story of an Hour" and "The Office" illustrate the three central point's Virginia Woolf
makes in her essay A Room of One's Own. In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf accentuates
that fact that women are not treated justly in society and this is the reason why women writers are
not as successful as male writers. It was considered unethical for a woman to leave a traditional
society, of being a housewife, and becoming more independent. In this essay, Judith Shakespeare is
as talented as her brother; however, his talents are recognized while Judith's talents are not. Society
discriminates against women and believe that women could never be successful. Judith would have
advanced much differently even if she had the same talent as her brother because one believed a
women's work could never reach the level of a males work. In A Room of One's Own, Mary Beaton,

Boys And Girls Munro
Mother Versus Father: A Thematic Analysis of "Boys and Girls" Alice Munro developed the theme
"Be yourself, and do not let others change that" in her short story, "Boys and Girls" with the use of
characters and the setting. At the beginning, the narrator sees herself as a daddy's girl who enjoys
helping out on the farm, but as the story continues she is shaped into a character more like her
mother. Together, Munro's characters and the setting of the story influence the theme in a variety of
ways. The narrator influenced the theme as she was being shaped into a person she did not want to
be. Her mother continuously pushed her to be less like a tomboy and more like a typical girl. The
narrator viewed the word "girl" as something she had to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She was the main character trying to shape her daughter's image, she strongly believed that women
belonged in the house, just like the rest of the society in the early 1900s. The narrator's mother
looked forward to the day when she could "use her [daughter] more in the house" (5), after she
discussed how Laird was getting older. The mother was against the idea of women helping out with
a man's job, such as working in the barn or helping out with the pelting operation, for "she was
plotting now to get me to stay in the house more, although she knew I hated it" (5). The mother
showed both irritation and displeasure due to her daughter always running off when she asked for
help in the house, she said, "I just get my back turned and she runs off. It's not like I had a girl in the
family at all" (5). Along with direct characterization, Munro released small hints about the mother's
emotions through her daughter's dialogue and thoughts. The girl did not realize "that [her mother]
could be lonely, or jealous" (5). Additionally, when the mother walked into the barn "she looked out
of place" (4). This statement used the character's actions to show how the mother disliked
participating in outdoor responsibilities. Overall, the mother felt disrespected and she wanted her
daughter to fulfill duties in the house, rather than

How The Protagonist's Future In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
"Boys and Girls" is a short story, by Alice Munro, which illustrates a tremendous growing period
into womanhood, for a young girl living on a fox farm in Canada, post World War II. The young girl
slowly comes to discover her ability to control her destiny and her influences on the world. The
events that took place over the course of the story helped in many ways to shape her future. From
these events one can map the Protagonist's future. The events that were drawn within the story
provided the Protagonist with a foundation to become an admirable woman.
Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist's character that play a major role in
the shaping of her future. During her childhood she ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
550)." This revealed her depth as she could be touched by the simple words of a song. Her depth and
passion fueled her future and her goals, setting her in the direction of success. The Protagonist's
ability to comfort herself, her pride, her passion and depth she could harness powered her into the
direction of excellence in her adult years.
Throughout the story the Protagonist demonstrates a very unbalanced relationship with her family
members. She feels intimidated by the world around her and turns her lack of knowledge into
knowledge by controlling and influencing her younger brother Laird. She does so by telling him
stories and exposing him to experiences she claims to be familiar with. In her later years her
relationship with her brother becomes strong as they both realize they can benefit from each other's
experiences and differences. As a child the Protagonist viewed her father as God–like because he
had control and organization over the lives and deaths of the foxes. In essence he became her hero as
she admired his control over the animals. In her future relationship with her father she came to see
that he was simply a business man and she made a great attempt to form a deeper relationship with
her father. As she began to understand he was simply human and was no longer fearful of him. Her
relationship with

The Found Boat Summary
From the time we were young we had friends. Making friendship was always an instinctive concept
but we never knew where it would lead .In Alice Munro's story " The Found boat", Eva, Carol,
Frank, Bud and Clayton are a group of children that live in a small town and goes to the same
school. In this story, the boat initiates a new stage in the relationships between the boys and the girls
and how does the boat have an influence on their sexual awareness.
Firstly , the boat has an important influence in this story because it takes the kids on some sort of
adventure and change there relationship . For example, at the beginning of the story they largely
remain separated from on another and they only converse with one another occasionally, and that
communication usually takes the form of hurling insults at one another. " Look at the fat–assed
ducks in wading", and "Fat–assed fucks" (Munro 366). This stage of their relationship begins to
change after the girls find the boat and share that finding with the boys. We can observe that the
characters are very childish at the beginning of the story and that sooner or later their growth was
about to begin. Therefore it is at this moment that we can come to conclusion that the boat , which is
the main symbol of this story , is about to begin.
Secondly, working on the boat allows them to explore new roles and aspects of their identity. They
all had a different task to do; like that the boat would be ready to go on some unknown

Theme Of Too Much Happiness By Alice Munro
Women throughout the world and in all ages have been the subject of many literary works written in
different literary genres. Lots of literary critics have argued over the role and the status of women in
the world and their self–recognition of their economic, social, political, literary, cultural and familial
position in literary works. Thus, women have been the important analytical issue since the dawn of
literature and whatever role they had, they were included in literary works as well as literary canons.
The motif of woman is a universal issue; her oppression, her self–entanglement, her self–
recognition, her role in society and also in the family, her relation to art, science and nature. All
these issues have been the concern of most authors ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
ANALYSIS OF ALCE MUNRO'S SHORT STORIES
The short story collection of Lives of Girls and Women includes eight chapters through which
Munro goes through the details of women's ordinary life and makes this ordinariness extra ordinary
to confirm that a woman can reach mental maturity through the observation of other women around
her and her vital experience of the events. Munro embedded this fact in the protagonist Del who
gains maturity at the end and becomes a creative writer.
Through the observation of her mother (Addie) who reads a lot and sells encyclopedias, Del finds
out that she behaves like a clown and just pretends to be an intellectual. So she doesn't like her
mother's so much enthusiasm, excitement, aggressiveness and showing off as an intellectual.
Women should be equal to men in the way of acquiring knowledge of the world and books but the
way her mother shows off is not desirable both to Del and to people around her.
"Her marginalization as someone not to be listened to or respected is presented as a psychological
danger that accompanies maternity. Her autonomy is also undercut by her daughter's perception of
her as someone who brings derision upon herself" (Gault, 2006). In addition, Gualt examines
Addie's sense of intellectuality in this

Analysis Of Alice Munro 's ' How I Met My Husband '
Noah Nakielski
Prof. Kang
English 101
October 15, 2014 Life's Delusion
Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband" is a short story that takes the role of being a poignant tale.
Munro 's story is told from the perspective of an older woman, Edie, overlooking a time in her life
when she was about 15 years old. Munro purposely writes the tale this way to depict that the
narrator has learned much from her experiences from when she was 15 years old. Munro does this to
allow the reader to have deeper insight of the theme. In "How I Met My Husband" Alice Munro
portrays the theme of "delusion and self–deception" by using an abundance of literary devices such
as various forms of irony, characterization, and point of view. Munro is able to craft the emotional
complexity of the story by utilizing the literary devices that are important to the creation of the short
story.
The theme of "How I Met My Husband" is exhibited throughout the story with the multitude
characters in the story. The characters in the story are covered in a veil of secrecy and deception.
Munro utilizes the point of views of Edie, the protagonist, thus integrating layers of intricacy to the
story. In the commencement of the story, the younger Edie is the narrator; an innocent yet reserved
fifteen year old, who often times is insecure, as many teens are around this age. However, Edie 's
present authenticity becomes distorted in the pursuit of her true desires. Edie is character is facile to
understand; she struggles

Comparing The Loss Of Innocence In Wild Swans By Alice...
Both "Wild Swans" by Alice Munro and "Flowers" by Alice Walker explore the loss of innocence in
young women. Women have historically been seen as delicate and in need of protection. It is no
wonder that the loss of a woman's virginity is referred to as "deflowering," comparing a woman's
sexual release to the death of beautiful, fragile nature. A woman's innocence is coveted, as people go
to great lengths to shield them from both the reality of death and the pleasures of sex. The loss of
certain kinds of innocence, specifically sexual, can be seen as shameful for a woman, as opposed to
the masculine pride a man may feel from the same events. Through the choice of point of view, plot,
and tone, Walker depicts Myop in "Flowers" as finding more peace in her loss of innocence than
Rose does in "Wild Swans." Walker tells Myop's story in a third person omniscient point of view,
but limits greatly the extent to which she discloses Myop's inner feelings. Only once does Walker
refer to Myop as "unafraid" (Walker 76), giving us some insight into her thoughts. However, most of
the story is told from a rather detached point of view, mostly noting Myop's actions and the setting
around her. Myop's thoughts, then, must be gleaned from the events of the story. One sees in how
Myop responds to the corpse – casually plucking a flower from beside his head – that while the
corpse has stripped her of her innocence, she has become more mature through her experience.
Myop understands and accepts

Alice Munro Character Analysis
Expectations placed on us – Good or Bad? Our identity makes us who we are. How do we find it,
and, can others affect what we believe?
The thing that most people desire is their own identity. How we act, what we believe in, what we
are. But, some people change that and put expectations on it. These are all parts of who we are,
maybe you laugh like your mother or talk like your father. People affect who we are and set
expectations for us. In this story, author Alice Munro, through her character, shows how others place
expectations on her as a girl and how they affect her individual identity.
One major thing that affects our personal identity is the people around us, and the people that have
the most effect on us is our family. The main character's mother and grandmother pushes her to "act
like a girl" Her mother pushes the ideals of girls upon her. "She was plotting now to get me to stay
in the house more, although she knew I hated it (because she knew I hated it) and keep me from
working for my father." Her mother wants her to stay in the house to do work. At this point the main
character doesn't really realize that perhaps her mother is lonely and isn't just pushing her to "act
like a girl". "And then I can use her more in the house," I heard my mother say." Her grandmother is
another influence in her life that she doesn't welcome. Like many Grandmothers she wants her to act
like a lady. ""Girls don't slam doors like that." "Girls keep their knees together

Gender Roles In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
Merriam–Webster defines a short story as an invented narrative shorter than a novel and aiming at
unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot. Stories such as
"Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro and "A&P" by John Updike, these stories of initiation about the
gender roles the protagonists grow into. These stories illustrate the desire of wanting to embrace
certain roles and society principle, themes such as the principle and power of desire. Sexist roles
have been concurring since the earliest of times. Though recent movements have been enacted in
society there are still many improvements that have to be foreseen. In the story of "Boys and Girls"
by Alice Munro, the narrator, she is eleven–years–old and has an older brother. It takes place on her
parent's farm and from the moment she was born certain objectives are already entitled to her. She
desires to be more than standard tradition or categories. As she progressed with her feminine values
and traditions she desired to do other work. The problem with her attempting to achieve these
desires was her work was always underrated and wasn't considered much help because of her being
a woman. Although she knew she had handled more work than her brother, Laird. She was never
recognized as one of the boys. She was seen as a girl. A girl who didn't have the same capacity as
men "Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you'll have a real help" (156). Her ability to accomplish
more than her

Coming Of Age In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro
During the lectures and readings that we have done on coming of age, I have learned that coming of
age is a lot like a milestone in life. It happens when we mature or become more knowledgeable and
it can happen no matter what age we are. The story, "Boys and Girls", by Alice Munro, shows us the
perfect example of coming of age and is also a story that left a lasting impression on me because of
it feminist aspect of a girl's life. Coming of age is our minds and bodies evolving into a more mature
person. It isn't based off age, but more of experience and knowledge. Most of the time, coming of
age is more profound in the young due to the transition from childhood to adulthood. During this
transition, they have their first experience of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Even when she knew when they were going to put down her, she had no interest of seeing it happen
again, however this time the horse had gotten away from her dad and was running for dear life
towards the open gate. Her dad yells at her to run and close the gate, but instead of closing it she
opens it widely and lets Flora escape, meanwhile, her brother saw everything. Her father quickly
gets in the truck to track down the horse while her brother goes with them. Later on that night they
come home with the meat in the truck and while eating her brother tells on her. Feeling embarrassed
and ashamed she hides her face and silently agrees with her dad that she is just a girl. At the very
end of this story is where the main character goes through coming of age, she realized in everyone's
eyes she would always be a girl. Someone who should be inside the house doing chores and canning
food. This is a story that I can relate to, growing up I was a tomboy who was always outside helping
my dad from yard work to welding. My grandma was always trying to get me to do chores inside,
do my hair, make up and wear a dress. Often, she would tell me that I need to stop acting like a boy
and start acting like a girl so I can grow old and get married to a nice young man. It wasn't until I
was in my early twenty's that I started to dress more like a girl and wear

Thrice Running Away Analysis
Chapter Four Analysis of Runaway in the Perspective of Deleuze's Post–structuralism
4.1 Analysis of Thrice Running Away & Some Other Elements in Runaway from the Perspective of
Rhizome
Alice Munro is claimed to be the best fiction writer now working in North America and her
Runaway is regarded as a marvel. She is a master in the field of short novel writing. However, her
short stories, usually within forty or fifty pages, can cover a content of that of long novels. They are
condensed long novels. In her novels, there are human mysteries, suspense, "thrilling
unexpectedness of real life" and all these elements keep her readers glued in her hands. (Munro,
2004: 3) The author believe the complexity and uncertainty are the charms that made Munro's
stories fascinating. And that the absolutely black–and–white mode or tree–like mode of theories
would find it difficult to deal with Munro's stories. On the contrary, Deleuze's concept of rhizome
would probably be the helpful toolbox that can be applied to analyze Munro's stories. We people
want an order and as a result we create the hierarchy system, a tree system but that is not the reality.
The reality goes like a rhizome. Reality is much more complex than the black–and–white mode or
the tree–like mode. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In her stepfather's words, Clark is a loser and "one of those drifters". Her stepfather really despises
Clark. As far as he is concerned, Clark seems "was a bug he could just whisk off his clothes".
(Munro, 2004: 29) Carla's mother tells Carla that Clark will definitely break her daughter's heart. In
her mother's words, "that is a sure thing". (28) Also, when Sylvia asks Carla about her family in
order to figure our a way to help Carla run away from her husband, Carla mentioned that "they (her
parents) hated Clark". This could be one of the reasons that make Carla run away from her

Girls And Girls By Alice Munro
Boys and Girls, written by Alice Munro in 1931, is a short story that discusses the journey of a girl
who transcends the concept of gender roles in her youth by believing herself to be characterized by
not her gender, but instead her interests, capabilities, and responsibilities in regard to her support in
running her father's fox farming business at home. Throughout the story, the nameless narrator
supplies the reader with a multitude of details that explain and explore the social constraints of
gender for young girls; instead of abiding by them, the narrator opposes them with vigor for the
majority of her childhood. Munro strategically introduces Flora, a mare who matches the intensity of
attitude and self–presentation to that of the narrator in order to represent the resilience of the young
narrator's independence in her journey to defy the social constraints imposed on young women
during a lifetime. Flora exists as a comparison.
The narrator, a young girl at the age 10, opens the story in a direct manor, utilizing a matter–of–fact
tone that transcends her gender, implying herself to lack the feminine development commonly seen
in young girls: "my father was a fox farmer. That is, he raised silver foxes, in pens; and in the fall
and early winter, when their fur was prime, he killed them and skinned them and sold their pelts..."
(Munro 137). Her voice and tone is primarily how she is characterized as well as her active and
voluntary involvement in her father's fox farming

The Struggle for Self-Definition in Boys and Girls by...
The Struggle for Self–Definition in Boys and Girls
When we are adolescents we see the world through our parents' eyes. We struggle to define
ourselves within their world, or to even break away from their world. Often, the birth of our "self" is
defined in a moment of truth or a moment of heightened self–awareness that is the culmination of a
group of events or the result of a life crisis or struggle. In literature we refer to this birth of "self" as
an epiphany. Alice Munro writes in "Boys and Girls" about her own battle to define herself. She is
torn between the "inside" world of her mother and the "outside" world of her father. In the beginning
her father's world prevails, but by the finale, her mother's world invades her ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
Yet, she is filled with the sense of being a part of something important. "It seemed to me that work .
. . done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important" (113). She is
contributing to the family income in her own way when each year she rakes the grass, carries water
for the foxes, or cleans the watering dishes. Her father may be stern, but he is proud of his tom–boy.
He remarks to a passing salesman, "Like to have you meet my new hired man." This praise from her
father fills her with delight, "I turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure" (112).
Children need praise from their parents like they need food.
Then, in the months prior to Christmas, Father slaughters the animals, skins them, and sells their
pelts for the family's yearly income. He actually skins the foxes in the basement of the house where
she lives. The smell of the "pelting process . . . penetrated all parts of the house." The reader finds
the whole process and the fact that she watches this process with her brother, Laird, repulsive at
first, but she describes the process as "reassuringly seasonal, like the smell of oranges and pine
needles." These things are normal for her, yet in the following passage there is an under current that
her father's business is upsetting to her, although she is not fully aware of this until later in the story.
We see the foreshadowing of this in the following line: "We

Journey Motif In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro Essay

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Journey Motif In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro Essay