Boys And Girls Analysis
The short story “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro is narrated by an unnamed young girl who talks about life on her family’s fox farm where she lives with her parents and younger brother. She undeniably prefers working outside with her father on the chores and tending to the foxes instead of working in the house with her mother. Throughout the story there are subtle and obvious indications of the differences in and expectations of boys and girls. Although the narrator clearly demonstrates her preference to the role of a boy, she finds herself conforming to society’s expectations of a girl. Notably, the roles of males vs. females was clearly defined and differentiated within this story using the narrator’s parents. The mother worked diligently …show more content…
In the beginning, she told herself stories of how she was a heroine, rode horses and shot expertly. In these stories she “rescued people from bombed buildings” and shot “rabid wolves” as others were too terrified to act (para. 6). Later, the stories portrayed her as the person being rescued and were overwhelmed with details of her hair, her dresses and her overall appearance. She had also tried to make her “part of the room fancy” by making a lace bed cover and adding a dressing table (para. 52). The final acknowledgement of this change manifested when instead of helping her father catch a loose horse, she opened the gate to let her run free. Then, when she thought she would be punished for defying her father, he made the ultimate declaration by absolving her of her actions as he stated “Shes’ only a girl” (para. 64). As stated above, throughout this story there are defined cultural and societal traditions and expectations for boys and girls. The narrator clearly wants to deviate from the expected and pave her own way which would allow her disregard her duties as a girl inside the house for the preferred work of a boy outside with her father. Eventually, the narrator finds herself changing in ways that identify with and are more in line with other girls. So much so, that her own father eventually calls her a
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Boys And Girls Alice Munro Analysis
2035 Words | 9 PagesMany critics agree on one fact about Canadian author Alice Munro: one of her most notable qualities in regards to her work is the distinct use of realism in her writing. Her writing provides a strong sense of familiarity to the reader, while also containing stronger metaphorical meanings that one can note when they begin to closely look at her work. Her short story “Boys and Girls” portrays the socialization of a young girl, once very close to her father and unaware of any sort of gender bias within her society, into a young woman with a pessimistic view of femininity and her expected position in society. This story shows the socialization process in a way that makes it easy to recognize, illustrating circumstances that the reader can notice the blatant sexism and misogyny; however, its portrayal is extremely realistic, allowing the reader to recall how oblivious they may have been in the past during times that they have been impacted by social biases in our world. Critics of Munro typically agree on her overall theme of femininity and coming of age in her writings; “Boys and Girls” emphasizes the ways in which young girls are socialized into a seemingly natural understanding of the sexist expectations and gender roles.
Analysis Of Short Story 'Boys And Girls' By Alice Munro
1091 Words | 5 PagesPhrabakar and K. Venkat Satish (2011) said that, “Alice Munro is a forthright feminist fiction writer who uses the short story form as a medium to portray the sad conditions of women living in the landscape of small town, Ontario, Canada where she has been brought up and her stories voice woman’s feeling towards society from feminist perspective”. So, ‘Boys and Girls’ short story highlighted the issue of feminism the most in which at that time, society did not consider men and women are at the same level. In this story, the narrator is unnamed while his little brother is named Laird which means ‘land owner’. The name symbolized how the male child was superior in the parent’s eyes and in general. Along with that, the name also symbolizes the difference between the sexes when this story took place.
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