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Boys And Girls Analysis

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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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