Happy Shades

“The Dance of the Happy Shades” by Alice Munro

1. a) In The Dance of The Shades, the first three sentences of the story achieve characterization through its brief descriptions of Miss Marsalles, as well as the narrator’s mother. For example, the story begins with the narrator questioning whether Marsalles decided to have another party because of her “musical integrity” or her “bold yearning for festivity”. In both regards, however, the narrator conveys her belief that Marsalles is a lonely yet positive woman, as she longs for interaction, which in this case is in the form of a party. Her words “musical” and “integrity” also collectively have interesting connotations. On one hand, the term "musical" is used not in its literal meaning, but as

The theme of this story is to never judge someone for what they are capable of doing. An example in this story that supports this theme is what follows after the special-needs kids first enter Marsalles’ party room. What happens is very disturbing: everyone gets disgusted, as they are not normally used to being with kids of this kind, and frown upon themselves for attending this party as they feel it will get just worse. Even the narrator, who is arguably the most sensible at the party, tells herself that she didn’t know that she was going to attend a “procession” of “little idiots”. However, what they do not realize is that these children have hidden talents in one way or another. In one case, the parents at the party were just waiting for the kids to play the piano, and get the whole party done and through with, but one special needs girl really surprised them. She played extremely beautifully, and ultimately surprised everyone, as they thought these kids were as dumb as rocks. This connects extremely well with one of the most prominent example of imagery, the title: The Dance of the Happy Shades. This example of imagery is also metaphorical in a way, but doesn’t really connote to shades dancing, but rather, the fact that shades are usually seen as lifeless, and not happy. And the fact that they are dancing also is very interesting, because it is conveying that sometimes things like shades (which are unexpected to be lively, if they could be personified) can in fact

The effect of Munro having a character as a narrator is significant. More specifically, it is told through a teenage girl, which not only adds a fresh perspective, but also depth. One example of this could be when the special needs kids attended the party. In this situation, the narrator really noticed that everyone resented Marsalles for allowing these kids attend, as they all let our shrugs, and were genuinely disgusted. Even the narrator expressed her disgust in an odd way, as she carefully examined and described the irregularities of the physical features of these kids. This adds depth to the story, as it is told through the mindset of someone who is childish, and at the same time very mature, as she is able to express and observe the actions of other people around her in quite some detail. In addition, she often included a detailed opinion about the situation she was dealing with, ultimately adding a fresh perspective to the story. One example of this was when she expressed that she was not exactly repelled by the special needs kids, but particularly upset that she was invited to a “procession” of “little idiots”. By doing so, she not only expresses her distaste for the special needs kids, but also allows the reader to sympathize with her as it is told in first person, where things are seen in one person’s shoes. Therefore, the effect of Munro having a character is significant, as it not only provides a fresh perspective but also adds depth to the