Bobbie Ann Mason’s short story, Shiloh, is set in rural Kentucky. The married couple of whom the story centers around is at a moment of change both psychosocially and physically, just as their setting is. For no reason to be seen, Kentucky is being paved over with cheap, ugly subdivisions and massive shopping centers. Leroy dreams of turning back time and building his wife a sturdy log cabin. Whether or not she will support her husband’s dream is the question of whether or not she is willing to go against the current trend of cheap yet expensive over quality that does not require monetary quantification. The contrast of the dream and the setting represents the contrast between the minds of husband and wife, and how it will be rectified will comment heavily on who has the power-individuals or the masses. Overlaid with the ambiance of reminiscence, rural Kentucky has been chosen as the setting for the short story Shiloh. After an accident, the husband, Leroy, has returned to his home after years on the road as a truck driver. His wife, Norma Jean, remains faithful and kind through his sufferings. The relationship of the couple is …show more content…
This element is the characters need for real progress in their lives, and the desire to create stability in a culture that appears always to be falling down-as if the government is made up of contractors, construction workers, and architects bond and determined to stay busy. Unfortunately, Norma Jean shares her mother’s reluctance to indulge in idealism as she touts the party line, “You have to find a job first. Nobody can afford to build now anyway” (Mason 8). Mabel turns the line of conversation to an old line, encouraging the couple to visit the Civil War battleground of Shiloh. This setting holds an obsessive fascination for Mable, considering she went there on her honeymoon and it is one of the only places she has traveled (Mason