Symbolism In Alice Munro's Short Story 'Day Of The Butterfly'

It is a part of the human nature to have a desire to be accepted in the crowd, so one doesn’t feel left out. In Alice Munro’s short story “Day of the Butterfly”, Myra is the outsider who is constantly left out. Myra is an immigrant, who acts, looks, smells, and talks differently than all the other children. Myra also has a little brother who is very dependent on her. She has very big responsibilities to take care of him. The challenges of being different makes Myra desperate to be normal and included in everyday life. When Myra is hospitalized, she is finally in the spotlight and feel accepted by her peers. The characterization of Myra and the symbolism of the butterfly and her clothes illustrates her desire to fit in and her challenges she

Being an immigrant, Myra has different characteristics than the other children in her grade. She has a “long smooth oval [face]” and “dark, oily, shining hair...worn in heavy braids…on top on her head”(Munro 3). The girls in her class taunt Myra that she “washes [her hair] in cod-liver oil” (9) because her hair is different than their own. Myra also has a “rotten-sweetish smell as of bad fruit”, from her parent’s fruit store, which is not the best smell to be around (10). Myra’s huge responsibilities set her apart from her classmates. Myra’s parents are not always there for Myra and Jimmy so they have to look out for each other. Myra is a mother-like figure for her little brother, Jimmy. Jimmy is in the first grade, and needs Myra to be with him to be able to use the restroom. Every recess Myra has to watch over her little brother otherwise he would be beaten up by the boys in his grade. They both stand on the back porch separated from all the playing children. Her teacher, Miss. Darling, notices Myra being separated from the other children and commands the other girls to be nicer to her.Although Miss. Darling had good intentions, this only draws more attention to Myra causing her to get