Post your response to "Shiloh" below.
Also, remember that the 9am class will meet this Wednesday and Friday in the Higgins Lecture Room (the same place as Monday's class). The 8am class will meet in the normal Berkshire classroom.
(And at time I'm writing this, only five people have posted a response to the essays on "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" This was due today!)
Kelsey Nolan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W
9 April 2012
History, Time and Change
In ‘Shiloh,’ the author Bobbie Ann Mason uses many different symbolic images throughout the story. The title itself is a symbol. ‘Shiloh’ was a battle in the civil war. The name symbolizes the battle Leroy and Norma Jean are in with each other. Both their story and this story, end at Shiloh. Their separating at Shiloh symbolizes the end of the battle; the war is finally over.
The way Leroy drives in ‘Shiloh’ compares to his relationship with his wife Norma Jean in a symbolic way. Leroy drives down the road and doesn’t realize what’s in front of him. In his relationship he is ignorant and doesn’t see that his wife doesn’t want the house he wants to build her. The house can symbolize their relationship. Just like rebuilding a house, Leroy wants to rebuild his relationship with his wife. Norma Jean is not interested in rebuilding the house or their relationship.
At the end of the story after Norma Jean tells Leroy she wants to be separated. The whole time she’s breaking up with him he is focused on the gravestones. The gravestones symbolize the death of their relationship. Norma Jean walks away from him leaving Leroy sitting there. When Norma Jean finally stops walking; she “reached the bluff, and she is looking over the Tennessee River.” (Mason 325) Norma Jean looking over the cliff symbolizes the unknown. By leaving Leroy she is constructing a new history; she is entering the unknown. The Tennessee rivers water symbolizes purification. Norma Jean is starting over.
In our society, we have what are called stereotypes. A stereotype can be defined as an assumed characteristic of a person solely based on what they look like, or what their role is in life. In Bobbie Ann Mason’s short story “Shiloh”, the two main characters Leroy and Norma Jean are husband and wife. Leroy is recently out of work as a truck driver due to a leg injury and since his physical therapy requires him to do exercise, that motivated his wife, Norma Jean to do the same. As Leroy’s wife, we readers are instinctually led to the belief that Norma Jean should be home with Leroy everyday taking care of him instead of concentrating on her body building. That is just our stereotype because that is certainly not the case. In Mason’s “Shiloh” there is a role reversal in the marriage of Leroy and Norma Jean.
ReplyDeleteEver since Leroy has been home from work, he has been feeling guilty for preciously having worked such long hours as a truck driver. Though he feels this way, Leroy is not sure if his wife feels the same since she has never complained about his being gone. “Since he has been home, he has felt unusually tender about his wife and guilty over his long absences. But he can’t tell what she feels about him. Norma Jean has never complained about his traveling; she has never made hurt remarks, like calling his truck a “widow maker” (313). In this excerpt from the text, the key word is ‘tender’. Since when does a man admit he is feeling unusually tender about his wife? Especially when he can tell his long absences didn’t seem to bother her.
Another point to focus on is now that Leroy is home; he is noticing how much his town and everything around his has changed. Norma Jean doesn’t seem to feel this way because she is always around. This forces the readers to make Leroy into a sensitive character, who cares what he has missed while Norma Jean is not affected whatsoever. This fact makes it seem like Norma Jean is manlier as opposed to Leroy, who is reflecting sensitively on his life.
In many ways we can make Norma Jean out to be more of a ‘husband’ in comparison to Leroy’s actions. Norma Jean is not affectionate and caring as the author portrays Leroy. But again, this is just a stereotype. This is how our society makes us believe a wife should be. There is nothing set in stone stating how a wife should act.
Naomi Alphonso
ReplyDeleteShiloh Response
Mr. Bolster
April 13th 2012
Identity In Gender Roles
In most societies the obvious physical differences between men and women are used as a justification to direct them into different categories, while define roles for each. These differences in men and women are incorporated into cultural values and norms. These cultural differences confirm the need for different social roles. Leroy and Norma Jean face a new found struggle. Their unforeseen circumstances result in them exchanging gender roles which end in a broken marriage.
After Leroy meets with his accident he is almost scared and intimidated by it. He doesn’t quite know how to spend his free time. He feels dethatched from his wife and fantasizes about hobbies and having something to do. He often thinks about his rig and how it sits in the back yard unused. He compares himself to it as he sits home, unused and unwanted.
He makes craft objects and sews needle point pillows which Mabel makes fun of and claims in womanly(312). Here we see an evident distinction in cultural roles. Mabel makes Leroy feel emasculated. His wife also practically ignores him and they don’t enjoy spending time together like they used to (315).
Leroy believes his wife is strong and smart (314). He feels shy around her and dwells on his inability to carry out his strong role of being the “man” in the house. This role swap makes Norma Jean feel more powerful. She is the only one working and she earns the bread. We see that Leroy has become complacent with being home. He whines to Norma about how he can’t stand on his feet all day long (316). We see that they’re both comfortable taking each others roles. However, this puts a wedge in their marriage. Norma Jean loses respect for her husband and Leroy loses respect for himself.
Social roles play an important factor in giving individuals significance in their lives. Norma has accepted her role and even takes a body building class. The reversal of gender roles in this story plays an importance in defining the characters.
The story begins and ends with Norma Jean exercising her pectoral muscles (316). This is a direct reference to a muscle in a man’s body. Norma Jean even smokes now and doesn’t perform typical housewife chores like she used to. She doesn’t cook her husband a meal anymore and the couple’s marriage ends in her asking him for a divorce. The importance of gender roles are highlighted in this story. Gender roles define individuals and swapping them made Leroy and Norma Jean completely different people.
Nick Coutant
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
13 March 2012
Role Reversal
Throughout history most marriages have been traditional marriages, meaning that there is a definite split in the roles each individual has. Most men have the jobs and financial responsibilities, while the women have the responsibility of taking care of the house and the children. In Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh”, there is a role reversal in the marriage.
It is evident in the first paragraph of the story that their marriage isn’t what you would typically expect. The story opens up with Norma Jean working out and lifting weights, while her husband watches in amazement and referring to her as “superwoman”. Norma Jean is also the only one at the time who holds a job to support them. Since the accident, Leroy has been home most of the time and taking up certain hobbies. Most people who were injured on the job would also need things to do but most men would not build craft kits in their spare time, mostly children and women have craft kits.
As odd as the roles in the marriage may seem, they really aren’t that unusual. Their roles are reversed when you compare them to a traditional marriage, but the way most marriages are working in today’s society is different. Today women have jobs, and take care of financial issues, while the men might be the stay at home parent, or both individuals will hold jobs. Now men and women have just about equal roles and things are not as split as they once were.
Norma Jean’s and Leroy’s roles are reversed when you compare them to a traditional marriage, but most traditional marriages are becoming harder to find. Most women have jobs and are almost making equal pay compared to what men make. The world is changing and it is not an odd thing to see traditional roles being reversed.
Karina Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteEnglish 106w
Prof. Chappell
April 12, 2012
What is missing?
Leroy and Norma Jean have a very odd relationship. After the death of their son Randy they don’t quite act like the normal husband and wife. Leroy is more like the women in the marriage and Norma Jean is more like the man in the marriage. Norma Jean likes to take body building classes and Leroy likes to crochet. The relationship is very distant in many ways. Norma Jean and Leroy don’t know how to have a “lovey dovey,” marriage like most marriages are known to be like. The title of the story, “Shiloh,” means the impossibility of knowing other people, even people with whom you have spent more than sixteen years.
“Leroy has the sudden impulse to tell Norma Jean about himself, as if he had just met her. They have known each other so long they have forgotten a lot about each other. . . . But . . . he forgets why he wants to do this. “This quote is towards the middle of the story when Leroy decided he wants to talk to Norma Jean but then changes his mind. He being on the road for so long has kept him distant from his wife, in which they forget what the meaning of marriage really is. They forget what it is to love, communicate, and simply be united as one. The death of their child has made a major impact on their marriage. The both of them no longer know the motivations, desires, wants, or needs in one another in their marriage. Sometimes he wants to start over from the beginning so that he can find that spark that hit him in the beginning of the marriage. But then marijuana and shyness come into the picture and he no longer has the want or courage to ask her.
The differences between them are also what are separating their marriage. Leroy is a pot smoker and he just sits at home doing women like things. He no longer works because of an accident; therefore he is not the breadwinner in the household. Usually according to the olden days the men were the ones to make the money and the wife was the one to sit home and cook and clean. In this scenario Norma Jean is the one to work, she does the bodybuilding classes, and she sticks up for her and basically the both of them have a major role change which in fact is also a big issue in their marriage. Both Norma Jean and Leroy have come a long way since they wed at the age of 18 and lost their son randy of SIDS. It is hard for them to find their love again and hopefully one day they will be able to have that, “lovey dovey” feeling again.
Nicole DeFosche
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W
13 March 2012
Is There Such Thing as Reversed Marriage?
Is there really such thing called “reversed marriage” or is it just a stereotype people make? In the Short story “Shiloh,” writing by Bobbie Ann Mason, the marriage of the main characters, Leroy and Norma Jean, seems to be different than what society would judge it on. Leroy was a truck driver, but no longer works due to the leg injury he has because of a bad accident he was involved in. Since his car accident, he has been home for three months. He is just about healed, but he might not be able to move on and continue with his trucking career. While he is home and healing from his accident, he does crafts and smokes pot to keep him busy.
Leroy is married to Norma Jean, who is described to be a very productive and motivated character. Norma Jean is so motivated that because of Leroy’s accident he must attend physical therapy to help him heal. During physical therapy he has to lift weights. This made Norma Jean want to join a body-building class. Not only does Norma Jean attend this class, but she is also a student in college and has a job. Since the accident, Leroy is collecting temporary disability, but this money isn’t enough to survive on, this is where Norma Jean’s job comes into play.
In past centuries, it was unacceptable for a wife to be in the working world. Mainly, her job was to stay at home and take care of the household, for example, taking care of the kids, making sure there was a hot meal waiting for her husband to come home, and cleaning around the house. It never would come across a woman’s mind to even try to get a paying job or to even vote for that matter. It was a masculine and manly thing for the man to do. In today’s society this is completely different. Some of the biggest companies and jobs are run by women. The power that women have showed and how much society has grown up is incredible. Barley, mother’s stay at home anymore. Once they have kid’s and is old enough to go to day care, it’s back to work for them.
For Norma Jean, I don’t believe the marriage is “reversed,” I believe it’s more of a temporary situation. It’s traumatizing for Leroy to get back into working like he used to and I believe Norma Jean understands this. Leroy will eventually get over this stage of feeling scared to back to work. Husband and wives are supposed to help each other in a time of need and I believe Norma Jean is doing her job by doing this. She is making herself happy as well as keeping the family together in a time of need.
It’s Gotta Get Done Somehow
ReplyDeleteIn “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason, Norma Jean and Leroy do not have a typical marriage. A typical marriage in American society is one where the male fulfills the stereotypical male roles, such as providing for the family, being emotionally stable, and maintaining a strong persona. The woman fulfills the roles of maintaining the household, keeping a dainty, feminine figure, and keeping herself busy around the house and town. Some people believe that Norma Jean and Leroy have a traditional marriage, even though it is reversed. The couple actually seems to put the weight on one person, rather than having it split up.
Traditional marriages have two people who each have roles in the marriage. In Norma and Leroy’s marriage, Norma takes on both roles. She builds her body to be strong and also does housework and cooks. In today’s society, it is common to see one partner pulling extra weight in the household when the other is incapable of doing so. One does what is best for the household. In order to maintain her house and lifestyle, Norma takes over and fills in where Leroy lacks. While he does crafts, she goes to class. Nowadays, many adults are going back to school. This means that the household will need changing. Norma and Leroy are going through a change that many current couples are going through now. In a modern day household, one does what needs to get done in order to function successfully, even if it means doing everything.
Norma Jean does what needs to get done in order to maintain her life. She takes on any task that needs to get done and tries to better herself in the process. Leroy drifts off in the relationship through his daydreaming and crafts. In a traditional marriage, one must share the responsibilities of the household. However, when there is a weak link in the system, one must pick up the pieces and keep running.
Chynna Burroughs
ReplyDeleteEng 106W
Bolster
12 April 2012
Marriage Role Reversal and Its Impact
Although the trend has changes dramatically in recent times, for a long time, the role of
husband and wife was very clear cut. The husband was seen as the “breadwinner” and held down
a job outside the home. The wife would stay at home to take care of the house and children. In
the story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason, Norma Jean and Leroy break from this tradition. From
the outside, Norma Jean has taken on the role of the “husband”, whereas Leroy has taken on the
role of the “wife”. If they actually fulfill those designated roles is another thing also. Norma Jean
and Leroy are also not content with the current roles they hold within their marriage, which
creates conflict within their relationship.
The roles Norma Jean and Leroy find themselves in are not the roles they used to inhabit.
Leroy used to have the traditional role as the husband. As a truck driver, he was the main
financial provider in the marriage. This changes when he is injured and is unable to continue
truck driving. This situation puts Leroy in the home as a, from the outside “homemaker wife”.
Although Leroy could be now seen as the “wife”, he doesn’t necessarily take on that role. Yes,
he stays at home, but he doesn’t take care of the home. After the injury, Leroy “is not sure what
to do next”, so “he makes things from craft kits” (312). He crafts, needle points and attempts art,
which seem to be more along the lines of what a child might do with their time. With Leroy’s
injury, Norma Jean is also thrust into a role she didn’t previously inhabit. She is now the main
income producer. She also takes on body building, an activity typically associated with the male
gender.
The role reversal between Norma Jean and Leroy does not create a situation they are both
satisfied with. Norma Jean has taken the new role she’s been given and has made the most of it.
She has a good job, is taken college classes, and is trying to improve her health. She is becoming
more self-sufficient. But, she still holds resentment towards Leroy for the situation he finds
himself in. Norma Jean wants Leroy to want to better himself also, but he stays stagnant. Leroy
himself is stuck in a submissive role. He even asks Norma Jean, “Am I still king around here?”
(322). He wants to know if he is still the “man” in the home and in their marriage, which he
really knows he is not anymore. He is frustrated by his new standing in life, but still makes no
move to change it. He is still living in the clouds, continuing his dream of building a cabin for
himself and Norma Jean. He resigns himself to letting time pass him by, even though it seems
that’s not ultimately what he wants to do.
At the end of the story, Norma Jean and Leroy’s feelings about their current positions and
where they are in their lives comes to a head. Norma Jean is at her most frustrated point,
unhappy with Leroy, and even telling him she’s going to leave him. Leroy begins to realize his
dreams of building a cabin are futile, but continues to want to create another similar focus, still
not paying attention to the concerns Norma Jean is voicing. They both seem destined to continue
in their current stations; each unwilling to face what they need to do in order to find ultimate
happy in their lives again.
The Implacable Change
ReplyDeleteProgress is praised often enough. It frees the enslaved, feeds the hungry, empowers the weak and the repressed; it promises a better future to all. We welcome progress. We consider the wars fought for it justified and look down on groups and nations hindering its advancement. But what about people who don’t join the forces for or against progress, who are simply content with what they have and what they are? Do they have themselves to blame for getting hurt and strewn aside by the relentless march of change? In Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh,” the sharp contrast between the small sad story of the end of Leroy Moffit’s marriage and the grand backdrop of a Civil War battle invites the reader to consider the not always glorious or fair “inner workings” of progress (325).
Neither of the main characters in the story feels too deeply about global issues or national history: Leroy “doesn’t know any history,” and Corinth is only significant as the place “where Mama eloped to” for Norma Jean (323). The couple’s story is very small-scale and trivial, and yet the wave of changes that carries Norma Jean farther and farther away from Leroy is both a result and a driving force of progress.
Norma Jean feels oppressed by everything in her life: Leroy’s constant presence in the house, his cluelessness and complacency, Mabel’s nagging, the drab rented house, the memory of their dead child. Understandably, she craves change. In another epoch, she might see jumping off a bluff as the only escape available to her. Progress provides her with real options. After the bodybuilding class gives her the first taste of strength and confidence, Norma Jean starts actively working on bringing about the changes she wants. She does try to keep her marriage: she refrains from nagging Leroy about his crafts; she keeps a friendly tone and cooks exotic foods to liven up what she sees as dreadful monotony; she tries to help Leroy find a job (316). If only she could explain to him just how close to the brink their marriage is, how important it is that he should “get moving” at once if he wants to save it (325).
Unfortunately, Leroy does not understand what is happening to Norma Jean. He senses that all is not well between them, and tries his best to understand, but he is just not perceptive enough. Besides, he is blinded by his joy at finally being “home to roost” after fifteen years of hard work (312). He is so happy to be with his wife whom he loves very much, to tinker with crafts, to daydream of their future house and a long quiet life ahead, full of little pleasures and rest. He cannot imagine that Norma Jean has a completely different idea of happiness.
It is maddeningly sad that these two people must lose each other. When Norma Jean walks away from Leroy at Shiloh, he “tries to hobble toward her,” and that is a heart-wrenching image (325). The hope that he can ever really reach her is thin. Progress entices Norma Jean and relentlessly leads her away, leaving innocent, kind, baffled Leroy with nothing. His loss resonates with the South clutching to familiar comforts and losing to the progressive North in the long-ago battle. Progress is great, and certain sacrifices in its name are justified, but we rarely stop to consider its accidental victims. Bobbie Ann Mason reminds us that they may deserve our compassion.
Tami Corsi
ReplyDeleteChappell
“Shiloh”
12 April 2012
Monster In Law
Most have been warned about the dreaded ‘monster in law’. This is either the festering sore or dormant influence on a marriage. Said monster will be cold and hateful. They will be sarcastic and judgmental. All of these fit Mabel Beasly of Bobbie Ann Mason’s short story, “Shiloh”. Leroy and Norma Jean Moffit do not have a perfect marriage. Their maturity is limited along with their independence as husband and wife. Because of the death of their son Randy and their extensive time apart, their marriage is not conventional. They are distant and childish. However, putting all of that aside, Mabel Beasly still fits in her part to make the Moffit’s marriage even harder. Mabel’s influence on Norma Jean may have been the pushing factor that broke up Leroy and Norma Jean’s marriage.
While the story does not mention Mabel extensively, it can be assumed that she was a ‘monster in law’. She blames Leroy for Norma Jean getting pregnant and marrying a seemingly disgraceful man. Mason writes, “Mabel has never really forgiven him for disgracing her by getting Norma Jean pregnant. When the baby died, she said that fate was mocking her.” (316) It can be implied from that sentence that Mabel was feeling more disgraced than her daughter. Of course any good parent should be upset about an illegitimate child at eighteen years old. However, Mabel was only worried about herself being disgraced rather than her daughter or family as a whole. Mabel is perceived as a small yet selfish character. She does not pay attention to Leroy or Norma Jean although when she does it is spiteful. Mabel starts talking about a baby who was killed by a dog. She says, “Did you hear about the datsun dog that killed the baby?… It chewed the baby’s legs off. The mother was in the next room all the time.” (319) Mabel clearly knows that type of subject is touchy. She chose to mention a dead baby referring to neglect specifically to bring up memories of Randy. She is so selfish she cannot let her daughter be happy. She chooses to force emotion out of Norma by hurting her in a way she can easily deny it.
Mason adds into the story that since Leroy has been home, he notices how often Mabel is around. She never mentions what Mabel does when Leroy is not there. Since Mabel disapproves of Leroy and his activities she had every opportunity to bash him when he was gone. As a reader I wondered if Mabel convinced Norma Jean to leave Leroy. She had every chance to talk down about him when he was working. Now that Norma Jean is getting sick of having so many people in the house at once, this could have been her breaking point. Mabel’s appearance almost every day in the Moffit household keeps both Norma jean and Leroy from really growing up. Mabel is the wall that holds the real Leroy from Norma and from the Moffits from being the family they should be.
Mabel is subtly controlling. The reader never knows what she has said to Norma concerning Leroy. We do know that she is purposely rude and hurtful to the Moffit family. This is not a healthy relationship between husband and wife let alone including a mother in law. This unhealthy environment is cause by the one and only Mabel, the prime example of a monster in law.
Brie Brown
ReplyDeleteProf. Chappell
Eng 106W
13 April 2012
She Wears Both Pants in the Relationship
In every relationship there is someone who “wears the pants” in the relationship. In most relationships, the man is the one who “wears the pants” in the relationship. Sometimes it is even the women who have this role in the relationship. In the American Short Story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason, Leroy’s wife named Norma Jean perhaps takes on both the typical man and woman’s roles in the relationship.
In the story, Leroy is essentially demasculinized once he gets in the truck accident. The moment he was home and had a hard time moving due to having a steel pin placed in his hip, he was not capable of doing anything. As soon as he could not work, he begins to do more feminine things that truly demasculinize him. Throughout the story, Leroy is rather dependent on Norma Jean whereas in older times the woman tended to be more dependent on the husband. However, the only feminine thing that Leroy does is the arts and crafts. Leroy does not take the role of the man or the woman, but merely a child. This is because while Leroy sits on his butt and does nothing, Norma Jean takes care of everything.
In the typical marriage, back then, the husband was working and doing a bunch of things that would essentially benefit the household, while the wife would stay at home and take care of things around the house; she would make sure the house was perfect for her husband. Leroy does not make food, clean the house, or do the laundry, and yet Norma Jean does. Not only does Norma Jean take on the domestic housewife chores, but she also takes on the masculine providing role. Norma Jean attends college, has a job, and even works out to keep her body in shape.
It is because the fact that Norma Jean has to take on both the male and female roles in the relationship that it truly does fail. It is a lot of pressure for one spouse in a relationship to take on both the husband and wife roles. This pressure most likely will result in unfaithfulness or even a divorce. However, in this story it leaves the audience to believe that Norma Jean has committed suicide because she does not know any other way to deal with the situation that she has been put in. Therefore one person taking on both roles of the relationship is something that should seriously be avoided.
Stephanie Sereday
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
13 April 2012
Gender Roles
In most societies, gender is assigned at birth. Along with gender comes certain roles and stereotypes. The “male” is supposed to be the main source of income and the protector. It is also common that the “male” is more emotionally introverted and therefore less expressively sensitive than the “female.”
The “female” is the caretaker. She is the one who cares for the children and tends to the home. The “female” is stereotypically much more sensitive than the “male.” It is uncommon for a person to stray from their gender role.
In “Shiloh,” written by Bobbie Ann Mason, these gender roles are reversed. When Leroy Moffitt, a long time big rig driver, returns home to his wife, Norma Jean, things have changed. The population has risen by 700 people and the farmer are no where to be found; Those aren’t the only changes though. Norma Jean is almost as different as Leroy is himself. “Since he has been home, he has felt unusually tender about his wife and guilty over his long absences,” Leroy has become much more sensitive and caring for his wife (313). “.. He wishes she would celebrate his permanent homecoming more happily,” Leroy craves attention and love from his wife (313). This sensitivity and neediness that Leroy is displaying fits the stereotype of the “female” gender. In contrast, Norma Jean shows attributes of the “male” gender role by seeming aloof and keeping her feelings to herself. “But he can’t tell what she feels about him” (313). This introverted nature contains an element of insensitivity, which is also a trait of the “male” gender.
This reversal of gender roles is both uncommon and entertaining. It is interesting to see these roles portrayed by persons of the opposite “gender.” Perhaps more “males” feel the way Leroy does but chose not to express themselves. Maybe some “females” don’t quite care as much as they are expected to. This story wouldn’t have been as capturing if the two main characters, Leroy and Norma Jean, hadn’t strayed from their gender roles.
Jeff Semenetz
ReplyDeleteEnglish 106w
Professor Chappell
April 13, 2012
It’s time for a change
The theme of “Shiloh” is how changes can drive people apart. Time brings change and that can drive people apart like it did in “Shiloh”. This story revolves around a pot smoking; former truck driver named Leroy married to a woman named Norma Jean who wants to move forward in her life, but feels held back by his new lifestyle and her nagging mother. Leroy used to be a trucker until he got into a bad accident and is now unable to drive. He spends his days around the house and buys pot from an old high school friend. He reverted back to his childish ways while his wife began taking classes in an effort to move her life forward. Norma Jean feels oppressed by her mother when she finds out about her smoking. She claims this was the turning point that made her leave Leroy. This story tells the reader how Norma Jean felt like she was becoming a child with Leroy again and she simply did not want to go down that road. She could not handle the stress of being a teenager again, it just could not happen. Leroy was degenerating while she was making the effort to improve herself. This led to her need to leave Leroy at Shiloh where they had a nice lunch and looked at a cabin that Leroy liked and wanted to build them their own. Leroy’s childish antics are most notable from his effort to design a log cabin for them to live in. He builds little models and plays with different designs. He never really makes any progress and Norma Jean doesn’t seem to care for his ideas. Eventually Norma Jean just leaves him when they go to Shiloh. Leroy is confused by this abrupt behavior, but that again is because he is blind to her feelings because he is essentially a young child.
The typical male and female relationship is exactly what you think of. the male goes to work then will come home do the yard work and help around the house. The woman will also go to work, but come home and take care of the kids and also the house. Norma Jean and Leroy's relationship is reversed and flipped upside down.
ReplyDeleteNorma went to college and got a good paying job. She is the main provider for the family which is unlike the normal conventional status of the man being the main provider. She also attends a body building class which is quite strange for a house wife. Normally a wife may go to the gym for a yoga class, cycling, or some cardio, but rarely do they join a body building class.
Leroy doesn't do much with his life. He has a job as a truck driver, but when he gets home he just sits on the couch doing nothing. He'll sneak away to smoke some weed showing his immaturity. He should be helping his wife around the house, but Norma has to beg him for his help.
Norma Jean and Leroy's relationship is anything but but conventional. There roles are flipped a whole 360 degrees. Norma is the main provider, she takes care of the house, and much more.
William Arndt
ReplyDeleteProf. Chappell
Eng 106W
13 April 2012
Living Naïve
“Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason is a very predictable story through the amount of symbolism and foreshadowing used. The title in itself tells the reader there will be conflict or a fight because Shiloh is a famous battleground in Kentucky during the Civil War. This symbol then gives the reader the idea that the introduced couple will eventually part ways because of a future conflict. The husband, Leroy is then injured in a truck driving accident. Leroy’s job is symbolic of someone never settled with anything because they are always on the road and moving. As a result of his occupation, the wife then starts becoming more independent. With this being said, the reader can see how different of lives Leroy and Norma Jean are living. In other words, the husband is stuck in his ways, fascinated with building a log cabin, and injured as well; while the wife is becoming very mature, independent, and is moving forward in life. Mason makes it clear that the couple is slowly growing apart. Ever since their baby died the couple’s relationship has had an apparent space. As shown in the text there is a mutual silence on the subject of their baby’s death. The death of the baby represents the beginning of the end for their relationship. Leroy is stuck in a naïve state, he often is dreaming and thinking, never doing like a man would do. Norma Jean is ready to move on in her life and grow up. She lets Leroy know she’s not happy, she feels like she is 18 because of how Leroy’s mother shadows their relationship. Even before Leroy and Norma Jean meet at Shiloh, Mason makes it clear through the hints, symbols, and use of foreshadowing that the couple is bound to fight and eventually part ways. Just like the battle at Shiloh from the Civil War, two sides from the same team battle it out. Mason shows us that Leroy is living in a naïve state of mind, as he held back in life by his mother and daydreaming. The difference between a man and a boy is that a boy talks, and a man walks.
Ryan McDonald McDonald 1
ReplyDeleteProfessor Bolster
English 106W
12 April 2012
Traditions We Follow
In many societies people view the societal role of males and females based upon their attributes both physical and intellectually. Males in traditional American society are often the bread winners of the household and women are either the care takers, or provide a comparable income based upon their families wants and needs. These norms and traditions of households have been passed down generation to generation and are expected to be withheld. In Bobbie Ann Mason’s, “Shiloh,” we witness a role reversal that ends up being the demise of an already corrupted relationship.
The male in the house Leroy has recently suffered a career ending accident which has taken him out of the workplace as a truck driver. Since his accident Leroy has fallen into a spiraling catastrophe of hopelessness. Since Leroy’s accident his wife Norma Jean, has picked up the pieces and worked extra hard to keep the house functioning and stable. Norma has been involving herself with activities such as weight lifting to keep her body and mind in top form to enable her to take on the extra role. Leroy believes his wife is strong and smart. (314)
As time passes Leroy’s life style has unchanged which triggers frustration in Norma who has been working diligently while her husband smokes weed and assembles useless kits. He makes craft objects and sews needle point pillows which
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Mabel makes fun of and claims in womanly. (312) Leroy’s complacency leads Norma to lose respect for the once hard working husband she once had. The shift in gender and power roles makes Leroy uncomfortable and begins to lose respect for his own self.
The significance that gender roles plays not only in this story but in society is crucial for a family’s well-being and future stability. Leroy’s accident may have been taken him out of the work place for the time being but instead of manning up and taking the proper steps to rehabilitating is leg he dwells and ends up losing his wife. Society demands persistence in life and that means overcoming obstacles we all face, and conquering them to benefit not only yourself but your family.
Kristina Kruse
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
20 April 2012
She's the Man
Marriage is this often stereotyped as having the man work to support the family financially. While the woman stays home and tends to the house and children. In "Shiloh," by Bobbie Ann Mason, there is a role revearsal in the marriage between Leroy and Norma Jean. This role revearsal takes part in the deteriation of their relationships.
In the earlier years of their marriage, the roles in which they played as husband and wife were comparable to the stereotypical marriage. Leroy was a working man; a truckdriver. He rarely spent time at home, but provided for his wife. However, since he has been on disability for an injury he sustained on the job, Norma Jean has taken on the role of provider; "Norma Jean works at the Rexall drugstore" (312). Whilst Norma Jean is out working, Leroy stays home working on mindless projects to keep himself busy; "he tried string art, a macrame owl kit... and a lamp made out of a model truck" (312). Later in the story, when Norma Jean's mother comes by, Mabel, Leroy is seen with a needlepoint project to make a Star Trek pillow cover. Mabel states that needlepoint is "what a woman would do" (316). It has become apparent to Mabel that Leroy has assumed the role of the wife.
Now that Leroy is home for good, Norma Jean feels overwhelmed by his presence, and she starts acting out. Mabel finds Norma Jean smoking pot, and this starts the unfolding of Norma Jean's realization that she can no longer cope with Leroy. Although many woman would appreciate having their husband around more often, Norma Jean feels otherwise. After telling Leroy she is leaving him, her reasons are very clear; "In some ways, a woman prefers a man who wanders" (324). She explain her grief for Leroy's unrelenting presence. She even compares him to her mother, "She won't leave me alone -- you won't leave me alone" (324). The overbearing femininity which Leroy has taken on has driven Norma Jean to her limit; therefore, she must leave him.
kile coty
ReplyDeleteMr. Bolster
Shiloh tells the story of a married couple who seems to have grown apart over the years. Leroy used to drive a big rig, spending a great deal of time away from home while Norma Jean was left to herself. However, after an accident, Leroy is rendered useless and must return home for good, unable to work. Norma Jean’s mother, Mabel also plays a role in this story. Norma Jean claims that Mabel made her realize her unhappiness. She wants to leave Leroy in the end of the story, but the ending seems unclear as to whether or not they actually will end their marriage or not.
Throughout the story, Leroy talks about wanting to build Norma Jean a log cabin house. Although she clearly states that she is not interested in it, Leroy continues to push for it. This cabin symbolizes their marriage towards the end. Leroy is completely content with their marriage and wants to become closer to Norma Jean in order to make up for the years her was gone on the road. Building the cabin is somewhat representative of his push to try and rebuild their relationship. On the other hand, Norma Jean is so tired of their marriage, and continues to disapprove of the cabin, just as she disapproves of the marriage. In the end, Leroy claims that his idea to build a cabin was stupid. This may be linked to him understanding that the marriage is not going to workout the way he had wished.
Since there is not clear ending to the story, the reader is left to guess what will happen in the end. Leroy had compared their relationship to that of the war at Shiloh. With the thought of war almost always ending in tragedy as well as Leroy taking time to notice the gravestones, one can believe that the marriage will end, just like the lives of the men in the war, and just like the idea of building Norma Jean’s cabin.
Zach Westfall
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
Intro to Fiction
May 6, 2012
In the short story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason, there is role reversal between the marriage of Leroy and Norma Jean. Norma Jean fits the description of the bread winner she has a job. Leroy because of an accident can no longer drive his big rig. IN the first paragraph of the story Norma Jean is working out and trying to build up her muscles. While Leroy does thing to occupy his time like small crafts and going over plan to the log cabin he wants to build for the two of them to live in.
Norma Jean is working towards bettering her life throughout the story she works out, attends classes, and even plays the electric organ. She Norma Jean betters her life physically and mentally. Leroy on the other hand jut does things to pass the time like crafts nothing with a real goal or purpose. Other than the silly idea of building and living in a log cabin he doesn’t do much of anything that is productive.
Role reversal in a relationship is a hard thing to come to terms with because with the current social norms the man is meant to earn the money while the wife takes care of the house and kids and maybe has a part time job on the side. Role reversal is becoming a more popular social norm though because women are gaining chances that they never had before. Leroy and Norma Jean had a child but he died at an early age so since Norma Jean doesn’t have any children to take care she does thing to better her life. The role reversal in the short story drove the couple apart and ended in Norma Jean to separate from Leroy. Leroy was content with his way of life and didn’t mind the simple dream of owning a log cabin. Norma Jean’s goal was to better her life and move up in the world not to live in a log cabin. The difference in attitude towards live and the role reversal of the two plays a major role on why they ended up separating. Social norm are changing with what is common between people and most relationship aren’t meant to last. People change due to events in their live and because of this Norma Jean changed her view and Leroy didn’t driving the relationship apart.