In the short story "Shiloh" written by Bobbie Ann Mason, married couple Leroy and Norma Jean try go about their daily lives in the midst of their failing marriage in a small town in Tennessee. Their simple lives have been immensely shifted after Leroy gets into an accident while driving his big rig and subsequently injures his leg, leaving him in a passive state throughout the narrative.
After attempting a Reader Response analysis, I've concluded that the author leaves several clues throughout the text to help identify some of the couples struggles. The idea of birds arose in several locations. The first mention of birds was when Leroy was describing his big rig parked in his back yard. He explains it as "a gigantic bird that has flown home to roost". This is particularly interesting because in all other instances when "birds" were mentioned they were engaging in some sort of movement, flying, migrating, etc. Birds acted as a symbol for people in their town who have moved on or "migrated" with change. Over the years the town got larger and farmers were forced to leave as there was no more money to continue with their small farms. Norma Jean has come to the realization that her life is missing something and she engages in all sorts of extra activities to find out her interests.
The log cabin serves as a symbol for the simple life that Leroy wants. Leroy wants to build a log cabin for Norma Jean in an effort to please her. He has always believed that she deserves her own house and as a husband it has been his dream to make that happen for her. Norma Jean would rather see Leroy get a job than look at plans for a log cabin that she doesn't want to live in. Leroy talks about the cabin in an effort to avoid talking about the real reason why their marriage is failing. When Leroy was always gone driving his big rig, Norma Jean was left to her own devices and was satisfied doing so. Since Leroy's accident, he is always at home smoking and makes no attempts to get another job.
The real problems that haunt this family are their lack of communication. Within the first year of their marriage their child died of "sudden infant death syndrome". The fact that Leroy and Norma Jean never talk about it only intensifies the damage. As the reader it is easy to tell that Leroy wants to talk to his wife but he just can't bring himself to do it. He wishes that they could have a fresh start versus talking through all of their problems. That won't, however, solve any problems. Norma Jean realizes this and ultimately says that she wants to leave Leroy.
The short story ends with quite possibly the most unexpected ending that made no sense to me. My initial thought about such a large gap in the story was that Norma Jean physically left Leroy by jumping off the bluff. Did she commit suicide? Did she even realize that she was committing suicide, or was she just so fed up with her life so jumping off the bluff seemed like an easy, no thought solution to her problems?
I'm not quiet sure what the significance of Shiloh is. Does Norma Jean not want to go there because she knows that it will complete the cycle of her and her mothers life? Does Norma Jeans mother, Mabel, know that her daughter is looking for a way out of her life? Is that why Mabel turns down the opportunity to go with them to Shiloh? If this is the case then it seemed like Mabel was encouraging Leroy to take Norma Jean to Shiloh just because it would be an easy way out for her daughter. That idea makes my stomach churn just thinking about it. It is sad to think that a mother would want her daughter to end her life just because of her marriage. That can't possibly be the real reason.
PART 1 OF COMMENTARY
ReplyDeleteMarenna,
Your summary is very strong, and this is very well observed: “. . . leaving him in a passive state throughout the narrative.”
You write, “After attempting a Reader Response analysis, I've concluded that the author leaves several clues throughout the text to help identify some of the couples struggles.” Are these struggles what make up the story’s primary conflicts? External and internal? Would be a good place to expand on these, name them.
“The idea of birds” – I know what you mean, but this reads awkwardly. Be sure to stay in present tense (i.e., “arises”, not “arose”).
Same here: “The first mention of birds was when Leroy was describing his big rig parked in his back yard.” (“is” and “is” rather than “was” and “was”).
“He explains it as "a gigantic bird that has flown home to roost". This is particularly interesting because in all other instances when "birds" were mentioned they were engaging in some sort of movement, flying, migrating, etc. Birds acted as a symbol for people in their town who have moved on or "migrated" with change.” This is a great observation – you’ve obviously a flair for detail work.
PART 2 OF COMMENTARY:
ReplyDeleteNot much transition into this: “Norma Jean has come to the realization that her life is missing something and she engages in all sorts of extra activities to find out her interests.” If this winds up being a paragraph, work on a transition from the “birds” to Norma Jean here.
Thus far you’re doing strong close textual analysis, but you aren’t really framing it in Reader Response terms. When you talk about symbolism, for example, you’d want to point out exactly how the use of symbolism hints at what’s to come or clues the reader into interpreting something a particular way. You can do so by talking about the ideal reader, the conceptual reader who’d interpret the text exactly as he/she is directed through it. You don’t have to, of course – just an idea.
“He has always believed that she deserves her own house and as a husband it has been his dream to make that happen for her. Norma Jean would rather see Leroy get a job than look at plans for a log cabin that she doesn't want to live in.” Irony here might be worth discussing.
“Since Leroy's accident, he is always at home smoking and makes no attempts to get another job.” What’s the significance here?
“The real problems that haunt this family are their lack of communication. Within the first year of their marriage their child died of "sudden infant death syndrome". The fact that Leroy and Norma Jean never talk about it only intensifies the damage. As the reader it is easy to tell that Leroy wants to talk to his wife but he just can't bring himself to do it.” Perhaps the reader is, then, to pay attention to what’s NOT in the text? Any gaps here?
“He wishes that they could have a fresh start versus talking through all of their problems. That won't, however, solve any problems. Norma Jean realizes this and ultimately says that she wants to leave Leroy.” Significance here? A bit heavy on the summary though well written and articulate.
“The short story ends with quite possibly the most unexpected ending that made no sense to me.” It IS unsettling and certainly unresolved – makes for a great opportunity for the Reader Response critic.
My initial thought about such a large gap in the story was that Norma Jean physically left Leroy by jumping off the bluff. Did she commit suicide? Did she even realize that she was committing suicide, or was she just so fed up with her life so jumping off the bluff seemed like an easy, no thought solution to her problems?” You’ll of course want to answer this question in the paper. Does the text offer enough clues/signals (largely through characterization of Norma Jean) for the reader to make an assumption based on the plausibility of the character’s actions? (i.e., based on what’s revealed about Norma Jean, is it realistic/plausible that she jumps or not?)
“I'm not quiet sure what the significance of Shiloh is.” Do you mena significance of it in terms of geography? Symbolism? It IS a battlefield, so I’d look there.
“ . . . it seemed like Mabel was encouraging Leroy to take Norma Jean to Shiloh just because it would be an easy way out for her daughter. That idea makes my stomach churn just thinking about it. It is sad to think that a mother would want her daughter to end her life just because of her marriage. That can't possibly be the real reason.” I agree with you – I don’t really think that’s it. Of course, very little of Mabel is revealed (in comparison to what we learn about Norma Jean and Leroy), so we only have so much access to character motivation for Mabel. Good questions all around, though, and I look forward to seeing how this all comes together for you.
A