Shiloh Bobbie Ann Mason Analysis

Leroy states multiple times throughout the story that he wants to build Norma Jean and himself a log cabin. Hestates to Norma Jean in the story, "I 'm going to build you this house," and "I want to make you a real home"(649). Norma Jean constantly shuts down Leroy with his dreams of building this log cabin. Norma Jean replies to this quote stating "I don 't want tolive in any log cabin" (649). Norma Jean ignores him every time he brings up the idea of this log cabin. She also previously said "They won 't let you build a cabin in any of the new subdivisions" (646). Leroy constantly wants to build this log cabin to fill the emptiness in their marriage, but it would not fulfill what Norma Jean wants in their marriage. Norma Jeans mother, Mabel, also shuts down Leroy 's dream of building this log cabin. Leroy explains to Mabel, "I 'm aiming to build us a log house," "Soon as my plans come" (648). Mabel then replies to him "Like heck you are," "You have to find a job first. Nobody can afford to build now anyway" (649). All Mabel brings up to Leroy, and Norma Jean is to drive to Shiloh and see all of the historic things it has to offer. At the end of the story while Leroy and Norma Jean are in Shiloh, Leroy realizes everything about the log cabin. He finally realizes that building a house out of logs is similarly empty. He also realizes that it was

Her dad carried her away from the hospital without payment, and then her mom permitted her to cook again, moreover she said, “ Getting right back into the saddle” ( Glass Castle 47). Jeanette was not angry at such young age and soon the family had to pack their belongings into bags and “do the skedaddle” as her parents always said. The parents were fleeing from bill collectors. Although Jeanette's father was an alcoholic, he could get work almost anywhere, often in small towns. The family was moving because of these things, she never complained when they did not have enough food. Jeanette always forgave her parents, she understood what they were going through.

Jeannette’s self-reliant behavior is frequently shown through her refusal of help from others. On one trip to retrieve her father from a bar, Jeannette’s father is so drunk that he can no longer walk. Another man offers to drive them home, and

While she is in the hospital, her mother does not stay with her. Instead she visits a few times and gives her oranges, seeming to be disappointed in the fact that it is an illness. At this point in the story, the reader can begin to feel sorry for young Jeanette. She is left all alone in the hospital while her mother is busy helping the church. Jeanette wants to be a missionary, just like in the stories her mom has read to her. In the beginning of the book, it appears that Jeanette’s mother does love her. However, it appears that she only loves her based on if she fulfills her expectations or not.

Her Mother seemed to be more put together than her father at times, even getting a job at one point helping the family out. Though her mother was a hedonist and did not contain the motherly love and sacrifice for her kids, this job helped Jeanette’s future. She helped grade papers which increased her knowledge of the outside world and “...the world was making a little more sense” as she read the papers and projects of her mother’s students (Walls 205). Her parents had such an opposition to the outside world that she hadn’t gotten every aspect of

Leroy spent fifteen years of his life as a truck driver. It was up until he got into a bad accident and a steel pin was inserted into his leg that prevented him from doing his passion. During this time, Leroy was never home for too long, always in different settings because his job demanded it. Now, being incapacitated, Leroy is home for long periods of time with his wife, Norma Jean.

In “Shiloh,” by Bobbie Ann Mason, the reader is able to glimpse the beginning of the end of a marriage. Mason allows the audience to see the different strings unravel as the character’s separates from each other, emotionally, mentally and physically. In “Shiloh,” a woman’s husband, Leroy, has been in an accident and is no longer able to continue with his work of truck driving. The woman, Norma Jean, is unable to cope with her husband being home all of the time and begins to find ways to get away from him and her overbearing mother, Mabel. Throughout the story we see Leroy’s struggle to stay with his wife and Norma Jean’s struggle to break away from her husband. As Leroy and Norma’s marriage continues to drift apart, Mabel

Leroy and Norma Jean are both victims of rapid social change. Norma Jean was the most affected by her surroundings comparing to Leroy. Norma Jean had to marry at the age of eighteen to the man who got her pregnant, and in a cruel twist of fate, the child dies of sudden infant death syndrome. This event from her life prevents her to look towards the

She wanted to be a role model for her children and at the same time, she wanted to become friend with them. Helen valued education, and she wanted Julie to go to college and have a successful life. However, after she found out that Julie had secretly being together with Tod, the poor, unambitious man. She was disappointed, betrayed, sad. Julie moved out of Helen’s home. Later, when Helen found out that Julie and her husband Tod had nowhere to live, she let them move in with her. She is a permissive parent, yet, she cares about her children, provides them as much support as she can. Helen stayed calm when Gary told her he wanted to live with his dad for a while. I can see her heart was bleeding when she heard her son’s words. She gave Gary his father’s phone number anyway, and Gary talked to his dad over the phone and figured out the cruel fact that his dad didn’t care for them anymore. Helen wanted to comfort Gary but he refused to talk. I felt Helen’s guilt and desperation at that moment. After she broke into Gary’s room and found out that Gary was carrying the bag that contains pornography, she immediately asked Tod’s help to talk to Gary. She had a chance to talk to Tod and had learned that Tod came from a broken family. She had a better idea of who Tod was and his help to Gary gained Helen’s respect. Helen supported Tod and helped her daughter Julie overcame the tough situation in marriage. Helen

At first, John from “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Leroy Moffitt from “Shiloh” seem completely different from each other. John is a physician who only believes in what he can physically see, while Leroy is a man lost in his own life, looking for a purpose. John’s wife is very dependent on him, whereas Leroy’s wife Norma Jean has her own life. However, the two seem more alike than first appears. If we compare John and Leroy, we can see both stories demonstrate how husbands can drive their wives away by being too restrictive of them.

In the short story “Shiloh”, written by Bobbie Ann Mason, symbolism is widely used. The story has several different messages behind the symbols used throughout the story. The log cabin, the Civil War battle of Shiloh, the dust ruffle and a flock of birds are all similes used to foreshadow and help readers further understand. Although the symbols have different messages, they all tie together to produce the conclusion of the whole story.

In Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh”, after Leroy’s accident in his truck, the pleasant illusion that he is in a perfectly functioning marriage is shattered leaving the reality that he and Norma Jean have ongoing issues that have been hidden and ignored for the majority of their marriage. The log cabin he never builds, the couple’s new hobbies, the baby they lost, the dust ruffle Mabel makes for them, and the trip they take to Shiloh ultimately cause Norma Jean to decide to leave Leroy. “Shiloh” is laden with symbols for the state of Norma Jean and Leroy’s marriage, and each situation introduced since Leroy’s accident forces them to look at how little they know about each other.

If she tried explaining it to her husband, she knew that her husband would brush the matter aside. “I had no intention for telling him it was because of the wallpaper- he would make fun of me. He might even want to take me away,” (Yellow Wallpaper, narrator). This goes into the idea that she is aware of what her husband may think of her and what she’d be confronting after she tells him about the women in the wallpaper. As a result she has nothing

Home to many, America has become known as the “melting pot” due to its diversity of ethnic cultures such as Asian, Mexican, and Latino. Its diversity has attracted many immigrants over the years, resulting in now a handful of its population being immigrant. Immigrants have contributed largely to the United States by opening businesses, expanding businesses, creating a demand for products, and even lending a hand of labor in our factories. Although the cultures of American and Immigrants differ in their food, language, and everyday traditions, each culture include hard-working individuals who’s willing to make a living just as the characters in “Being Country” and “Everyday Use”. While in “Being Country” by Bobbie Ann Mason and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker they include hard-working women, the

          The story of “Shiloh” is an example of what happens when a person is unwilling to adapt to his or her environment, ultimately resulting in a conflict and an ending. As Norma Jean adapts to her environment, Leroy is unwilling to adapt and is left behind resulting as the end of their marriage. The setting in the story of “Shiloh” supports the theme of the story by accentuating on what the characters do throughout the sequence of the story. An institution such as marriage