Essay on Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason

The broken relationship between them causes her to make irrational decisions in search of attention. “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (Steinbeck 86)

We have been informed that Leroy’s drug dealer, Stevie Hamilton, would of been the same age of Randy. This event tells the audience that Leroy refuses to move on from the past and continues to bring their marriage to an end. Consequently, the Moffitt’s gets one of their frequent visits from Mabel, the mother of Norma Jean and is constantly nagged by her to take a trip to Shiloh, a Civil War battlefield. This place is where Mabel and her late husband, Jet, spent their honeymoon and she thinks that such a trip will help them solve their marriage problems. After arriving at Shiloh, they see a log cabin, as Leroy expected. Close to the cemetery, they eat lunch. After they eat, Leroy smokes a joint, silence falls, and Norma Jean tells him that she wants to leave him. He suggests starting over, and she says they already did start over. After making her final decision, she travels down a serpentine brick path to begin her journey. Norma jean does not know where this path will lead her, but she knows that she is finally leaving.

As opposed to the traditional housewife who is stereotyped to stay at home taking care of the home and family, Norma Jean grabs that burden like a barbell and adds the weight of being a successful person on top of the dead weight that is Leroy post-accident and handles it with ease. Another way that Norma Jean demolishes the traditional woman is through her prioritizing and above average knowledge of finances. In a “traditional marriage” the male would be the breadwinner and handle all the finances and the wife must ask for permission on what to buy, however in the Moffitt household Norma Jean is the one bringing in the cash as well as the one who knows of financial issues.An example of Norma Jean taking charge in financial issues is when Norma Jean hears of Leroy’s plans to build a log cabin and responds

How she is disappointed with her dull life with john. As a result of her superficial tendencies she misses what's truly important in her life. SInce, she is too caught up in her

- she finds no joy in her children, who are murderous in their behaviour, she feels “so alone” because she cannot have company because of them

to accept as her home, to the history she hated, to the loneliness she had become used to, and she

Bobbie Ann Mason's book Shiloh puts across an account involving a couple as it falls apart and as the protagonist, Leroy, tries to understand what it is that changed across time. Even with the fact that he knows that the death of their infant played an important role in distancing Norma Jean from him, his ignorant attitude prevents him from acknowledging the gravity of the condition he is in. Instead of struggling to repair his relationship to Norma Jean, he takes on childish attitudes and avoids confronting her directly. The log cabin is one of the most intriguing concepts in the story, as it embodies all of Leroy's dreams, but it is obviously impractical and most characters in the story express their lack of interest concerning the project.

However, life had dealt them a bad hand and instead a twist of fate has come in the form of role changes. Norma Jean was now the head of household working at Rexall Drugs store to take care of the family financially. The story demonstrates a comparison of the differences in Leroy and Norma Jean’s ability to move forward as it states that Norma Jean takes a positive approach in rebuilding her life financially and in

unconcerned about the fact that her son and his family, including her grandchildren, would also die as well. This reveals that the grandmother is a selfish woman, and flimsy

Norma Jeane’s mother had a documented history of mental illness. Both of her parents, Otis and Delia Monroe were found to have lived out their later years in mental institutions, Norma Jeane’s uncle, Marion Monroe, was also

Norma shows that she is greedy and self-interested using characterization throughout the text. For example, when she says “If it's someone you've never seen in your life and never will see someone whose death you don't even have to know about". Norma, later on, describes what she is thinking which she wants that 50k so she can have a cottage and a baby. She doesn't realize to accept and cherish what you already have. When Norma pushed down the button this is what she

Norma Jean works at a drugstore. Since Leroy’s return she has become irritated with him as she isn’t used to his constant presence. She began working out when Leroy started therapy with the use of weights and pulleys. Now attending adult education classes for body building and composition. Not only does Norma Jean have to put up with her handicapped husband, but it seems like her mother Mable is always checking up on her or giving her unwanted advice. Mable frequently brings up Shiloh saying that Leroy and Norma Jean should take a trip and visit the same places she did so long ago. Mable also catches Norma Jean smoking which causes Norma Jean to break down into tears at one point in the story. Leroy begins to feel that Norma Jean was happier when he was gone. He confides in Mable realizing that she

Mrs. Mallard tried to act normal when she first heard the news of her husbands death. She eventually went into her room alone where she realized that she was free of the burden she felt

I would like to discuss the character of Norma Jean. I think her most problematic trait is that she keeps everything bundled up inside her and doesn't communicate her thoughts with anyone. She had her live change completely at different points in her life. One was when she lost her child, which is hard on anyone. The other point that was mentioned in the story was having Leroy being on the road for fifteen years of their marriage and then one day he is home for good. "They never speak about their memories of Randy" (232) by not speaking about the son they had allows Norma Jean to keep it bottled up which is not healthy. Leroy had also mentioned that he would like to know what Norma Jean thought, "That wasn't what he wanted to say. He wanted

She had some of the same feelings towards her connection with her mother as well. Rather than feeling mere confusion about her and her mother’s relationship,