Shiloh is a short story about a middle aged Kentucky Truck Driver named Leroy Moffitt , his wife Norma Jean, and his mother in law Mabel Beasley. Leroy was recently placed on temporary disability due to injuries being sustained when he jackknifed his tractor trailer on the highway. Leroy and Norma were married at 18 and had a son a few months afterward “Randy” who died from sudden infant death just weeks later, but Norma doesn’t like to talk about it. Leroy now 34 years old was constantly on the road being a truck driver, and has found himself lost, not wanting to be back on the road he sits at home making models or plotting to build a log cabin occasionally smoking a joint. 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
The Southern portion of the United States ranging from the East Coast to Texas is commonly referred to as the South. Two different versions of this area exist. One is the true South that anyone who drives through states like Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi will see. The other South is a popularized depiction of this region. Hollywood has played a part in constructing this version of the South by creating countless movies that have depicted a stereotyped South fixated on the Antebellum Era. The 2002 movie “Sweet Home Alabama” poetries Southerners that are trying to preserve the way of life that existed before the Civil War.
Norma Jean is presented as a dynamic character due to the fact that her attitude and outlook starts changing towards her husband Leroy and her marriage. She went from spending time with her husband to being an introvert. She begins enjoying her time alone and becomes very selfish. She was strong at one point and the past just ate her up inside letting it get the best of her. All the attention is drawn to herself and she does not take the time to see how Leroy is feeling or reacting to this sudden behavior. In paragraph fifty four it states how Norma Jean changes into this selfish creature that Leroy does not even know anymore after sixteen years of marriage. "Before his accident, when Leroy came home he used to stay in the house with Norma Jean, watching TV in bed and playing cards. She would cook fried chicken, picnic ham, chocolate pie-all his favorites. Now he is home alone much of the time. In the mornings, Norma Jean disappears, leaving a cooling place in the bed" (Mason paragraph 54). Norma Jean loses her father and son and now she is just letting herself slowly drift away out of her husband's life. Norma Jean's appearance does not change much in Leroy's eyes. She keeps up with her physical and outer appearance but its her inner self that need massive work. Her attitude with her mother and husband starts coming off aggressive and careless. In paragraph 110, Norma Jean's repsonse is spoken without proper mannerism.
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
U.S. Navy SEAL ,Chris Kyle was just the average die hard Texan. He aspired to become a cowboy, but it wasn’t working out in his favor. After seeing the horrors of terrorism on 9/11 he was ready to fight for his country and enlisted into the military. He goes on to fight in four tours and becomes the deadliest sniper in American history. After each tour, he felt that he had to go back. He had two goals that he couldn’t give up on; protecting his team and taking out the deadliest enemy sniper, Mustafa. Chris would not stop until he achieved his goals, when he finally did, he faced a new battle. He struggled with normal daily life, but even then he persevered and found a new passion to aid him. Throughout this film, Clint Eastwood portrays the theme of perseverance through the use of setting, camera angles, and the main character Chris Kyle.
The “Lost Battalion” film was a great film about World War One. It showed a lot about the horrors of the war. It also brilliantly depicted the reality of the war.
Disney has faced a large amount of criticism from critics over the tropes and stereotypes that it portrays in its animated films. This is not a recent event however. One of Disney’s most notorious and controversial films, Song of The South, was released in 1946. Song of the South, set during the Reconstruction Era, focuses on a young boy named Johnny who learns that his parents will being living apart for an unknown amount of time, moves to a plantation in Georgia, while his father continues to live in Atlanta. Depressed and confused over the recent events Johnny decides to run away to Atlanta, but is drawn to the voices of Uncle Remus, an ex-slave living on the plantation, telling stories of Br’er Rabbit. Although it is implied that the African American workers are no longer Johnny’s family property, the black characters are still wholly subservient and are happy to be so. James Baskett plays Uncle Remus as a blissfully, happy companion ready to please. Due to this “magical negro” trope, the characters’ ridiculously stereotypical voices, and the unrealistic happy and joyful relationship between the white landowners and their black help, Song of The South, is one of Disney’s most offensive, racist, and fictitious film. Disney’s portrayal of Uncle Remus is his veiled justification of the mistreatment that minorities received before and after the Reconstruction Era.
In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of
Meanwhile, Norma Jean’s activities have her expanding and growing in broader ways that let her see the bigger picture. For a while, she is content with playing familiar music on the organ, but as she further educates herself, she does not want to play it anymore (309). She is enthralled with her college class and building muscle with her weight lifting class. She is constantly improving and strengthening her mind and body while Leroy is just observing, and content to stay the same, and when he does go out of his comfort zone, it is not in leaps and bounds like Norma Jean’s activities. All of her
In the story Shiloh, Norma Jean faces many dilemmas involving gender roles. To begin with she got married when she was 18 which resulted in her having a baby. Her mom, Mabel, didn't want her to have a kid knowing that it wasn't going to turn out good, which was proven correct when Norma lost her baby at 4 months old. Since then she had been living with her husband Leroy, who happened to hardly be home due to work. Throughout that whole time while Leroy worked, she stayed home like a typical housewife but things started to change after some time. Norma started getting used to his absence, provoking her to do her own thing and to become her own person. For once she had felt independendent like she was able to do her own things instead of living up to everyones else expectations. When Leroy got into the car accident at work that drastically affected Norma preventing
Finally, it becomes evident that Norma Jean is less than pleased with Leroy's return from trucking, which is something that Leroy picks up on early in the story. Leroy realizes that Norma Jean does not seem to celebrate his homecoming, and she seems disappointed each time she finds him at home. Norma Jean herself, when breaking up with Leroy, says, "In some ways, a woman prefers a man who wanders." (paragraph 144). This reflects the side of Norma Jean's character that would rather be left alone.
Leroy Moffitt is a truck driver who is almost fully recovered from his leg injury but is traumatized from his wreck in Missouri three months earlier. He now spends his free time crafting and casually driving around town. Leroy’s character in “Shiloh” can be described as a loving and sympathetic man but he is very passive when it comes to his wife. He thought that his constant presence with Norma Jean would strengthen their relationship, but with Norma Jean’s
Lawrence of Arabia is considered one of the b est cinemas of all time, however; the movie itself poses a negative effect for history buffs. The right and wrong aspects of the movie create a great visual experience but the bottom line is that it doesn 't accurately cover the events that unfolded. It seemed like instead of telling the truth the director wished to tell a story with fantasies of dramatized events, incorrect terrain, and even fictional characters. Even with this in mind there still stands a truth to it all and whether the sacrifice of historical importance is worth the so-called appeal of entertainment.
Based on a true story, the movie ‘Lone Survivor’ features four Navy SEALs that set out on a mission to Afghanistan with orders to capture and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The Navy SEALS are detected by villagers and the mission was compromised. Ultimately, the mission had been discovered and the men found themselves surrounded by dozens of Taliban soldiers. One of the Navy SEAL soldiers managed to dispatch to base and retrieve assistance but the Taliban shoot down the helicopter. During battle, three of the Navy SEAL soldiers were killed leaving one still alive.
When I hear the word Shiloh, I automatically think of the Battle of Shiloh along with the children’s novel Shiloh; either a full-blown war or an abused beagle. However, Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh” took an interesting twist to the name. I feel, in a way, Mason was able to incorporate both the war aspect and a form of abuse, neglect, and intertwine it into making a beautiful short story. The way Mason could withhold important information until the very end is remarkable. “Shiloh” keeps the reader invested in the story by having the person who reads the piece of literature guess what is really going on between the characters and wondering the ‘what if’s’ of the story.
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