In the short story "Shiloh" written by Bobbie Ann Mason, she expresses a theme stating that taking life for granted causes individuals to lose sight of what is important and how people become blinded by everyone and everything around them. Emotions take a big toll on the way a person handles a situation and people do not necessarily compartmentalize in order to make the right decision with ease. There are various characters represented throughout the story ranging from dynamic to round characters. Norma Jean and Leroy Moffitt are the antagonist and protagonist, both of them are at war with each other. Situational irony occurs when Leroy arrives home and continues to stay home after being involved in a truck accident at work. Norma Jean is …show more content…
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.
The Battle of Gettysburg is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. Sadly, the Battle of Gettysburg was the battle that involved the highest amount of casualties in the entire war. The battle was fought from July 1-July 3, 1863. The Union force that was at Gettysburg was Army of the Potomac, and was lead by General George Meade. General Meade had never led an Army and had just received this position right before the battle began. Leading the Confederate Army of Virginia was General Robert E. Lee, who lead his Army to multiple victories before the Battle of Gettysburg. This critical battle resulted in an Union victory, but at a very severe cost, as both sides suffered a total of 46,281 casualties. The victory
The Civil War was provoked for several reasons which included industry, slavery, and territorial disputes among the Northern states and Southern states of the newly established United States. The first recorded engagement of war between the North and South is documented to have taken place on April 12th, 1861 at The Battle of Fort Sumter. This was the starting point of a war that would claim over 600,000 American lives in a relatively short span of 4 years.
The importance of this raid lay in the fact that they captured much-needed cannons and gunpowder.
Themes within ShilohWithin the story "Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason, the three main reoccurring themes are self-fulfillment, independence, and marriage. From these themes, a variety of symbols emerge to demonstrate why both Leroy and Norma Jean have their own particular problems. There are multiple symbols that relate to these themes. One of these symbols is the log cabin that relates to self-fulfillment. Secondly, Norma Jean takes steps and changes her life style to live independently. Lastly, the Civil War relates to the theme of hardships in a marriage.The short story "Shiloh" is in the narrator 's point of view. The story begins with the main character, Leroy Moffitt, watching his wife Norma Jean exercise. Leroy
After Shiloh the South would never smile again. Known originally as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle fought in North America up to that time. Pittsburg Landing was an area from where the Yankees planned to attack the Confederates who had moved from Fort Donelson to Corinth, Mississippi. The North was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant and the South by General Albert Sydney Johnston.
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
The Battle of Bunker Hill traces back to December 1773, when a group of Colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded three ships from the East India Company. These rebels led by Sam Adams proceeded to dump chests filled with tea into the Boston Harbor. This act, known as the Boston Tea Party, was the result of years of exploitation and mistreatment from the British; it was the breaking point for the Colonists and symbolized a shift in their loyalty. As punishment the British imposed the Intolerable Acts, which set the stage for the Boston Massacre, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. At Lexington and Concord the British were unprepared for an ensuing American militia and were forced to retreat to the Charlestown peninsula where
The first Battle of Bull Run also known as Manassa was one of the deadliest wars. The battle of Bull Run took place at Manassas Junction, Virginia near Bull Run Creek. The generals in this war were, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell which was the union leadership & General P.G.T Beauregard which was the Confederate leadership. Approximately there were 4,000 deaths. The victor of this war were the confederate.
On April 6-7, 1862 the Battle of Shiloh took place in southwestern Tennessee not far from Corinth, Mississippi. The battle was between the Union and the confederates. The Union won but with heavy casualties for both sides. The Unions casualties were 13,047 (1,754killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing). While the confederates suffered 10,699 casualties (1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing or captured.
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
The Battle of Bunker Hill was one of the first battles fought during the American Revolution between a misfit army of American colonists and the Royal British Army. The Revolutionary War was a result of patriot colonists speaking out against the taxes and regulations being imposed upon them by King George III and resulted in the establishment of America as an independent nation. The objectives of the Battle of Bunker Hill were first and foremost to stand up to the British army, and secondly, to keep the British from gaining complete control over the city of Boston and the surrounding area.
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.
Norma Jean Moffit is a simple, southern woman, but she is also a caterpillar who is discovering that there is more to life than crawling around on the ground. She has with-in her, the power to grow wings and fly away; The opportunity to view the world through the eyes of a butterfly. Since Larry's accident, she has come to realize that she has reached a crossroads in her life. If she goes straight on through, complacency and neglect are the only stops ahead. If she veers to either the left or right, there is mystery, knowledge, and change; The opportunity for a new life. It would appear with-in the story, she has opted for some change, and begins her adventure in experiencing new things such as "... cooking unusual foods - tacos,
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
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