Shiloh: Changing Lives in Different Directions

While absence may make the heart grow fonder, the failure to communicate with and be there for a spouse or significant other often results in the inevitable destruction of the relationship. This is what occurs in the short story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason.

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.

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

Yellin begins by examining war brides and wives of those who had been sent off to war. As a result of the war, many women had been pressured to marry, after which these young brides had to endure a new loneliness and longing for their loved one. Yellin recounted emotional stories such as that of Genevieve Eppens who “had no idea how painful fulfilling [a] simple wish” of just being together with her husband would be. (p. 7) Similarly, war wives also experienced a new challenge of providing for their children while also trying to help the war effort—many had to move in with other family members or double up with other women.(14)

Jean leaves Leroy, which seemed like it was going to happen because since he had been

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

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.

Alterations: Comparing the Changes Caused by Marriage of the two Bessie Head Short Stories, “Life” and “Snapshots of a Wedding”

These characters grow as they suffer through marriage problems. When the woman leaves the man, which lets him learn his mistakes and to be grateful for the things they had. He writes, “Things to tell her. That I’m sorry. That I miss her. That all I want-all I ever wanted-is for her to be happy” (Dooley and Holzman 3). The man has learned and developed into a greater human being.

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.

Another hardship of the war was the strain it placed on married life. Men and women alike faced troubles with their significant others during wartimes because of the lack of intimacy, heavy turmoil, and a burdening depression overlaying the nation. Consequently, however, the expression of emotions previously overlooked before the outbreak of conflict between spouses was encouraged through martial separations caused by the war. Husbands and wives faced loneliness on a daily basis, which in effect led them to display compassion and caring towards each other as they witnessed the dreadfulness of war. This separation also caused a growth in feminine education and style, further forging the foundations for a new, individual American woman.

Little sorrow and sadness is expressed around school, even in Gene; no one talks about what happened but everyone remembers, especially Gene. Throughout the novel, John Knowles' strong characterization of Finny results in a more developed and wiser Gene; in the end, Finny actually makes Gene a better person.

The only write to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and drama, Thornton Wilder, in his play, Our Town; (January 1938), states “Almost everybody in the world gets married--you know what I mean? In our town there aren’t hardly an exceptions. Most everybody in the world climbs into their graves married.” (46). This statement by the Stage Manager was a valid statement since this play was wrote in the 20th century. However, when the Stage Manager says; “Most everybody in the world climbs into their graves married,” this statement is no longer authentic because society and marriage relationships have changed in the span of 20th century and the 21st century. Wilder’s purpose for writing Our Town is to explore life from childhood, marriage, then

I do not think Norma Jean changed her life and stopped smoking, all due to her mother catching her smoke. I think there are a lot of different events that lead her to making this decision. In the beginning of the story all Norma Jean worried about was filling her wife duties. Her husband Leroy, just got home from a long trip. Norma and Leroy now have to spend more time together, which they had not done in a long time. Norma Jean was also the only breadwinner; due to Leroy’s injury he cannot work. That only added stress and more responsibilities on Norma Jean; which we saw when she was urging him to get another job. The problem they had before was never resolved so it all came back, which caused them to feel distant from each other. The death

People may feel obligated to act a certain way when they are around other people outside of their marriage. They may change their personality completely, or do things that they normally would never do. For instance, if a marriage is falling apart behind closed doors, they might act like everything is perfect in front of their family. Especially their parents, or in-laws. No one wants to let down their parents. Back at home though, these actions more than likely will diminish, and the hatred and misery resurface just as Mr. and Mrs. Weed did. Shady Hill seems like a town where divorce is frowned upon. That would explain why Mr. and Mrs. Weed made their marriage seem fine on the outside, when in all reality it was falling apart.