Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason Essay

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.

The Battle of Shiloh is also called The Battle of Pittsburg Landing and was fought April 6-7, 1862. The battle took place in southwest Tennessee, the western theater. An army known as the Army of Tennessee, lead by Ulysses Grant, advanced into Tennessee territory by route of the Tennessee River. While they were camped deep in Tennessee territory the Confederate Army of Mississippi launched a surprise attack on General Grant and his soldiers. General Albert Sidney Johnston and his second-in-command P. G. T. Beauregard initiated the first assault on the Union troops. Unfortunately General Johnston was mortally wounded. General Beauregard decided not to continue the attack throughout the evening. In the morning Grant’s army having been reinforced

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.

Marriage is a difficult thing to maintain now-a-days, and it was not much different back in the 80s. Bobbie Ann Mason’s Shiloh tells the story of how, the main character, Leroy slowly realizes that him and his wife, Norma Jean, are drifting apart. The 80s was a time period of expanding poverty, rising social problems, and drastic economic changes. Leroy decided to stay fixated on the past, while Norma Jean accepted the fact that the world is changing and prepared herself for it. Things change over time, and the couple disagreed on a way to enter the new world together.

This story reveals to the reader how distance and low communication can separate individuals from each other. Leroy, the narrator, is a person that has lived separated from his wife Norma Jean for a lot of time because of the job he has. This has created a gap between

Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on her grandparents' estate at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on March 31, 1823. She learned early about the workings of a plantation by observing her grandmother. Grandmother Miller rose early to assign the cleaning and cooking duties for her servants. Besides keeping the mansion clean and prepared for the frequent guests, Mary's grandmother also took charge of making and mending clothing for the slaves on the plantation. She spent whole days cutting out clothing for the children and assigning sewing to her nine seamstresses. Her grandmother worked with the servants and sewing crew so easily and effectively that Mary was nearly nine years old before she became aware that her

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.

Connie plays the role of a pretty girl, the sister June plays a secretary a job suitable for woman, and the mother is a mere housewife. Kennelly said “measures of femininity are measures of deference and subordination (letting a man drive, working at a low-status job), and they reflect a traditional view of what a woman should be (a heterosexual wife and a mother of many children)” (602-603) The position these women are in due to the masculine desire is reflected upon Connie's fate and the lives of the other woman in the story. Connie's father masculinity can come into perspective because he shows a traditional value of commodity towards the woman in his home. He is rarely home and shows no interest in talking to the women when he's actually there. Connie has no use for him because of his lack of authorization due to her not being old enough to be able to exchange with another man as kinship property. She is freely to be taken by any man that has use to her. Arnold Friend is one of these men, yet she is useful to him as a sexual object, and a disposable one it seems. Wood argues that” it is a position; it is a social location; it provides a perspective on the social life” (62). This is seen as an exchange of men, although in actuality an appropriation, the substitute of a lover who pays attention to her for a father who does not, and the women of the story

No matter the era, location, or even times of the darkest personal conflict, the power of love tends to always prevail. The power behind the love of family in particular seems to be the greatest. Despite the differences in the relationships, the deep bond of brotherhood in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin shares some of the same levels of devotion that is present in “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty which is about the arduous trek a grandmother endures for her grandson. Although the stories differ in certain areas, both “Sonny’s Blues” and “A Worn Path” emphasizes the dedication one has both emotionally and physically and the importance of family bonds when someone they love encounters challenging and life threatening times by the displays of devotion to help the ones they love.

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.

The three texts, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury, Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen and Civil War Journal by Louisa May Alcott share the common theme of the importance of an individual’s contribution during the Civil War. Joby from “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” contributes to the Civil War by being a drummer boy who get the soldiers boosted the soldiers spirits and get them ready for battle. Charley from Soldier’s Heart” contributes by participating as a soldier by signing up. Louisa May Alcott contributed to the Civil War by administering to the wounded soldiers by helping them in makeshift hospitals. Therefore the three people assisted in the Civil War, because they believed that they shouldn’t just stand there and watch the whole

Daisy illustrates the typical women of high social standing; her life is moulded by society’s expectations. She is dependent and subservient to her husband. She is powerless in her marriage.

     At the same time, the readings of the women's masculinity and androgyny must be similarly reconsidered. While Irving reads Lena as one who "conforms more readily than Ántonia" and assimilates in a manner "too complete" in that "she, like Jim, is lethargic" (100), I would argue that Lena's refusal to marry and her achievement of the independent, successful life she sought belie any ready categorization of reinforced hegemony, undermining standard patriarchal demands; and her success can be contrasted with Jim's loveless marriage and the vague reference to the "disappointments" that have failed to quell his "naturally romantic and ardent disposition" (4). Similarly, as Gilbert and Gubar highlight, the happiness of the "masculine" hired girls stands in stark contrast with the emotional restriction to which town wives are subjected: "Energetic and jolly, Mrs. Harling must stop all the activities of her household so as to devote herself entirely to her husband" (197). While it may be true that "their disturbing androgynous qualities, and their unwillingness to accept traditional female roles" position the hired girls as "outsiders" (Wussow 52) and that these facts can be read as critical of the feminine, it seems more

          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