Munro does not give the protagonist a name because she is known as a nobody in the household. Her brother, Laird, has a name which mean he will have power over the household. This means that being a boy meant a big thing since they give you an identity compared to being a girl where she is meant nothing but a girl. Laird is little at the moment so her dad wants her to fill in the spot till he gets older to take responsibility over everything. She would help her father by cutting long grasses, the lamb’s quarter, and flowering money-musk. He did not talk to her much unless it was something regarding the job she was doing. So, since she wanted to help her father with the work at the farm, he treated her that way as well. Working outside in the farm is not a common work place for a woman. He did not care much about her since she was a girl. Being a boy meant the world, but when it came to being a girl everything just shatters. Even once a salesman passed by and her dad told him, “Like to have you meet my new hired man” (147). He called her a hired man because she belonged in the kitchen but she wanted to work outside in the farm with her father. Typically, women are meant to take care of the men in the household and also cooking and cleaning. He was just waiting on Laird to grow up so he can take over. The salesman even said, “I thought it was only a girl.” It is …show more content…
They had another horse earlier name Mack, who was shot to feed the foxes. Now it was Flora’s turn to be turned into the foxes’ lunch, but she saw how Mack was killed and was scared for Flora. Well she was outside she let Flora’s fence open. Flora ran away from her fence. At this point she felt bad knowing she made a mistake letting her out of the fence, but also felt some kind of freedom when she let Flora out. Flora represented her freedom from being forced to be a girl and not being treated like her brother. Her father went to go look for her and killed her. While they were eating her father made a remark, “Anyway it was her fault Flora got away” (154). Her father knew she opened the gate and let her free. She starts crying at the table and feeling bad. At the end of the story her father said “She’s only a girl” (154). By him saying that, it seemed like he did not value her because she was a girl. By parent’s making gender role choice, they chose to put her in the place where she was not very relevant to anything in the house. They were just waiting on her little brother to grow up so they can teach him to be what they want him to be. She has been struggling to find her identity but at the end she finally accepts the fact that she belongs inside the house helping her