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Boys And Girls Alice Munro Analysis

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In Alice Munro’s short story, “Boys and Girls”, gender roles are observed through the symbolic reoccurrence of being either inside or outside of the fences that barricade the farm. Munro creates this gender divide by specifying being trapped inside the barricade of the fences as female, and being outside the confines of the fences as male. For the girl in the story the fences symbolize the captivity she feels from antiquated gender roles forced upon her, and can also be seen through the roles played by her father and mother, Flora, and through the foxes. The fences surrounding the farm also elaborate the feelings of confinement that gender roles bring upon the girl. Juxtaposing the girl’s restrictions is the male’s ability to leave the farm- …show more content…
Munro uses the horses in the story to symbolize freedom and hope, which represent breaking through the boundaries that weigh so heavily upon the girl. Flora, especially, is a character that the girl somewhat idolizes and is optimistic towards. The horses symbolize freedom and heroism fighting against gender roles in the girl’s dream, which takes place in an outside world, free from the barriers and gender roles established on the farm. “These stories were about myself… they took place in a world that was recognizably mine yet presented opportunities for courage, boldness and self sacrifice, as mine never did… I rode a fine horse down the main street” (26).. The girl idolizes Flora, who represents freedom and heroism and shows the chance of escaping the boundaries of the fences. “The stable door was open… she [Flora] had broken away from him. She was running free… I could run very fast… when she came into sight, galloping straight towards me… instead of shutting the gate I opened it as wide as I could. I did not make any decision to do this, it’s just what I did” (37-38). Flora escaping the fences of the field symbolizes the freedom and the fight for rights and being able to go outside the bounds of the farm that the girl is trapped in. The girl opening the fence shows that freedom is her instinct, and suggests that the girls wants Flora to be free just as she wishes to be free

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