Gender Roles And Relationships In Shilooh By Bobbie Ann Mason

"Shiloh", written by Bobbie Ann Mason is a short story that focusses on gender roles and relationships. In fact, due to an accident on the road, the protagonist, Leroy Moffitt, is force to quit his job and to live full time with his wife, Norma Jean. Being a truckdriver, Leroy spent most of his time away from his wife avoiding many subjects as for example, the death of their son. Now that Leroy is injured and sedentary, many conflicts arise between them such as their life goals and their priorities that aren 't the same. Through characterization, symbolism and the historical context, the author suggests that no-one should force a relationship to work if they are unhappy in it and that it 's not because they are related to someone that they …show more content…
The first symbol is the log cabin which represent Leroy 's marriage. For him, this house is a representation of his love and loyalty to Norma. He told her since they got married that one day he would built her a home. Unfortunately, Norma does not care at all and thinks that this whole log cabin idea is childish. She makes it really clear that she has nothing to do with this house and that she is not interested in living in a log cabin. Norma has nothing to do with that log cabin house and she wants to leave Leroy. That is why it can be compared to their marriage because Leroy is the only one excited about it. Another symbol is the birds. The birds represent Norma because birds often appear as freedom. Just like birds, Norma wants to be free from her husband, her mom and even her life. She wants to start all over again. She is also compared to birds such as a goose, some chickens and some fussy birds through the whole story. By looking at those symbols, the readers are able to understand that Norma wants to divorce because she isn 't happy at all with her life and her …show more content…
The title refers to the Civil War of 1862 in Tennessee. A civil war is an intern conflict between two sides. Just like Leroy and Norma, they face intern conflicts in their marriage. Their values are different, their life goals are not the same at all and so is their life 's perceptions which creates tensions in their relationship. Love is also often compared as a battlefield because love is not always simple and easy. Both people in a relationship need to make sacrifices juste like on a battlefield. Also, civil war implies many losts and so does their marriage. Norma and Leroy lost their baby and their complicity at the same time creating a distance between them when they were only eighteen. Norma 's mother , Mabel, also says : "I always thought Shiloh was the prettiest place, so full of history." which can be interpreted as from the outside, Leroy and Norma 's marriage looks fine but from a closer look, each couple has a history and things are not always was they seems. Overall, just by looking at the title, Mason is creating foreshadowing leaving clues for the readers to anticipate the ending of the