Ranch Girl By Maile Meloy Essay

Growing up on a ranch changes people; not only physically but down in your soul. This lifestyle teaches you to appreciate the little things in life. When you don’t come from much and you work hard for what you have it makes you look at the world in a different light. This was the case for the main character in “Ranch Girl” by Maile Meloy; life on the ranch shaped her. The circumstances of her life have made her staunch, melancholy, and apathetic.
First of all, loyalty is a must in a ranching community. It is something taught at a young age and is something everyone is expected to be. Ranch work is back breaking; it is a lifestyle not everyone is cut out for. That’s why “Ranch Girls” mother ran off and left her living with her foreman father. This change in her circumstances began shaping her as a person. This kick started her devotion to her father and the ranch life that she had grown to accept. She knew her father needed her and as it turns out she would soon find just how much she needed him.
Furthermore, as she aged and developed an interest in boys her outlook on life started to shift a bit. Her nights were spent out with Carla, Haskells daughter that’s her age. They spent their time riding in circles and watching the cowboys fight. It was when she met Andy Tyler that her world got turned upside down. He always tried to get her to go home …show more content…
It’s the way that we handle these challenges is what shapes who we are as people. Some people pick themselves up, dust off, and are determined to become better. While other people accept defeat, give up, and never find out what might have been. The latter is the outcome of the main character in “Ranch Girl”. She let the heartbreak of losing Andy: the man she never really had, determine the outcome of her future. The decisions she made throughout her life left her devoted to her lifestyle, but also in a state of depression and