“Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason “Shiloh is a Civil War Battleground where more than twenty-three thousand troops from the North and South fought in April 1862 and most of them died” (Mason, 364). “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason was used as a reference place for the couples Leroy and Norma Jean to re-ignite their marriage, but their problems were deeper than visiting a historic site. Out of touch with each other because of misfortunes, they find ways to tolerate each other to keep their marriage going. In “Shiloh” Mason depicts how lack of communication in a marriage and not grieving for mishappenings could lead to distress, regret and unhappiness in most marriages, as it shows in Norma Jean’s and Leroy‘s marriage. Leroy was recently injured while …show more content…
After the body building training finished Norma Jean decided to go back to school and enrolled in an adult-educated English composition class at Paducah Community College. She’ll spend most of her evening outlining paragraphs. Leroy becomes a little jealous because Norma Jean was always smarter than him. Her doing the English class writing composition was helping her to feel like herself again. After a while she stopped playing the electric organ, but instead started to write music. “All musical references disappeared when Norma Jean successfully completed her transformation from traditional wife to enlightened woman, and what the Norma Jean had desired has come to the present” (Blythe and Sweet). After a while, one day when Norma Jean wasn’t home Mabel finally convinces Leroy to take Norma Jean to Shiloh. Leroy brought it up to Norma Jean and she finally agrees after Leroy kept bothering her. They left for Shiloh that following Sunday. On their arrival at Shiloh they agreed it was a beautiful place like what Mabel said it would be and they both laugh. It didn’t look like a battlefield, but more as a park, but they could still see the bullet holes in the log cabins. They had picnic close to the cemetery where they could still view the graves of the dead soldiers. While sitting down Norma Jean balls her fist up and finally says to Leroy that she wanted to leave him. Leroy was shocked, but nothing he said would change Norma Jean mind. “By the middle of the story, Norma Jean growth and improvement had made her more independent and physically stronger for this moment” (Blythe and Sweet). He asked her for a fresh start, but Norma Jean denies staying because she feels like she’s eighteen again when she and Leroy got married and she hates it. It’s like she had been preparing herself
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreThe American Civil war is considered to be one of the most defining moments in American history. It is the war that shaped the social, political and economic structure with a broader prospect of unifying the states and hence leading to this ideal nation of unified states as it is today. In the book “Confederates in the Attic”, the author Tony Horwitz gives an account of his year long exploration through the places where the U.S. Civil War was fought. He took his childhood interest in the Civil War to a new level by traveling around the South in search of Civil War relics, battle fields, and most importantly stories. The title “Confederates in the Attic”: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War carries two meanings in Tony Horwitz’s thoughtful and entertaining exploration of the role of the American Civil War in the modern world of the South. The first meaning alludes to Horwitz’s personal interest in the war. As the grandson of a Russian Jew, Horwitz was raised in the North but early in his childhood developed a fascination with the South’s myth and history. He tells readers that as a child he wrote about the war and even constructed a mural of significant battles in the attic of his own home. The second meaning refers to regional memory, the importance or lack thereof yet attached to this momentous national event. As Horwitz visits the sites throughout the South, he encounters unreconstructed rebels who still hold to outdated beliefs. He also meets groups of “re-enactors,” devotees who attempt to relive the experience of the soldier’s life and death. One of his most disheartening and yet unsurprising realizations is that attitudes towards the war divide along racial lines. Too many whites wrap the memory in nostalgia, refusing...
In the novel Shiloh, historian and Civil War expert Shelby Foote delivers a spare, unflinching account of the battle of Shiloh, which was fought over the course of two days in April 1862. By mirroring the troops' movements through the woods of Tennessee with the activity of each soldier's mind, Foote offers the reader a broad perspective of the battle and a detailed view of the issues behind it. The battle becomes tangible as Foote interweaves the observations of Union and Confederate officers, simple foot soldiers, brave men, and cowards and describes the roar of the muskets and the haze of the gun smoke. The author's vivid storytelling creates a rich chronicle of a pivotal battle in American history.
Leroy arrives home from a drive and finds Norma Jean in tears.” (Mason p. 50). Norma
During the Great Depression, there was a massive migration from rural areas to more populated areas. During this era the Joad family decided to migrate from Oklahoma to California in search of work. As the Joad family traveled to California, the Grandfather dies. During this rough time, Ma helps comfort Grandma over her husband’s death. Ma knew that if Grandma was understanding and accepting of Grandpa’s death, the family would use that courage and her example to get through the mourning period faster. “She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. And since Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she has practiced denying them in herself. And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials” ( Steinbeck 48). The mourning period went by quickly because Ma showed strength in herself and in the family.
In James McPherson’s novel, What They Fought For, a variety of Civil War soldier documents are examined to show the diverse personal beliefs and motives for being involved in the war. McPherson’s sample, “is biased toward genuine fighting soldiers” (McPherson, 17) meaning he discusses what the ordinary soldier fought for. The Confederacy was often viewed as the favorable side because their life style relied on the war; Confederates surrounded their lives with practices like slavery and agriculture, and these practices were at stake during the war. On the other hand, Northerners fought to keep the country together. Although the Civil War was brutal, McPherson presents his research to show the dedication and patriotism of the soldiers that fought and died for a cause.
Volo, Dorothy Denneen, and James M. Volo. Daily Life in Civil War America. Westport, Conn.:
“All up and down the lines the men blinked at one another, unable to realize that the hour they had waited for so long was actually at hand. There was a truce…” Bruce Catton’s Pulitzer prize winning book A Stillness at Appomattox chronicles the final year of the American Civil War. This book taught me a lot more about the Civil War than I ever learned through the public school system. Bruce Catton brought to life the real day to day life of the soldiers and the generals who led them into battle.
The Battle of Shiloh was an extraordinary event in the civil war timeline and would be a great deal as to when the war was fought at its hardest. The sources I have researched and collected will help me better understand this battle and many other facts I have yet to discover. The Battle of Shiloh is not the most well known battle during the Civil war, but it gives us an idea on how gruesome the fighting was during this time. I view this battle as a turning point for the Union and the continuing losses for the Confederate army as they try to gain back territory. Officers of each side had separate plans, where the Union needed to take the Memphis and Charleston Railroads, and the Confederates just wanted to stop the Union troops from advancing further south(CWPT).
This is story is told in the first person by Leroy Moffitt. He is the main character who deals with conflicts within himself, his wife, and the environment around him. Shiloh first begins discussing how Norma Jean Moffitt (one of the main characters) is working at transforming her body by excessively working out. Leroy Mallard, her husband, had been a truck driver 15 years of their marriage. Now he is no longer driving truck, has suffered a highway injury to his leg and is in a wheel chair at home.
There are many poets of the Civil War and many poems, but I have chosen to write about Herman Melville, his life, and his poem: Shiloh-A Requiem. I plan to analyze the poem, the battle of Shiloh itself, and Herman Melville’s course of life.
"Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason is about a man named Leroy and his wife Norma who struggle to stay together as a result of tragedies that occurred in their lives. Leroy is at home for the first time in a while because he got in a truck driving accident. Prior to this he was gone for years at a time always on the road working as a truck driver. Leroy's presence in the house bothers Norma because it reminds her of their baby that died. Throughout the story Norma is doing things to improve herself while Leroy is in a way declining. Eventually, this leads Norma to take the initiative and make a list of Jobs that Leroy can get, however Leroy just makes excuses on why he can't work. Leroy throughout the story promises Norma that he will build a cabin
If there was more discussed the child and them being able to have a conversation about it then it would also allow them to be open about other things as well. When Mabel mentioned the death of a child Norma Jean was clearly distressed yet even after that and Leroy spoke with her it was as if he wanted to stop the conversation from occurring. Even when he goes on to talk about his dead son he seems distant from even mentioning it and describing the movie. That show how his distance from that is also carrying distance in the relationship. Their deceased child is symbolism to how their marriage was and how they currently are. They may have loved one another at one point but it seemed forced for the sake of their child but after that, they choose to grief within their own ways that seemed to be closed up. Even when they are about to go to Shiloh the situation seems clear when Norma Jean does not consider the marriage as something worth deeming as good but burdening as mentioned when Mabel mentions how it could be like taking a honeymoon yet Norma Responses with ”who’s going on a honeymoon, for Christ’s sake?” (Mason 623) that shows she is clearly not happy with doing what both her husband and mom want her
People view marriage as a bond of love between a man and woman. In a marriage, it takes the commitment of both spouses to have a satisfied marriage. In the 1900's men and women have a specific set of norms that were appropriate for their gender that they needed to set their standards to in order to have a successful marriage. In Bobbie Ann Mason's short story "Shiloh", we have a couple that have completely switched their roles. Although, some readers might believe that the loss of Norma Jean and Leroy's child to be the reason of their lack of commitment in the marriage, the instability of gender roles have been an issue in their commitment to their marriage.
The analysis of Norma Jean in the short story Shiloh written by Bobbie Ann Mason. The short story is taken place in the mid to late 1900s. This story talks about a marriage falling apart. All the heartache and growing pains the couple must face. In the story, the women Norma Jean strength and courage is inspiring to me. The couple is switching gender roles in the process their marriage is falling into pieces. Norma Jean is a strong, independent, faithful women while her husband Leroy leans on her for strength and guidance; she continues to take night classes and hold a steady full-time job in an attempt to become a new woman.
The struggle to battle with the persistent grief of self-blame and lack of identity is a constant reminder to the barriers in relationships. Leroy grieves over the fact that he has lost his identity as a father and husband. Although he often thinks of Randy, the memories of him have faded. As a result, he latches on to Norma Jean but she doesn’t respond back. This causes him to feel like a failure of a husband. Norma Jean is grieving over the emptiness in her life. It was not the life she thought she would have. Her deceased son symbolizes her emptiness because of his death. She also feels emptiness towards her husband. For example, she feels very uncomfortable around him and always tries to find something for him to do. When Leroy arrives back home from his accident Mason implies, “he thinks she’s seems a little disappointed” (Mason 220), displaying Norma Jean frustrated with his lying around doing nothing but watching television and smoking pot. In addition, Norma Jean feels emptiness towards her mother, which is presented in the way her mother criticizes her. When tragedies occur in a family and self-confidence fades it can take over your life a...