Analysis Of Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

1660 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Summary of Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason

“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

Show More
Related

  • For Cause And Comrades Summary

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    More than 25,000 letters and 250 private diaries from men on both side of North and South. Talking about the soldier's ideals for which they fought over conflicts and beliefs of each side. McPherson took all of the soldier’s ideas and beliefs and made this powerful and important book on an often-overlooked aspect of the Civil War. Also, it brought great honor and powerfully moving account for the men that fought in the civil war.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ishmael Beah And All Quiet On The Civil War

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fear, an emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat, a feeling that no one wants to go through on a serious level. Imagine suddenly waking up to the sounds of gunshots and bombs without warning or constantly being surrounded by formidable men bearing guns. These experiences were not unusual for Ishmael Beah, the author of the book A Long Way Gone, and Paul Baumer, the protagonist of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque. Both books are based off a war; however, All Quiet on the Western Front is based off Paul’s involvement in WWI and A Long Way Gone is about Ishmael’s exposure to the civil war within Sierra Leone. Although the books are different in content, they both show

    Read More

  • Civil War Diary Of Cyrus F. Boyd

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil War had a very large affect on all of the States. It changed men from gentlemen that went to church every Sunday and never cussed to people who rarely went to church and cussed all the time. Some of the people in the war were also very corrupt and did not do things as they should be done. The way that the enemy was looked at was even changed. All of these things were talked about in "The Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd".

    Read More

  • Shelby Foote's Shiloh

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Reekie's The Burial Party

    1929 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many different ways in which the war was represented to the public, including drawings, newspaper articles, and detailed stereographs. Stereographs such as John Reekie’s “The Burial Party” invoked mixed feelings from all of those who viewed it. It confronts the deaths caused by the Civil War as well as touches upon the controversial issue over what would happen to the slaves once they had been emancipated. This picture represents the Civil War as a trade-off of lives- fallen soldiers gave their lives so that enslaved black men and women could be given back their own, even if that life wasn’t that different from slavery. In his carefully constructed stereograph “The Burial Party,” John Reekie confronts the uncertainty behind the newly

    Read More

  • What They Fought For by James McPherson's

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Breaking Coventants for Self-Preservation over Family

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Volo, Dorothy Denneen, and James M. Volo. Daily Life in Civil War America. Westport, Conn.:

    Read More

  • A Stillness at Appomattox

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mason’s short story Shiloh was able to interpret the story of these two individuals’ lives and the transformation of the two characters. She took the characters from a long distance relationship to a couple that had grown so far apart from the different paths they took after suffering a tragedy in their lives. Through the plot of the story and the point of view focused on Leroy, Mason took the characters gender roles and questioned what society thought of the differences from

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    "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

    Read More

  • Puppy by George Saunders

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Shiloh Bobbie Ann Mason Analysis

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Struggle in Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

Open Document