Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason
Character Sketch
In Bobbie Ann Mason’s story “Shiloh” she presents the character of Norma Jean
as having a strong personality but an emptiness deep within. Norma Jean is presented as
a strong character on the outside in the opening of the story. “She lifts three-pound
dumbbells to warm-up, the progresses to a twenty-pound barbell.”(Mason p. 46).
However as the story progresses she exhibits the emptiness which she feels. “One day
Leroy arrives home from a drive and finds Norma Jean in tears.” (Mason p. 50). Norma
Jean feels an emptiness toward her deceased child, her husband, and also her mother.
Her emptiness toward her husband may be seen in the way she interacts with him. She
feels very uncomfortable when she is around him. Norma Jean is always trying to find
something for him to do. When he arrived back home Mason states the “she seems a
little disappointed.” (Mason p. 47). The emptiness she feels toward her mother is
presented in the feelings she has toward her. Her deceased son symbolizes her emptiness
because of his death.
In the beginning of the story Norma Jean tries to conceal the emptiness that she
has felt for so many years. Mason first presents her as a strong character by explaining
how she works out and would like to become stronger. She may become stronger
physically, but nothing can overcome the emptiness which she feels. Norma Jean tries to
help her husband get a job, and she gives him a variety...
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Leroy Moffit is a truck driver, and over the years as his wife Norma Jean is adapting to the changing community his adaptation to things consist of pretty much the way he drives his truck. During this time Norma Jean is left at home to fend for herself and learn the workings of nearly being a single woman. Norma Jean started to play the organ again, practice weight lifting, and take night classes. When Leroy came home after years of being saturated in his work he expected things to be like they were in the beginning of their marriage. As time goes on at home, Leroy takes notice to Norma Jean’s keen, and independent understanding of what goes on around her. He observes and is afraid to admit that she has had to be her own husband. Over the years Norma Jean developed a structured routine that does not include him. As Leroy sits around and plays with a model log cabin set Norma is constantly working to advance and adapt herself with ...
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From the very beginning of the story, Norma Jean is portrayed as a woman continuously trying to better herself. She takes the opportunity of Leroy's rehabilitation from his accident to start bodybuilding. After the body building class is over, she takes a comp...
Norma Rae was seen in many different ways by people. In the beginning Norma's qualities were different than those at the end. Norma Rae changes and it is for the better. One of Norma's bad qualities is that she is dependent on men. George is very abusive towards her, like when they were in the hotel room and he slapped her across the face. Her father treats her as a little girl. He is always in her business; he always wants to know where she is going, when she is coming home and who she is seeing. Norma has some good qualities; she is a very hard worker. She works at a textile factory for many hours and then she goes home and cleans and takes care of the house. She is also a very outspoken woman. If she doesn't like someone or something they say, she lets them know how she feels about it. Her boss is a major jerk. He doesn't care about their health or feelings. To give an example, when her and mother went to him because her mother couldn't hear, he was not interested, and he just brushed them off. Norma is a strong woman, but people just take advantage of her. Changes. Norma Rae definitely went through many changes. Ruben I think was her first change. Ruben was the young man from the union. I think she made her first change when he told her "your too smart for what's happing to you." I believe this is when she gave her self more respect. Ruben got her to also join the union. She than starts getting relay involved in it and during all this she meets a man named sonny. Sonny and her become very close and fall in love and end up marring. She persuades her other co-workers to also join the union. One day her father dies. This was a major change in Norma's life. She loved her father dearly. If things couldn't get better, she is fired from her job. Norma was outraged by this, and caused a scene. She stood on a machine and held up a sign that read "union." Following, where her co-workers, they all shut down their machines and quite working. She was then put in jail for this. This was a total embarrassment to her and her family. She was very angry at herself.
Norma's family life was supportive. She had a mother, Jean (Garlen) Fox, a father, Michael Fox, and three sisters. Norma was the middle child. Norma's dad was a route deliverer, delivering milk, bread, and other household items. Her mom was a saleslady. Farther up the family tree were Norma's grandparents. They were Jewish immigrants from Poland, and owned a bakery. Norma remembers doing many things with her family, such as going to the candy store, the family listening to their mother tell stories, the rhubarb that the family grew outside, and the cold winters with King of the Hill and skating. Norma's family lived in many different apartments, but all the moving did not ruin her education.
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Jean is a wife of a powerful man. Based on her husband word and actions, image and work are his primary concerns. In the beginning, Jean say that " Rick spent dinner on his phone most of the night and not showing Jean an attention." He Mentions that he thinks Jean is jealous of Karen, who works closely with Rick. Later, while Jean is extremely emotional and upset because rick doesn't take her seriously and shuffles her off to bed so he can work on his image and how voters will respond to the robbery. Moreover, this shows that Jean does not have any responsibilities or any true friends throughout the film. The character of Jean Cabot allowed her past to interfere with her life during the whole movie. For example, when Jean and her husband Rick SUV was stolen by two black men with guns; Jean wouldn't let it go she always had something to say about it. Jean was the type of character that try to make others feel how she feel and also try to make others characters feel sorry for her. Most of Jean's fear would come from her personal problems. However, Jean's blind fear, anger and her emotions are a result of how alone she feels. For the most part Jean does not even exhibit interpersonal immediacy with others. Therefore, Jeans perception with herself is consistent with the way others see her