In the short story "Shiloh", written by Bobbie Sue Mason, Norma Jean and Leroy are an older married couple that are experiencing new roadblocks in their relationship. Leroy is injured in a trucking accident while, so he is unable to until his knee heals, but he is nervous to go back to trucking. Norma Jean his wife is use to being home without Leroy and does not know how to handle him being around so often. Her mother Mabel has decided to somewhat take Leroy’s place by hanging around he house more then he ever thought she did. She helps Norma Jean, but she also is a burden. It is up to the reader to decide whether Norma Jean and Leroy stay together, or end up getting a divorce at the end of the story. I believe that they can work things out if they were to see a marriage counselor. There are a couple of really big issues that I feel if were looked at, discussed and handled differently they could get through their rough spell. The death of their son, Mabel the controlling mother, and the inability for the two to communicate at all causes the cracks in their relationship.
The death of their son happened before Leroy was on the road all the time. They never really discussed what happened or how it made them feel. Leroy just hits the road and pretty much stayed there until he got hurt. I think this was the beginning of the rift between them. Norma Jean had some resentment for Leroy for leaving her to deal with all her emotions by herself. They were in it together, but never dealt with it together. Now Leroy is back and Norma Jean must see him everyday. She tries to escape from the pain and resentment that she feels by taking up different hobbies. When Leroy was gone she was not reminded that they had a son, she basically started a n...
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...e within Norma Jean. Mabel is bringing out the bad in Leroy, when Norma Jean needs to see the good.
What I think that it comes down to in this relationship is the lack of communication between Leroy and Norma Jean. They have gone through a very traumatic time in their lives, they did not deal with it they both just brushed it away. Leroy needs to start working again, but still be there for his wife. They both have feelings about each other that they need to express. They need to confront Mabel about her controlling ways and realize that they have their own life that they need to live; they do not need a third person chiming in. They need to reconnect with each, get back to the way they were before Leroy. I do not think that any relationship works without communication whether it is a friendship, a relationship with another family member, or your significant other.
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Show MoreBobbie Ann Mason explores a relationship conflict in the short story “Shiloh.” Manson uses a metaphor of craft building as a way to tell the story of Leroy and Norma’s relationship. Craft show how easily an object is build and how a mistake can deform the outcome. In the story “Shiloh, craft building is used to display what takes place between Leroy and Norma. The craft building metaphor symbolizes Leroy wanting to restart his life and Leroy wanting to rebuild his life and Leroy wanting to rebuild his relationship with Norma. The craft building for Leroy to build a Log Cabin also foreshadows the outcome of the relationship.
The changes which have occurred in both of the stories interrupted the false sense of closeness among the couples, serving to spark off long-term problems they had not realized. In "Shiloh", Leroy, is forced to retire to home after injuring his leg in a highway incident. Just like his truck, Leroy, no longer able to make his living as a truck driver, "has flown home to roost". However, he makes little effort to find another alternative to make his living. Realizing that he has missed so many things in life when he was still "on the road, he wanted to enjoy the freedom he had now, and to take more notice of the things happening around him. He no longer wanted to "fly past scenery". His wife, Norma Jean however, fails to acknowledge Leroy's attitude. Expecting Leroy to assume the responsibility of caring for the household, watching him idle around, taking up needlepoint and crafting, agitated Norma Jean.
Leroy arrives home from a drive and finds Norma Jean in tears.” (Mason p. 50). Norma
friends. She moves in with her new found daughter Turtle to live with Lou Ann and her baby. Even though they didn't have too much
The setting in the short story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason works well to accentuate the theme of the story. The theme portrayed by Mason is that most people change along with their environment, with the exception of the few who are unwilling to adapt making it difficult for things such as marriage to work out successfully. These difficulties are apparent in Norma Jean and Leroy’s marriage. As Norma Jean advances herself, their marriage ultimately collapses due to Leroy’s unwillingness to adapt with her and the changing environment.
The father, Claude, was a pastor (Frontline Video, 2013). The mother, Jacki, made efforts to find work (Frontline Video, 2013). She spent most of her time helping her husband run the church (Frontline Video, 2013). She seemed confident and strong (Frontline Video, 2013). She inspired people to live to their full potential and enjoy life (Frontline Video, 2013). However, this was just an act (Frontline Video, 2013). Jackie didn’t want anyone to be worried about her or have a negative outlook based on her experience (Frontline Video, 2013). It upset her deeply when she would have to turn for help from others just to get some food to feed her family (Frontline Video,
The first conflict in this story is between Leroy and his distance from his wife for such a long time. Mrs. Moffitt has been trying to cope with her husbands’ absence by doing other activities such as: working out, going back to school, and visiting with her mother. Another conflict resides within Leroy himself. He has not been there for his wife and he is trying to make it up to her in any way he can. This couple has been through the loss of an infant child in addition to Leroy’s absence. This is another issue that is causing them to experience the conflicts they do. Mr. and Mrs. Moffitt do not speak of this lost child, which causes more conflict between their marriage together. Leroy, once being settled at home with nothing to do, began to work with his hands to construct or design objects. He wanted to build his wife a log cabin as he was making replicas out of toothpicks. I think him wanting to build this house is to prove to himself and his wife that he can still be productive and good for something. The relationship Leroy has with Norma Jean’s mother is quite different. Any time she comes around, he makes jokes instead of having real conversation with her. I think he makes the jokes to ease the tension and to not address real issues that are present. Leroy has also stated that all those years driving in the same neighborhood he did not take the time to notice how much it had changed.
The character Norma Jean fits all the psychological characteristics of behavior change in mothers who are coping with life after losing their child to sudden infant death syndrome. The most common symptoms are anxiety and depression (Boyle 933 par.1). She is always trying to stay busy. First she decided to build her own body up. She goes to the gym or does exercises around the house whenever she is home. Second she decided to take night classes at her local community college. She comes home and writes essays of stories she has read. She never seems to be in a relaxed state of being. These are signs of anxiety. The definition of anxiety is uneasiness. She can’t decide what she wants to do with herself. There are many reasons for her depression. She is trying to cope with the death of her child, her empty marriage to Leroy and her less than supportive mother.
end. She is scheduling a conference with Johnny’s parents, as she suspects he has Attention
Due to her mother's mental instability and the fact that she was unmarried at the time, Norma Jeane was placed in the foster home of Albert and Ida Bolender. It was here she lived the first 7 years of her life.
This story reveals to the reader how distance and low communication can separate individuals from each other. Leroy, the narrator, is a person that has lived separated from his wife Norma Jean for a lot of time because of the job he has. This has created a gap between the two of them. After the accident when Leroy has to stay in the house to recuperate, they find out that they both really don't know each other. He is having a lot of time on his hands, so he decides to build a model of the house he promised Norma Jean when they got married. This only creates a problem since his wife doesn't want a log cabin. Leroy is finally noticing that everything has changed, that nothing is the same as before. He was to busy or hardly ever in town to realize all the changes that where happening around him. When he tries to get closer to Norma Jean, apparently it separates them more. During their trip to Shiloh, Norma realizes that everything is going back to the way it was before Leroy started his trucking job. This makes her feel eighteen again and she is not willing to do that again. This creates a confusing situation for Leroy because he does not understand why Norma is acting that way. Finally he realizes that all that time apart has created a relationship where Norma pre...
Norma to her husband Arthur: “I’d like for us to go to Europe. Like for us to have a nicer apartment, nicer furniture, nicer clothes. Like for us to finally have a baby for that matter.” (Page 23)
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...
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
The statement "The relationships in our lives are one of the main reasons why we function as human beings.” In this text About a Boy by Nick Hornby there are elements where relationships between characters help them develop and without these relationships these characters would not be able to 'grow'. The relationship between will and Marcus and also the relationship between Marcus and Ellie proves how relationships in our lives are the reason that we function as human beings.