Premium Essay

Boys and Girls

In: English and Literature

Submitted By kcuyar
Words 767
Pages 4
Literature in Society
Keri Ann Yellott
ENG/125
July 16, 2012

Literature in Society In the story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, she tells a story about a young girl whom resists womanhood during the time of society where men and women were not considered equal. A mother’s role was in the house and a man’s was outside the house. Men were the dominant figures in the household whereas the women were subservient. This story occurs on a family farm outside Jubilee, Ontario, Canada during the 1940s. Munro's narrator has no identity and therefore remains unnamed, compared to her younger brother Laird. Her brother's name, which is a synonym for "Lord," comes from a Scottish origin (Laird - Origin and Meaning, 2012). Munro uses these names to represent how a male child was more important than a female child in a family. The narrator resisted the role a woman was expected in life to lead. She worked outside with her father rather than inside the home with her mother. "I hated the hot dark kitchen in the summer" (p. 775). Because the narrator was female, she was not regarded as essential help to her father. "Could of fooled me," said the salesman. "I thought it was only a girl" (p. 774). She was still under appreciated even though she could work more than her younger brother. "Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you'll have a real help" (p. 775). This shows that girls were expected to stay inside the home doing chores whereas boys were allowed out to do the things that they wanted instead. The father is a farmer who raises foxes and skins them when their fur is ready. After skinning the foxes, he sells the pelts for profit. The narrator seeks attention from her father, and enjoys assisting him outside with the foxes. "My father did not talk to me unless it was about the job we were doing...Nevertheless I worked willingly

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Boys and Girls

...Commentary of “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro Alice Munro is a Canadian short-story writer. She grew up in a rural environment such as is featured in the story “Boys and Girls”. This story is collected in her first collection of short stories, “The Dance of the Happy Shades”, which has been published in 1968. In the story, the protagonist experiences a process in which she leaves childhood. However, if we have to sum up the main idea of the text in a sentence, it would be the title with a few words more, “The education in boys and girls”. Therefore, we can see that the whole text is subordinate to this concept: characters’ attitude, characters’ comments, character’s name, indeed the style and the horses that appear in the story. Firstly, we will focus on the style. It is a first person narrator who shows us all the thoughts and impressions of the protagonist, this fact help us to understand how the influence of the other characters affects her. Secondly, we have to stress two characteristics of the personages that normally have unimportant role. One feature is the character’s names or more specifically the lack of name in some of them, because no female characters have a name, neither the main, so this fact helps to emphasize the distinction between women and men. Although neither the father has name, this could be explained in the sense that the author wants to stress that Laird, the son, is the winner because this sexist education is favorable to the men side. The other...

Words: 1186 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Boys and Girls

...GIRLS, BOYS SAME CAPABILITIES To certain the same capabilities and certain that all talents are entering equation, the government started a row of initiatives targeted for girls and boys in all ages. Girls and boys meet old-fashioned standard and way of thinking early, which trip up for the single free challenge – in kindergarten, school and the surrounding society. It is not just restricted for the single person, it also means, that we e.g. get a very gender-segregated education system. Four out of ten choose educations, where more than 75% are one gender. That means, that we don’t get all talents in the game, and the Danish labour market gets very inflexible. More than 40% of all educations have got more than 75% of one gender. Over 99% of the students in the bricklayer-, paver-, and carpenter educations are men. Women dominate the educations for midwifes-, dental clinic assistant-, and sick nurse. In 2011 the minister supposes focus on the gender spitted education choices through the campaign “The future is yours” (Fremtiden er din) and the initiative “in practice as trouble-shooter”-“Girls in the scientific and technological in cooperation with the association of engineers called IDA. The project will contribute to open girls’ eyes for all the challenging scientific and technological problems, people can work with and give them practically “hands on” experiences with the subjects. See more at Perspective- and plan of action 2011. Look what the government earlier has...

Words: 252 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Boys and Girls

...Boys and Girls Recent history boldly notes the protests and political unrest surrounding the Vietnam Conflict during the 1960s and 70s. However, equally important in this era are the women who pushed for gender role and publicly rebelled against the established social norm of a woman's "place." Although Alice Munro may not have been burning her bra on the courthouse steps, threads of a feminist influence can be found in "Boys and Girls." Munro's main character, a girl probably modeled after Munro's own childhood experiences on an Ontario farm, faces her awakening body and the challenge of developing her social identity in a man's world. "The girl," an unnamed character, acts as a universal symbol for the initiation of a girl into womanhood. Through first-person narrative, Munro shoes the girl's views of her budding femininity and social identity by describing the girl's conceptions of her parents' work, her parallel to the wild mare Flora, and the "mysterious alterations" (Munro 474) in her personal nightly stories. As if to forsake her femininity and forego a life of confinement and housework, the girl reveres her father's work and condemns her mother's duties. The sum of the girl's respect seems to lie with her father, as is evident in her reference to his work outdoors as "ritualistically important" (468). On the other hand, while the girl recognizes that her mother is busy, she still considers her mother's "work in the house [to be] [·] endless, dreary and peculiarly...

Words: 1011 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Boy and Girl

...Unit Three Chapter7: Learning 1. Using the story of Pavlov’s dogs, identify and give an example of two of the four elements of classical conditioning. UCS food, UCR drooling, CS bell, CR drooling when bell 2. Describe stimulus generalization and give an example. generalization is the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for a stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. An example is a dog conditioned to droll when rubbed but it would also happen when scratched or touched in a different place. 3. Describe two possible explanations for the decrease in responding observed during extinction. Describe which explanation the phenomena spontaneous recovery supports. extinction is the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response in no longer reinforced. 4. Describe and give an example of shaping. shaping is an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior giving a rat food every time it pushes a bar 5. Describe and give an example of two kinds of operant conditioning. reinforcement is any event that strengthens the behavior it follow; example praise, attention, or pay check punishment is an event that tends to decrease the behavior it follows; example taking away teen driving privileges 6. Describe...

Words: 447 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Boys vs. Girls

...hormones and DNA? There’s still a lot we don’t understand about the relationship between gender and behavior, and even more regarding gender and education. Angela: Today, we invite some guests that will share their point of views, opinions and reactions regarding both genders. Lance: We have students from University of the Philippines. And let’s see who will stand among them. Lance: From girls, we have Nicole Bernal, Angeli De Leon, and Jozelle Gonida. Angela: From boys, we also have Steven Evangelio, Ricky Park, and Mel Lloren. Angela: Ok, to start the face off. Let me know who do you think among you is smarter? This has been a worldwide controversy notion since the beginning of creation. Let’s start with the girls.. Juicy: For me, we girls are way smarter because we are deep thinkers and imaginative. We are much better than boys mentally speaking. We think before we act and we remain calm in crisis. Angeli: Yes yes and Boys on the other hand tend to reason things out and find practical solutions to problems. They don’t waste time and they like to hit the subject right away. That’s why boys don’t like to chat for hours on the phone without a goal. Mel: Yeah.. That’s because we are goal-oriented, this means that we tend to reason. Our nature forced us to be reasoning creatures. A conversation should have a purpose that is worth considering. We Men do not indulge in a...

Words: 1450 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Boys Against Girls

...Boys Against Girls Summary: Discusses the academic and social rivalry between boys and girls. Findings of a study conducted by the American Association of University Women regarding the issue; Gap between men and women in the sciences; Strengths and weaknesses of boys and girls. GENDER A 1992 study by the American Association of University Women reported that schools shortchange girls--letting them lag behind boys in science, silencing them in class and damaging their self-esteem. But some experts are arguing that it's boys who lose out. "The Columbine killings have been a wake-up call," says Judith Kleinfeld, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. "Boys also have their problems." Kleinfeld refutes the findings of the AAUW study: With the exception of the (rapidly narrowing) gap between men and women in the sciences, she says, "most of the other findings are misleading or false." Studies show, for example, that girls receive better grades and more awards than their male counterparts. They also have superior verbal skills and are more likely to attend college. But while many schools sponsor interventions to coach girls in physics and math, few have tried to remedy boys' poor reading and writing abilities. And contrary to popular belief, many boys have a well-hidden low self-esteem, believing that schools are hostile towards them. "Women have been shortchanged in other areas of life," says Kleinfeld. "But schools, with their...

Words: 307 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Boys and Girls Alone

...Engelsk opgave – Boys and Girls alone Normally in reality shows grown up appears but in a reality show from 2009, Channel 4 decided to broadcast a show called Boys and Girls Alone. The show includes children from the age of 8-11. But is that good for the children? 1. In this outline of the various attitudes towards the Reality Show, we have three texts. Text 1 consists of two letters. Both letters have been published in The Times the same year as the reality show was sent: The first letter is written by Andre Mackenzie from Channel 4, the second letter is written by a Lecturer in Psychotherapy named Dr. Richard House. Text 2 is written by a journalist Georgina Reid there is introducing a mother to one of the children in the show. Andre Mackenzie is trying to convince everybody there is reading it, that the children in the show are hundred percent safe and is under protection 24/7 during production. He starts by introducing the purpose of the show, which is to give the children the chance to make decisions about their lives in a safe environment. They also want the parents to see how their kids handle them self with out them, and offer the audience an insight into both childhood and parenting. Then he explains how they have carefully chosen the kids, he says that they are ‘’screened by experts’’ to make sure that they could cope in the show. He says that they follow Safety protocols to ensure that the children’s well being remains there top priority, to make sure...

Words: 774 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Fearless Boys and Girls

...The fearless boys and girls Between the World and Me? it a letter Coates wrote to his son describing the violence he went to and still going through in his life. He gave us a tour of his life. From the tough neighborhoods of Baltimore from his youth, to Howard University which Coates describe as “The Mecca” for its diversity of African Americans students and teachers to the broader Mecca's which he calls it of New York and Paris. Every day the epidemic if violence grows either by the statistics of death of young black male, the inner city kids mastering the street, and social influences. A teenage boy pointed a gun in his face on the street, the worst part was his father beat him for letting himself get robbed by a boy. Recently they were a statistic report that shows how young people died. 24,600 people died as the victims of homicides. This converts into a homicide percentage of 8.9 per 200,000 populace. The homicide percentage for male teenagers ages 13-21 is 21.8 per 100,000. The homicide percentage for young African American males in this age group is 84.8 per 100,000. The overall homicide percentage for male teenagers in the US was between 6 and 83 times greater than the homicide percentage for male teenagers in any other nation. Guns were used in four-quarters of the death in the USA. This statistics released proves and demands that violence has become an infection and a huge public health issue. Ta-neishi also mentions many examples of probably unnecessary violence...

Words: 640 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Sexism In Boys And Girls

...The Effects of Sexism in “Boys and Girls.” The world is a place where everyone calls “home” but is it really considered a home when sexism exists everyday? When someone thinks about home, it is a place where a person can do anything without being judged or told what to do. Everyone is a human being but why is it that sexism gets to decide what a person's role is? In society, people are “labelled” to do specific tasks because of their gender. Sexism is the main social issue that should not restrict what a gender can or cannot do. There are three main effects of sexism that restricts what a gender can do or cannot do and the three effects are sexism in the work force, roles of the household, and how males and females are portrayed as. Firstly,...

Words: 1352 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

A Word to the Resourceful

...January 2012 A year ago I noticed a pattern in the least successful startups we'd funded: they all seemed hard to talk to. It felt as if there was some kind of wall between us. I could never quite tell if they understood what I was saying. This caught my attention because earlier we'd noticed a pattern among the most successful startups, and it seemed to hinge on a different quality. We found the startups that did best were the ones with the sort of founders about whom we'd say "they can take care of themselves." The startups that do best are fire-and-forget in the sense that all you have to do is give them a lead, and they'll close it, whatever type of lead it is. When they're raising money, for example, you can do the initial intros knowing that if you wanted to you could stop thinking about it at that point. You won't have to babysit the round to make sure it happens. That type of founder is going to come back with the money; the only question is how much on what terms. It seemed odd that the outliers at the two ends of the spectrum could be detected by what appeared to be unrelated tests. You'd expect that if the founders at one end were distinguished by the presence of quality x, at the other end they'd be distinguished by lack of x. Was there some kind of inverse relation between resourcefulness and being hard to talk to? It turns out there is, and the key to the mystery is the old adage "a word to the wise is sufficient." Because this phrase is not only overused...

Words: 621 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Boy and Girls Fil

...N09 Akure St War College, 3rd Avenue Gwarinpa, Abuja. 20th may, 2014. The manager, Chicken Electera, 3rd Avenue Gwarinpa Abuja. Sir, APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT I humbly apply for the post Cashier in your establishment as advertised in front of the place. I graduated with a second class lower division in Agricultural Economics, management and Extension from Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. I am a hardworking, goal oriented, diligent and honest individual with great organisational, communication and interpersonal skills. I am a great team player, open to self-improvement and growth. I can work under minimum supervision and adjust efficiently to any working environment. Attached to this application are my Curriculum Vitae, and photocopies of my credentials. I shall be glad if my application is duly and favourably considered. Yours Faithfully IDAM, LOVETH KELECHI CURRICULUM VITAE PERSONAL DATA: SURENAME: ...

Words: 454 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Boys vs Girls Precis

...Yang, Chirstina Prof. Robert ENC 1102 Date: October 22, 2015 Title: “Boys and Girls” Author: Alice Munro Characters: The father, the mother, the sister, Laird, Henry Bailey, the grandmother, Flora Setting: The house, the barn Plot Summary: The sister is hurt that she’s defined by her gender, and the stuff she enjoys are considered boys stuff. Laird is expected to do all the manly stuff even if he don’t enjoy them. One aspect of the story that I really enjoyed: I enjoyed when the sister purposely let Flora leave. One aspect of the story that I found puzzling of that I did not understand: Was Laird jealous of his sister? Why the mother felt like her daughter shouldn’t be trusted? What made the sister let Flora go? Three-Paragraph analysis: The story was about a sister and a brother named Laird that were always being compared to each other. Everything the sister truly loved and enjoyed to do was considered a man’s job. It was hard for anyone to take her seriously because she was a girl and only expected to act like a lady. Laird on the other hand, had a hard time because everything he did wasn’t good enough or wasn’t as good as his sister. Laird was expected to be or manly since his a boy. They both had a hard time growing up since Laird had to always help his father, and the sister wanted to be with the father but her mother would force her to help her instead. The sister would have dreams of her a little older rescuing people from a bombed building, shooting two...

Words: 495 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Why Girls Outpreform Boys

...Since the early 1990’s, girls have begun to outperform boys at most levels of the educationsystem. According to Pirie in Item A, the modular courses and continuous assessment found ineducation today has been seen to favour the systematic approach of girls, compared to the oldO level exam which typically favoured boys. These changes within the education system are seenas the main result of gender differences in education, nevertheless, external factors such asthe impact of feminism and changes in the job market may also have influenced the increase ingirl’s attainment.Firstly, it may be argued that the way pupils are assessed has favoured girls and disadvantagedboys. Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement was stable from 1975 up until 1988 whenit increased rapidly. This was when GCSE and with it coursework was introduced. Mitsos andBrowne support the view that GCSE’s favoured girls as they were more successful in courseworkdue to the fact that girls are seen to be more careful with their work, more likely to spendlonger on their work and meet deadlines. However, Ellwood argues that although coursework hashad some influence, exams themselves have a greater influence in the final grade. Thereforethis does not create a significant gap between gender differences.Secondly, the way in which teachers interact with pupils differs. Sociologist Jane and PeterFrench argue that classroom interaction between teachers and boys was not that different tothat of girls in terms of academic...

Words: 769 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Similarities Between 'Boys And Girls'

...false hope. “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro is an excellent example that indicates that people’s reality can get tangled up with their dreams. Similarly, “A Handful of Dates” by Tayeb Salih is also a brilliant example of dreams versus reality. Although, there are obvious differences between “Boys and Girls” and “A Handful of Dates”, they still have many similarities. Both stories demonstrate that a person’s in this case the protagonist, can easily be engrossed in a dream or illusion, causing conflict which can lead to personal growth through dreams, conflicts and symbols. Firstly, dreams and illusions are used in both “Boys and Girls” and...

Words: 862 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Boys and Girls Left Alone

...Outline of “Letters to the Editor” There are two letters one from each side of two different views on filming children left alone, making their own decisions on living life, and then broadcasting it. There is one pro the idea and one against it. The letter pro the idea comes from Andrew Mackenzie, head of factual entertainment and he writes that every show that is broadcasted had to follow Ofcoms’ guidelines. That means that the children were in good hands throughout the whole program. The parent was always nearby and had the opportunity to intervene whenever they wanted, and withdraw their kid from the program. This gave the parents the insight on their kids’ behaviour when they are not around. The opposite letter was written by Dr Richard House, Senior lecturer in psychotherapy from Roehampton University. He makes it clear in his letter that it is impossible to secure the inner environments for any people no matter who you are, especially children. The psyche of children is very fragile, and is not to be toyed with. Andrew Mackenzie also states that all of the children participating were carefully casted and screened by experts so that the children could cope the whole situation and experience. The parents had access to advice and support at any time needed, and all safety measures were taken care of. The children’s wellbeing were at all time the top priority. As an answer to that Dr Richard House states that it is simply impossible to select and pick out children that...

Words: 1021 - Pages: 5