Wild Horses Essay, Research Paper
Wild Horses
Alice Munro has a history of writing stories that demonstrate the changing and shifting
of relationships in a world perceived as chaotic and unforgiving. “Boys and Girls” is no
different. This story isn’t merely about a girl watching a horse die. This is about a girl
fast approaching her adolescence, and her inability to cope at first.
We never learn her name, but the girl in this story has her major conflict in her role in
the family and how she is supposed to act. The first clue that this is a problem occurs in
paragraph 22, where we learn that the grandmother has certain expectations for “girls”.
These include not slamming doors and keeping knees together while sitting. The girl tries
to preserve her “freedom” by slamming doors and sitting awkwardly as often as possible.
This reasoning of girls acting in a certain fashion is emphasized in other places in the
story as well. In paragraph 10, she contrasts her parents and how they relate to her while
they work together. This demonstrates the vast differences in how the adults deal with the
children in their household.
More evidence of this is in paragraph 12, where the girl voices her surprise at seeing
her mother out at the barn. This proves that there are two distinctive roles in the home,
and that they are very different. The message here is that the mother is seldom seen
outside the kitchen. We read about conversations between the mother and daughter, and
they all take place in the kitchen.
More examples of stereotypes in their family is in paragraph 16, where the mother is
discussing the way the girl is always helping the father instead of her. She explains that
every time she turns around, the girl has run off. She made a comment that sometimes it
doesn’t even seem like there is a little girl in the family at all. This shows how
uncomfortable the mother is with having a tomboy as a daughter.
We get the impression that the girl enjoyed and took pride in defying the female
stereotype. An example of this is in paragraph 10, where she talks about her father calling
her the “hired man”. She was proud that her father thought she was good enough to
deserve the title. Her father made her feel shy and unsure of herself, and praise from him
made her very proud.
There is one major example of symbolism in this story. In paragraph 20, this is
illustrated by the relationship of the two ill-fated horses. They are meant to be
slaughtered and fed to the foxes. The male horse is an easy-to-manage workhorse who is
very calm. The female horse would startle easy, was violent, and would kick at anyone
who tried to get in her stall. In my opinion, the disposition of the two horses demonstrate
the ways that the two genders transform into young adults. This is especially true if you
remember that this is a female author. Boys usually seem to have an easier transition
while girls, especially tomboys, fight and struggle to stay who they want to be, but
always eventually lose out to Mother Nature.
The character constantly struggles between who she is, who she wants to be, and who
she is becoming. In paragraph 38, there is dialogue where she puts up a front to her
brother, Laird, as well as her father. She even sets her brother up to get in trouble
knowing that she will get scolded as well, just so she won’t have to worry about anyone
noticing her distress about watching the horse die. She doesn’t want anyone to know she
has all the inner conflict with her emotions.
She knows by the way her father talks to her and her mother that if she starts to
“soften” and act “girlie” that he will begin to treat her differently. She isn’t sure she
wants that to happen.
The scene where she lets the horse off their property is very symbolic. I think she let
the horse out in a last futile attempt to give the horse her freedom. Even if it was
temporary, she thought it was important. She couldn’t have hers, but she could at least
give the horse a few hours free of gender stereotypes and the roles of conformity in her
place.
In the conclusion of this story, the brother tells on her, stating that it was her fault the
horse got away. This is in paragraph 64, and her father’s reaction is very calm. He knew
at some point he was going to have to deal with the girl’s growing up. He had been
expecting it, and wrote it off with the comment, “She’s only a girl.” In the next
paragraph, she finally accepted that statement to be true, and came to terms with herself.
The fact that this story was written by a woman might make it seem a little biased to
men. Their adolescence may have been just as torturous as women perceive theirs to be.
The point of view in this story might help the opposite sex to understand some traits
about women.
In closing, the symbolism in this story is what really makes the point clear. This story
was about a girl’s conflict with the changes in her body and emotions, interpreted through
the horses’ actions and the scenes between characters.
Другие работы по теме:
The Wild Duck (Ibsen) Character Use Of
Escapes Essay, Research Paper People cannot handle stress everyday without having some form of an "escape," which could be as simple as listening to the radio for ten minutes, as long as it gets the mind
Role Model Essay Research Paper Role ModelEveryone
Role Model Essay, Research Paper Role Model Everyone has a role model. Whether an athlete, an older sibling, a parent or relative, or just a special someone everyone wants to be “just like” that certain person. I am a role model to my younger siblings, my cousins, and I hope to be a role model to all of the Wild Life kids.
Animal Rights Essay Research Paper Chris Morra
Animal Rights Essay, Research Paper Chris Morra En-105-03 Animal Rights In Brigid Brophy s essay, The Rights of Animals, there are some statements that I agree with and some that I don t. Unlike Brigid Brophy, I am not a vegetarian, nor would I ever become one, but I do believe that animals have certain rights.
Poetry Essay Research Paper Don t Give
Poetry Essay, Research Paper Don t Give In Dylan Thomas s poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, is an urgent plea from Thomas to his dying father, and all men not to give in
The Relationship Between Heredity And Environment Essay
, Research Paper The Relationship between Heredity and Environment February 22, 2000 William Lee People of the world believe that the way you turn out as a person depends on either your inherited genes or the environment around you. In the article, The Wild boy of Aveyron it talks about how a boy was found in the wild, and how he was in isolation from the human race for so long, that he didn t really have any human characteristics.
Obnoxious Neighbors Essay Research Paper OutlineThesis My
Obnoxious Neighbors Essay, Research Paper Outline Thesis: My new neighbors were the most obnoxious I had ever met. They cared only about drinking, partying and having a good time. Their loud music, marijuana odor, wild parties and trash in the lawn proved just how obnoxious they really could be.
Beowolf And Grendel Essay Research Paper Apart
Beowolf And Grendel Essay, Research Paper Apart from Wealth, Honor, and Paganistic vs. Biblical themes and motifs, character is also shown through a certain Man vs. Wild motif. This motif shows
Lesson Plan Essay Research Paper Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Essay, Research Paper Lesson Plan: Reading Grade Level:Fourth Grade Aim:To recall the sequence of events in a story, using a story pie. Behavioral Objective:Students recall the sequence of events in a story, using a story pie, with 80% accuracy.
Reintroduction Of Wolves Essay Research Paper The
Reintroduction Of Wolves Essay, Research Paper The Reintroduction of Wolves In my opinion, wolves should be able to live and survive in the wild. Ranchers do need to consider that wolves have a major
Macbeth Essay Research Paper In different periods
Macbeth Essay, Research Paper In different periods of time, the lives of humans and nature were thought to have a connection, and this is emphasized in William Shakespeare s play MacBeth. In this play, unnatural events in nature foreshadow bad or unnatural occurrences in the lives of humans. Through out the play, Shakespeare continuously proves this point.
Comparison Between Call Of The Wild And
Of Mice And Men Essay, Research Paper The supplemental assignment I did was the one with the two books by different authors of the same genre. The books I read were Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Call of the wild by Jack London. These two books are classified under the genre of drama.
Comparitive Essay Essay Research Paper There are
Comparitive Essay Essay, Research Paper There are many stories of survival. When I think of survival I think of two things, The movie, Never Cry Wolf, and the story, When the Legends Die. These two are stories of men who survived in the wild after many obtacles. They were both very different but they were still the same.
Wild Geese Essay Research Paper English14
Wild Geese Essay, Research Paper English-14 / R16 / Poetry/Ateneo de Manila 21 February 2000 WAITING FOR YOU Of spotted hawks and wild Geese “I stop somewhere waiting for you.” Walt Whitman’s poem ends with this seemingly undeviating line.
My View On Animal Rights Essay Research
Paper Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself. –Froude (1818-1894) When
The Cost Of Human Life Is Too
High A Price To Pay For Technological Advance Essay, Research Paper The cost of human life is too high a price to pay for advances in technology. This statement is true for many reasons. For example,innocent people are dying which isn t fair, the habitats of many wild species are being destroyed and technological advances can be achieved without the destruction of nature and life.
Wild Bill Kickok Essay Research Paper 1
Wild Bill Kickok Essay, Research Paper 1. Character vs. character Wild Bill vs. Dave McCanles – David McCanles employed Bill and always bullied other people. Dave had tried many times to get Bill to fight
BlackFooted Ferret Essay Research Paper BlackFooted FerretThe
Black-Footed Ferret Essay, Research Paper Black-Footed Ferret The black-footed ferret is a slim, short-short legged animal that lives in dry prairies where prairie dogs are abundant. They are a member of the weasel family and are the rarest mammal in North America. Their natural habitat was the Great Plains from Texas to south central Canada.
Leaving You Essay Research Paper i must
Leaving You Essay, Research Paper i must leave you for a short while please do not grieve and shed wild tears and hug your sorrows to you through the years but start out bravely with a gallant
Into The Wild Essay Research Paper Chris
Into The Wild Essay, Research Paper Chris McCandless, the main character of Into the Wild, is searching for his true self. His numerous tests of both his physical and mental abilities are proof of his determination. He felt affected in his families presence so went on a road trip. He was criticized by many for this, but who could stop him from discovering who he is.
Hamlet Foreshadowing Essay Research Paper An example
Hamlet Foreshadowing Essay, Research Paper An example of foreshadowing is when Hamlet’s father came to him as a ghost to inform him of his murder, this caused a rage within Hamlet that foreshadows his revenge. This revenge led to the death of his uncle, mother, and himself. It also created Hamlet’s wild behavior, and caused him possibly to become insane..
Senior Night Essay Research Paper We were
Senior Night Essay, Research Paper We were at Wild Turkey Stadium, it was Senior Night. The Eagles were ready to play, and fight with all their might. The night was chilly,
Hydrogen Essay Research Paper Wild Bill
Hydrogen Essay, Research Paper Wild Bill’s Wild Bohr Quiz Niels Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom, was the primary reason for the understanding of energy levels.
The Genetics Of Fruit Flies Essay Research
Paper THE GENETICS OF FRUIT FLIES This lab?s purpose was to determine the genetics of fruit flies, including but not limited to: raising them, feeding them, mating them, sexing them, separating them, and mating them again. We then had to determine which traits were dominant in flies, in my case either the wild eyes or the white eyes, by crossing the flies and through phenotypic ratios we were to determine genotypes.
The Call Essay Research Paper THE CALLHolden
The Call Essay, Research Paper THE CALL Holden says that a book can only be a great book if you have the urge to call the author after you had read his book, and if I had the chance to call two authors it would have to be Alexander Dumas and Samuel Clements. The opportunity to talk to these men about what their works have done for me and be able to ask these men is quite the task, but I believe that I make the time worth wild.
Green Mile Essay Research Paper The Green
Green Mile Essay, Research Paper The Green Mile was about a murder of two girls. When the father is told by the mother that the 2 little girls are missing, he gets a whole crowwd together to look for the little girls. They
Basics Of The Horse And Horse Family
Essay, Research Paper HORSES (Swiftness) The horses habitat depends on the type of horse, there are two types of horses. One is the standard horses which is commonly used for pleasure
Love Poems Essay Research Paper All That
Love Poems Essay, Research Paper All That You Are by Steven Duke Poem No. 41993 Everything that you are, Makes me wonder how it’s true, That I?ve found everything I have,
Into The Wild Essay Research Paper Into
Into The Wild Essay, Research Paper Into The Wild The name of this book is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. This book is based on a true story about a young man who goes on a journey. The author takes the real story of what happens to this boy and actual quotes written by real people to show why this boy would want to go on such a journey and what his purpose was.
The Wild DuckA Essay Research Paper Wild
The Wild Duck(A) Essay, Research Paper Wild DuckIn the Wild Duck, Henrik Ibsen employs the image of light to portray certain characteristics of the actors and to adjust the mood for each scene. This report discusses each presentation of light, and its function, be it for moodsetting or character implication.
Wild Child Vs Nature And Nurture Essay
, Research Paper The movie Wild Child is a movie based on a child left behind in the woods by his own parents in 1798. Attempted to kill the infant, but some how survived. And lived on his own from 4 or so to around 12. Then he was found by local resident who lived where the “wild child” survived at. And then taken in a National instuted deaf care.
Analization Of The Song Super Freak Essay
, Research Paper Super Freak or Slut, You Decide. In the song ?Super Freak? written and sung by Rick James, he speaks of an encounter with a woman with whom he had sex. Since this song was written during the sexual revolution and James has confessed to sexual encounters with ?thousands? of women, I believe it was about one particular woman with whom he had a lot of wild and kinky sex.