Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous interesting sihloh interesting sihloh In the story “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason, The reader gets different points of view and different feelings about the characters and the story. In this story the narrator explains how time and distance can create a gap between two people. It also talks about how naïve Leroy really is and also how self-centered he is. It allows the reader to understand that sometimes in doing something good people could be doing something that hurts others. 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 prefers that he be away. As the story says “ “She won’t leave me alone-you won’t leave me alone.””(55) This leads the reader to believe that Norma has become a person that wants to be alone instead of people worrying about her, or even telling her what to do. Leroy could be said that he is a little naïve because he thinks that nothing has changed and that everything is the same as before. What he doesn’t realize is that what has changed the most is his wife. In this story the reader gets the impression that Norma Jean and Leroy are living in a lie. Although Norma Jean has found other things to do while he is away she feels lonely and trapped. Leroy on the other hand feels that she is happy with the life style they have. But what Leroy does not realize is that they have grown apart. Leroy is having a hard time realizing that his relationship with his wife is not as strong as he thinks it is. He feels the need talk about their dead son, but doesn’t know if he should mention him to Norma Jean. As it says in the story “and Leroy wonders if one of them should mention the child.”(47) This crates a complicated scenario for Leroy who is having trouble understanding what has happened between him and his wife. This allows the reader to think badly about Leroy, and also lets the reader judge the way Leroy is acting. But the reader also understands him since he has been talking about his son for a long time with other people. As it says in the story “ Leroy used to tell hitchhikers his hole life story-about his travels, his hometown, the baby.” (51) This is why Leroy feels the need to talk about their dead son. He feels strange not talking about him anymore, but he fear he will have to confront his wife if he does. So this is why it makes Leroy a naïve and troubled person The story also leads the reader to believe that Leroy is self-centered. Leroy gets determined to build the log cabin. This is the house he promised Norma to build for her. He thinks that the log cabin will get them closer, and that it’s going to make things better, but Norma is against the idea of the log cabin. Leroy appears to be self-centered because he is making decisions without Norma Jeans’ opinion. He has become determined to build the house without caring about what Norma thinks. Another thing that worries Norma Jean is the fact that Leroy doesn’t have a job and the only thing Leroy worries about is the cabin. Leroy wants to do something for Norma Jean so that she can feel good, but what he does not realize is he is doing it so he can feel good about himself. He has become obsessed with the cabin and has forgotten what Norma wants. He has ignored what Norma thinks about the cabin, and has become determined to build it. Like it says in the story “ “I don’t want to live in a log cabin.” “It’s not a log cabin. It’s a house.” “I don’t care. It looks like a cabin.”” (49) This clearly states Norma Jeans’s feelings towards Leroy’s plans about the cabin. So the story really leads the reader to believe and understand the points shown. The story explains in various points how time and distance can break up the link between two people in a marriage. It also show how naïve Leroy really was, and how self-centered he became in his effort to make Norma Jean happy. It clearly states the way they both felt and the difficulty all those years apart from each other affected them. It also explains how loneliness became an obstacle in their relationship. Bibliography: none Word Count: 960
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