Stereotyping and the discovery of limitations of the female gender can be seen as two important themes Alice Munro deals within her short story "Boys and Girls". In "Boys and Girls", which will be the base of this term paper, Munro criticises the social expectations and the gender roles of females, illustrated through the rebellion of the main character.
The paper will show how the main protagonist deals with existing gender roles and rules in the society to that time and her attempts of liberation from social norms, although the 20th century is also characterized by two waves of feminism.
First, the author will concentrate on female and male characters in the story as well as on general gender conceptions in the Canadian society to that time. Thus, the term paper will focus on the relationships between the characters as well as on how gender and symbols are connected.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Gender in „Boys and Girls“
2.1 Expectations
2.2 Female and male characters
2.3 Relationships between the family members
2.3.1 Father and daughter
2.3.2 Father and son
2.3.3 Mother and daughter
2.3.4 Husband and wife
3. Gender and symbols
3.1 The foxes
3.2 Flora
3.3 The setting
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This academic paper examines the social construction of female gender roles in Alice Munro's short story "Boys and Girls," focusing on how the protagonist navigates and resists traditional norms within an early 20th-century Canadian rural context.
- Analysis of gender expectations and stereotypes in the early 20th century.
- Examination of familial hierarchies and the division of labor.
- Interpretation of literary symbols, specifically the foxes and the horse Flora.
- Evaluation of the protagonist's attempts at liberation and rebellion against social norms.
- Assessment of the role of "inside" versus "outside" spaces in defining gender boundaries.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 The foxes
As we know from the first sentence of the short story, the protagonist’s father is a fox farmer (see Munro 111). The foxes are necessary for their existence, as her father sells their pelts „to the Hudson’s Bay Company or the Montreal Fur Traders“ (see Munro 111). The act of skinning the foxes gets described as horrible and pelting those animals always evoked a „[…] strong primitive odour of the fox itself […]“ (see Munro 112). In the ongoing lecture, we recognize some important parallels between the foxes and the protagonist. At first sight, it’s hard to find but the more you look at the details, the more you discover interesting parallels. As mentioned in prior sections, the protagonist has to obey her father and is kind of submissive to him. She gets called „only a girl“ and that puts her at a disadvantage. Moreover, she has to fit in given constructions as the female gender had to face unequal treatment to that time. When the protagonist describes the foxes, their lives seem to be quite similar to her own: „The foxes inhabited a world my father made for them“ (see Munro 114). Like the foxes in their fences, the girl has to obey her father and his strict rules. The world in which the animals lived were „[…] surrounded by a high guard fence […]“ (see Munro 114). In this context, the fence could be interpreted as the restrictions the girl has to deal with every day and she feels caged in the house like the foxes are caged in the high fence.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Alice Munro as a significant author and outlines the scope of the term paper, focusing on gender dynamics in "Boys and Girls."
2. Gender in „Boys and Girls“: This section explores the historical and social gender perceptions of the early 20th century and how they dictate family hierarchies and individual behaviors.
3. Gender and symbols: This chapter analyzes how Munro utilizes specific motifs, such as the farm foxes and the horse Flora, to symbolize the constraints placed upon the female protagonist.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the research findings, confirming that the protagonist's struggle for identity ultimately succumbs to the rigid social structures of her time.
5. Bibliography: This section lists the academic sources and literary references used to support the analysis.
Keywords
Alice Munro, Boys and Girls, gender roles, female protagonist, social expectations, rebellion, literary symbols, patriarchy, Canadian literature, early 20th century, domestic sphere, social norms, identity, feminism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the construction and critique of female gender roles in Alice Munro’s short story "Boys and Girls," analyzing how the protagonist experiences and attempts to resist societal limitations.
What are the core themes discussed?
The core themes include the division of domestic and outdoor labor, the hierarchy within the family, the impact of gendered language, and the conflict between individual freedom and social conformity.
What is the central research question?
The paper explores how the main protagonist negotiates existing gender roles and whether her acts of rebellion successfully lead to liberation from imposed social norms.
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The study employs a literary analysis approach, drawing on text-based evidence and secondary literary criticism to interpret the characters, symbols, and setting within the story.
What does the main body of the text cover?
The main body examines gendered expectations, relationships between family members, and the symbolic significance of the foxes and the horse Flora in relation to the protagonist's life.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Alice Munro, gender roles, social expectations, rebellion, literary symbols, patriarchy, and domestic sphere.
Why are the foxes and the horse Flora significant symbols in this story?
They act as mirrors to the protagonist's own situation; both the animals and the girl are subject to the father's control and are ultimately unable to escape the constraints of their prescribed roles.
How does the setting contribute to the gender roles depicted?
The rural setting reinforces a dichotomy between the "inside" (domestic, female, restricted) and the "outside" (productive, male, free), which serves to highlight the perceived inferiority of the mother and daughter's work.
- Citation du texte
- Anonym (Auteur), 2020, Female gender roles in the short story "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/937363
