Spelling and Differently - Analysis

A detailed Summary of Spelling and Differently - Analysis


The analysis of the two short stories "Spelling" and "Differently" written by Alice Munro deal with female relationships. These relationships paint a vivid picture of the kinship, deception, challenges, and associations that affect friends and family as they journey through life.

"Spelling" is about the relationship of two women, Rose and Flo. Although from the outset the relationship between Rose and Flo is not clear, near the end the reader has no doubt they are mother and daughter. Munro illustrates the awkward relationship between a parent and a child and the sometimes difficult problems that face children as their parents age. After visiting the county home in an attempt to find a place for Flo to live, "Rose spoke of the view and the pleasant rooms. Flo looked angry; her face darkened and she stuck out her lip. Rose handed her a mobile she had bought for 50 cents in the County Home crafts centre.... Stick it up your arse, said Flo" (Oates 151). The reader sees no affection between the two. In fact, the tone of the story illustrates a lack of acceptance and even disappointment by Flo and shows that there has always been a distance between the two.

The title is derived from a patient Rose


Georgia feels great pleasure over acting like this to Maya, because she finally feels in control of the relationship. She never talks to Maya again and doesn't find out about her death until months after the funeral. Munro brings realization to her short stories and she clearly shows that each character has personal values and beliefs and they each view things differently. The ability to deal with these problems vary distinctly in each character.

The title "Differently" reflects Georgia's and Maya's view of the world. Georgia is a traditional woman with basic values. Maya, on the other hand, is a free spirit always looking for adventure and excitement. Georgia envies Maya's wealth and carefree attitude and the fact that she has had numerous love affairs. Maya is in charge of the relationship. The author illustrates this one-sided relationship by describing the way the women always go to the restaurants that Maya prefers. Maya even decides how they dress and act when they go out. For example, "There were two places, and only two, where Maya liked to have lunch. One was the Moghul's Court - a seedy, grandiose bar in a large, grim railway hotel.... The other place that Maya liked was a hippie restaurant on Blanshard Street, where you sat on dirty plush cushions tied to the tops of stumps and ate brown rice with slimy vegetables and drank cloudy cider....When they lunched at the hippie restaurant they wore long, cheap, pretty Indian cotton dresses and pretended to be refugees from a commune"(Ford 199 200).

  • Blodgett, E.D. "Munro, Alice." The Canadian Encyclopedia plus (1995): 6 pars. Online. Internet. 21 Aug. 1997. Available http://www.tceplus.com/munro.htm

    When Maya came to seek Georgia's forgiveness, she said, "Georgia this is stupid . I can tell you, he's not worth it. It was nothing. All it was was Scotch and opportunity. She said, I am really sorry. Truly sorry.... Georgia put on her rubber gloves and started to clean the oven.... Georgia got a vengeful pleasure out of breaking with Maya. She was pleased with the controlled manner in which she did it. The deaf

    Some common words found in the essay are:
    Blanshard Street, Instead Munro, Flo Oates, Georgia's Maya's, Rose Flo, Raymond Maya's, Spelling Munro, Maya Munro, Ms Munro, Alice Munro, nursing home, short stories, ed american short, american short stories, relationship women, betrayal friend, book review, maya liked, county home, home flo, book review digest, met nursing home, relationship daughter, irony story,

    Approximate Word count = 1437
    Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

    Category: English

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