Henry Bailey: The nature of me

A detailed Summary of Henry Bailey: The nature of me

Everyone wonders at some point in their life why they became the person they are. Most people like to believe they had a choice in determining who they would eventually become. However, the stereotype of gender in the society had predetermined what we are. There is an assumption that men's work are always done by men and women can never takeover men's work even though women are more qualified in many cases. In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", the character of Henry Bailey represents the nature of arrogance in men's gender.

The main character is the girl and she is the narrator of the story. She remains nameless throughout the entirety of the tale. The lack of a name creates an image of a girl who is almost ethereal and also signifies other characters with name, such as the girl's brother Laird and the hired man Henry Bailey. The majority of the girl's personality is based on the fact that she is in a state of change through experiencing and imitating other characters in the story. She has only a few peers to look for examples on who to be, because the girl's life on a farm provides for an environment lacking in social interaction. The narrator watches her parents on a daily basis, and she analyzes everything they do. Her fathe

Later in her story, she is again confronted with the slaughtering of a family horse. This time it is the female horse, Flora. While Henry and the girl's father are trying to get a hold on the horse, the horse gets away and makes a run for the gate. The narrator is sent by her father to shut the gate, and she makes it just in time to be able to close the gate. However, either because of an unconscious care for Flora, or just an outright defiance of her father, the girl resists shutting the gate and allows the horse to get away. Her father then pulls up in a pick-up truck and invites Laird to go with the men to capture the horse, leaving the girl behind. This scene shows how easily Laird is excepted into the man's world, and mocks the efforts of the girl. At the end of the story, the narrator finds herself eating dinner with her family. Henry pasted his chewing-gum on the end of his fork, it is the way he always did. This shows that Henry can do everything that is considered to be bad manners in girl's world. While girls cannot slam doors and girls have to keep their knees together when they sit down. She is also overcome with confusion and guilt for the event that occurred earlier that day. However, the father claims, 'She's only a girl', the narrator finds that her father is forgiving at last.

In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", the character of Henry Bailey represents the nature of arrogance in the male gender. There is an assumption that men's work are always men's work and women can never takeover men's work even though women are more qualify to do the work in many cases. Through the help of Henry Bailey's character, the narrator has to accept and realize that she will always be a girl, and that her response to the earlier situation is expected due to her gender.<

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Approximate Word count = 1201
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English