In the short story "Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason, a lack of communication between Norma Jean and Leroy has devastating effects on their relationship. The loss of Norma Jean and Leroy's child was a distressing event in their lives, but this event seemed to be pushed in the back of their minds as if nothing ever happened. One would say that in a healthy relationship there would need to be a grieving period where the couple would be able to release their emotions through communication with one another. In the case of Norma Jean and Leroy this grieving period would seem to have been ignored, and in the end, this lack of communication breaks this marriage apart.

Norma Jean learned to deal with the bay's death without Leroy, because Leroy was always on the road. Since he has returned after the accident, this couple has not dealt with how the baby's death has affected their marriage. It is possible they do not want to realize how disastrous their child's death has b

The truth is uncovered when Norma Jean and Leroy travel to Shiloh. Her he pain is truly discovered as she says, "I feel eighteen again. I can't face that all over again" (740). This statement reflects on how at the age of eighteen she lost her baby, and Leroy's being home bringing her back to that time and make her relive that loss. Sadly these two individuals are too late to save their marriage. The scar that has been left in Norma Jean's heart is too deep to repair and there is no longer any hope for their marriage surviving.

The communication between Norma Jean and Leroy has become irrelevant, because they fail to speak of what is, and was the real connection between them, their child. Mason states, " They never spoke about their memories of Randy, which have almost faded, but now that Leroy is home all the time, they sometimes feel awkward around each other, and Leroy wonders if one of them should mention the child" (731). The couple's failure to speak of their tragic loss separates these individuals. They no lo

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Approximate Word count = 690
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)