Boys and girls

A detailed Summary of Boys and girls

Alice Munro's short story, "Boys and Girls," has a very interesting

detail written into it. The narrator's brother is named Laird, which was

carefully chosen by the author. Laird is a synonym for lord, which plays a

important role in a story where a young girl has society's unwritten rules

forced upon her. At the time of the story, society did not consider men and

women equal. The name symbolized how the male child was superior in the

parents eyes and in general. Along with that, the name also symbolizes the

difference between the sexes when this story took place.

The time when this story took place was a time when men and women were

not equal. Mothers had traditional roles, which usually left them in the house,

while men also had their roles, outside of the house. The male was the dominant

figure in the house, while the woman had to be subservient.

It was an off thing to see my mother down at the barn. She did not

often come out of the house unless it was to do something - hang out the wash or

dig potatoes in the garden. She looked out of place, with her bare lumpy legs,

not touched by the sun, her apron still on and damp across the stomach from the

The grandmother is the best example of how women were thought of at the

sit down." And worse still, when I asked some questions, "That's none of girls'

want to hear about it," my mother said. "And don't come to my table like that."

His father. Even the daughter thinks lowly of the mother in comparison to the

"Girls don't slam doors like that." "Girls keep their knees together when they

Approximate Word count = 1050
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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