Sexist views of Alice Munroes
When it comes to literature an authors have many possibilities of how to end a story. It is a very difficult process for authors to pick an ending that truly fits their purpose of the story. This is why writers have been known to change the endings of texts when requested by a public audience. The short story "Boys and Girls", written by Alice Munroe, is a tale about the profound unfairness of sex-role stereotyping, and the effect it has on rites of passage into adulthood. The protagonist, who is also the narrator of this story, is a girl who goes unnamed. The story ends with the girl having a choice about whether to keep a gate open and let a horse escape from certain death, or to close a gate and by doing so retain her father's trust. The way in which this story ends leaves the reader wondering about possible conclusions, and whether the ending chosen is in fact the best. In my opinion, however, there is no question that Munroe has chosen the most intriguing ending for her story. One possible ending to Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls" is that the girl in this short story shuts the gate on the horse to keep it from escaping. This is an example of something not typically done by a girl and is indicative of the fact that girls
While there are many possible endings to Munro's "Boys and Girls", the one she has in fact chosen is truly superior. The irony is that the girl is trying very hard to escape from the stereotypes society has set while at the same time she enjoys some of the benefits the stereotypes give her. This irony alone would be a true unrivaled ending, but my understanding of the realistic situation that this girl is going through even though I am a boy, leaves me with the feeling that she is hiding behind some of the stereotypes forced upon girls. Stopping the horse is only one of the possible endings. Another ending could be that instead of the father excusing the girl letting for the horse out, and saying "'she's only a girl'"(462), he could have gotten angry at her. This ending would be more reflective of the male prospective that a girl could perform the same tasks as a boy. While almost every character in this story implies that girls cannot perform in the world the same as boys, the father rarely suggests this. In this respect the father could be of the opinion that his daughter is capable of performing the same tasks as a boy. Some of the male population also share this perspective. After looking at this possible ending, it would not have had the same effect as the actual ending. Because realistically most people believe that there are differences between the sexes, this ending would be less thought provoking and made less o
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Approximate Word count = 965
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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