Awareness in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro Essay example -- Boys and G

When children are faced with emotional events that challenge their ideas, they take another step on the road to being â€Å"grown up† as they discover their identity. The short story â€Å"Boys and Girls† written by Alice Munro illustrates this coming of age by allowing us to follow the development of a young girl. We follow the main character, who narrates the story, as she changes from beginning to end. As the story opens, the narrator acts like a care free child, not paying heed to her gender. She then begins to react strongly to the way she is treated by her family and their expectations of her young womanhood. Once she realizes that some changes are inevitable she begins to adopt a new understanding of who she is which is evidence of a more mature way of thinking. This story demonstrates that difficult childhood experiences regarding gender contribute to a developing maturity and are frequently met with varying degrees of resistance. In the early parts of the story, the narrator behaves in a way that would be expected of a young child. She, along with her younger brother, finds Henry Bailey (the family’s hired hand) to be quite amusing in his antics. She states that â€Å"we admired [Henry] for [his] performance and for his ability to make his stomach growl at will, and for his laughter, which was full of high whistling and gurgling and involved the whole faulty machinery of his chest†(101). Being afraid of the dark is another experience that she and her brother share, and they fabricate rules that â€Å"When the light was on, [they] were safe as long as [they] did not step off the square of worn carpet which defined [their] bedroom-space† (101). Children that are of a young age will often make up stories that reflect their s... ... let Flora run free, he â€Å"[speaks] with resignation, even good humour, the words which absolved and dismissed [her] for good. ‘She’s only a girl’ † (114) to which she states â€Å"I didn’t protest that, even in my heart. Maybe it was true† (114). It is not an easy task for a child to understand the obligations that accompany their assigned gender, yet while they encounter difficulties processing these thoughts they are also achieving a greater sense of identity. Different stages of life consist of social rules that encode how one is to behave, however, it is not clearly defined when the transition should occur from young girl to young woman. It is not surprising that learning about gender roles and their associated responsibilities is not an easy part of a young child’s maturation and is often the result of a very emotionally charged collection of experiences.

Interior Design

Art is all around us whether we see it hung up in an art gallery or have it in the space of our own homes. I've always been creative and just loved everything that had to do with design. Although as a young girl I never knew what I really wanted to do until about a year ago, I found my passion and knew at that instant what I wanted to do in life. Rearranging my room was always something I enjoyed doing I never realized it was going to be my passion in life until about a year ago when I planned with my husband how to locate and build the interior decoration in our house. I helped decide every step of the way from where it was going to be all the way to the design of the house to choosing colors and furniture. I enjoyed doing this every step of the way. Helping in designing the house wasn't a chore nor a job it was life for me. It was something I enjoyed doing everyday and looked forward to. I know that The Lebanese University, Faculty of Fine Arts can give me the tools I need to excel in the career of Interior Design. With the hands on education and professional teachings I know it will give me what I need to do great as an Interior Designer. It will give me everything I need to be successful and start my own business in interior design. The Lebanese University, Faculty of Fine Arts is where I want to be.

Living in the Past in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman...

Arthur Miller, A play writer in the twentieth century, wrote a play entitled Death of a salesman that won him the Pulitzer Price just a year after its release. In the play Miller expresses the life of a 60 year old salesman that undergoes through lack of success in his life and sees the same thing happening ,to his two grown sons now in their mid-thirties, as the American dream faded away being replaced by capitalism in the late 1940s. The play starts of by introducing Willy Loman, the protagonist, and tells the story of the final twenty four hours in Willy’s life all the way to his death and funeral. Between that time laps the audience is able to see Willies past thanks to his constant daydreams, along with his sons past and wife and†¦show more content†¦Willy is offered help by his friend Charley, a successful Business man, Willies all time friend and only friends he has left, when Charley offers Willy a job, yet willy full of pride and envious of Charley rejects it yet does not rejects it but continues to borrow money from him. This is due to Willies flaw in his desire of being higher in society than anyone else.Willy cannot let go of the past and continuously refers to 1928, when his career was at its peak. His withdrawal into the past is a defense mechanism as he refuses to come to terms with his failure as a salesman. His illusions of grandeur lead to fierce exaggerations of himself. He tells Biff to Go to Filenes go to the Hub, go to Slatterys, Boston. Call out the name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot! (Miller, 62). He refuses to realize his personal failures and falsely believes that he is successful. Memories of a happier past Willy losing a grip on reality and on time escapes into the past. Despite his desperate searching through his past, The deep probing of dreams and memories in Death of A Salesman where quite important in illustrating Millers point. Willy is a man stuck in the past reminiscing about times when things whe re good fabrication of those times really were as good as he imagines them to be? Like his inflated dreams of the future, the past may well be embellished by Willys wild imagination. It seemsShow MoreRelatedDeath Of A Salesman And The Glass Menagerie1452 Words   |  6 Pagesintriguing concept. Arthur Millers (1949) Death of a Salesman and Tennessee Williams (1945) The Glass Menagerie both implement these concepts in different ways. Death of a Salesman is told through a man who is imagining his memories, while at the same time, living his everyday life. The Glass Menagerie similarly is being told through the narrator, Tom Wingfields memories, but not while he is living his present life. The characters in both stories similarly reminisce of the past because of their regretsRead MoreDeath of a Salesman by Arthur Miller1105 Words   |  5 PagesIn the play, Death of A Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the dissolution of the American family, as well as the decline of the prosperous lifestyles that defined past generations, illustrating the theme of American decadence. From page one, the idea is set in motion by Miller that â€Å"the mighty have fallen†; that society clearly is no longer a place of opportunity. 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The death of Willy LomanRead MoreThe American Dream and Death of a Salesman Essay937 Words   |  4 Pagesproducts, big houses, and nice cars. Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman supports most aspects of the idea that Americans are now preoccupied with getting rich easily, except for the fact that some characters in the book actually work hard. Matthew Warshauer claims that â€Å"the aftermath of World War II exacerbated the ethical shift as a consumer culture blossomed and Americans became preoccupied with material goods† (2). This is proven in Death of a Salesman, which takes place in the 1950s, rightRead More Dangers Behavior Exposed in Death of a Salesman Essay example1341 Words   |  6 PagesDangers Behavior Exposed in Death of a Salesman      Ã‚   Everyone has personal problems that they must face. In the play, Death of a Salesman, the author, Arthur Miller, explores the ways in which some people deal with these problems. Miller reveals Willy Lowman’s tendency to ignore problems as long as possible.   Willy never really does anything to help his situation; he just uses flashbacks to escape into the past.  Ã‚   Through his flashbacks he returns to happier times when problems were scarceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Play Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1612 Words   |  7 Pages Selling More Than Just Merchandise The play, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller explores topics that are parallel to the lives of the common man. This makes his play relevant during many different eras, as the central issues discussed correlate with struggles of everyday common people, no matter at what point in history the play is shown. This makes his play very versatile in nature as it can be shown throughout the decades. 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Willy’s character and values are constantly influenced by the memory of the three men, compounding upon his deliria throughout the play. Willy considers these men the epitome of success, thus explaining his dependency on all three. Miller’s view on society, men, and the success