Analysis of How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro Deneen Bell Instructor Heather Altfeld Fisher 125- Introduction of Literature November 28, 2011 The Analysis of How I Met My Husband Introduction In this analysis I plan to show that the first person point of view was used to write this short story. I also want to show that there is more than one theme as well. I would like to show how Edie kept secrets and how she was blinded by love. I plan to show that this story contained secrecy almost to the ending. Alice Munro’s “How I Met My Husband” uses the themes of secrecy and love just about throughout the entire story. In this story Edie is a fifteen year old girl who is employed by the Pebble’s family. She initially succeeds at …show more content…
I turned from putting the tray of ice back and saw a man watching me through the screen door. It was the luckiest thing in the world I didn’t spill the ginger ale down the front of me then and there” (Clugston, 2010). Munro shows the suspense in this scene by showing that Edie was scared when she turned and saw a man standing at the door. From the point of view of a grown woman, no longer pretty as in her youth, or as slender as she once was. Edie looks back on her life to give it meaning. Instead of having bad feelings toward Chris for not writing to her, she remembers what was wonderful in knowing Chris: his compliments, his warm kisses, and his kindness, she does not blame him because she waited for his letters. The theme of the story is under some circumstances people can be blind to the truth. Character Edie determines the style of the story by talking about the circumstances of her life as a fifteen year old girl and as an older woman. She retells the stories of those that she has known, and the man that she believed she loved deeply. Sometimes the things we want to happen may not be the things that life has for us. We need to be open to all the opportunities in life that are different from what we believe. REFERENCES Clugston, R.W. (2010) Journey into Literature San Diego, CA.
Ed is described as the ‘cornerstone of mediocrity’ who lives in a ‘shack’ in a less desirable part of town, who has ‘no real potential’. Throughout the text Ed completes an array of different tasks giving the readers an inside perspective of the experiences. ‘Old lady Milla’ is one of Ed’s many tasks, he supplies her with the company she so desperately needs, but not only did he help her, she ‘put a piece of her heart inside’ him. The readers see Ed’s transformation from ‘dickhead Ed’ to a kind gentlemen willing to spend his time reading to a ‘lonely’ ‘old lady’ of which he barely knows. One of the toughest challenges Ed faces is his Ma, ‘one of his darkest hours’ as Ed is forced to confront his mother.
The theme of this book is that the human capacity to adapt to and find happiness in the most difficult circumstances. Each character in the novel shows this in their way. For instance, their family is randomly taken from their home and forced to
In the short story “From Behind the Veil,” written by Dhu’l Nun Ayyoub, the author changes how we feel about the main character throughout the sequencing of the plot. We as the readers learn more about how the protagonist really thinks coupled with what her motives are. The author also presents language that clearly expresses how the protagonist feels and uses examples to show an overall theme in the story.
In conclusion, the three most important themes to me in the story, abuse, fear, and karma are what made the story so good. He abuses her, she has fear, that he pokes fun at, and he is punished for his actions. Her greatest fear saved her from enduring anymore abuse from
The story How I Met My Husband shows the expansion that takes place for Edie in her life. Edie started at the beginning of the story as a young girl with a very naïve sense of the world. Towards the middle of the story, she starts to grow into someone who
The narrator is given a sense of oppression from the beginning of the story by keeping a hidden diary from her husband as “a relief to her mind.” Throughout the story her true thoughts are hidden from the readers and her husband, which gives the story a symbolic perspective.
To begin, important theme that runs through the novel is the idea strong female characters like Taylor and Lou Ann. Furthermore, Taylor does not care about a man in her life and tries her best to do everything in her
The main theme in this story is identity.Throughout the book the main character, Irene struggles with her identity. In the first chapter Irene is a regular Passing women who lives in Harlem with her husband Brain, but we start to see her mental health problems as she reunites with her childhood friend Clare.Clare is also a woman that
In her short story “How I Met My Husband”, Alice Munroe takes the reader through Edie’s story. It starts with Edie being hired to help Mrs. Peebles with housework and her two kids, and ends with her married to the mailman with kids of her own. Edie is only 15 when the story takes place and she falls for the pilot who has recently come to work across the street giving rides for a dollar. When she first sees him at the door of the Peebleses’ house she reacts just like a teenage girl. Munroe writes, “My head was knocking away, my tongue was dried up. I had to say something. I had to say something, but I couldn’t. My throat was closed and I was like a deaf-and-dumb” (136). Munroe further
Every individual struggle with self-acceptance at some point in their life, furthermore, every individual chooses to exemplify their struggle to accept themselves in different methods. In the short story “Boys and Girls” Alice Munro focuses on the narration of a girl, in which girls are underappreciated in the society. The protagonist in the story cannot accept who she is, and it makes it harder for her as other individuals do not accept who she wishes to be. The author demonstrates this through the character’s external motivations. As the story is written in third person limited readers understand the girl’s personal thoughts and how she is internally conflicted about who she is. She feels underappreciated for the work that she provides which influences her to be disobedient to others around her. Alice Munroe’s short story “Boys and Girls” demonstrates to readers that individuals struggle for self-acceptance through the expression of their external and internal motivations. Because of their motivations, individuals feel rebellious against their self-conscience.
She was very responsible for her age because she took care of the Peebleses' two children and of their house. Yet, she was uneducated and did not know much about love or boys. She told of how she longed for a boyfriend or someone to kiss. Sometimes when you want things bad enough you begin to believe they are true. For example, because Edie really wanted someone to love her, she really believed Chris would send her a letter. However, if she would have examined his prior actions, like how he treated Alice, Edie could have come to the conclusion that there would be no letter.
The theme of this story, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, is romance. It comes up several times throughout the reading and the title even reflects some form of romance. A prime example of this is when Edie and the pilot, whose name was Chris, were getting
As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist. Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be. She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170). However, in a time
When it comes to exploring the point of view of this story, you can ask yourself a few questions. “This story is told in the first person by a teenage girl. What are the strengths and limitations of such a narrator?” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.2, para. 203) The second question would be; “Edie makes this statement in the opening of the last section of the story, “I didn’t figure out till years
To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee; If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me ye women if you can.