Sukhman Soni

702858

ENG3UZ

Mrs. Di Paulo

July 7, 2022

Social Issues Regarding Gender Roles and Behaviour

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 As the short story, “Boys and Girls,” by Alice Munro primarily focuses on gender roles

and expectations, we can find that the protagonist is caught within this social justice issue. The

protagonist combats these gender roles and stereotypes many times throughout the short story, as

she’s less feminin, is compared to her brother and gets gaslighted into believing she is in the

wrong. With that being said, as the protagonist is constantly told to behave a certain way by

society, it begins to negatively impact the young girl. The grandmother of the protagonist targets

the daughter as she says, “"Girls don't slam doors like that." "Girls keep their knees together

when they sit down."” (Munro, 5). The protagonist's actions of slamming a door or sitting

incorrectly according to her grandma, can relate back to the issues of social justice such as

gender roles because she is expected to reach expectations of a girl. She is a young girl stuck in

the cycle of toxic comments that are made due to her actions of acting less feminine, which is

unfair to the protagonist and highly relates back to the social issues seen in society. Moving

forward, it is quite apparent that the family of the protagonist worships her brother, Laird, while

overlooking her. I believe this comes at the cause of cultural beliefs, which is another social issue

within the short story. Her actions of being strong and ambitious continued to be overlooked by

her family and once Henry saw the siblings having a small brawl and he stated, “Oh, that there

Laird’s gonna show you, one of these days!” (Munro, 5). Yet again, she was compared to her

brother because she continued to take on the manly challenges and responsibilities of a farmer.

This cultural belief of worshiping the protagonist's brother, led to the protagonist's actions to

only become higher signs of resilience and power, as she believed in herself. As we reach the end

of the short story, “Boys and Girls,” by Alice Munro, there is a change in the protagonist's

attitude as she becomes more self-conscious of the person she is. The results of leaving the gate

wide open for Flora to escape caused the protagonist to become self conscious and gaslight into

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believing she was always in the wrong. When she was addressed about this situation and heard

her father say that she is just a girl, she thought to herself, “I didn't protest that, even in my heart.

Maybe it was true.” (Munro, 9). This infers that although she had that powerful act of resilience,

her final choices were devalued because she was just a girl. Taking everything into account, the

protagonist's actions of being less feminin, getting compared to her brother and gaslit into

believing her acts of resilience mean nothing, can all relate back to the social issues. Within this

“Boys and Girls,” by Alice Munro, there are many social issues regarding gender tackled by the

protagonist, whose actions of rebelliousness and strength played a substantial role.

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Sukhman Soni

702858

ENG3UZ

Mrs. Di Paulo

July 7, 2022

The Impacts of Imbalance of Power

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 Imbalance of power can come in numerous forms. The protagonist, Annie John, from “A

Walk to the Jetty,” by Jamaica Kincaid, experiences an imbalance of power throughout the short

story. Annie is on the path of independence and as she grows into her own woman, there is an

apparent shift of power. From being less powerful, to gaining the power, this transition of power,

allows readers to conclude that Annie John is nostalgic, a dreamer, but also a timid young girl.

To start this off, Annie John is a very nostalgic individual and that is made clear throughout this

meaningful short story. The narrator, who happens to be Annie, takes the reader on a journey

through her small island town, which results in her reminiscing about past memories. The past

memories compared to her new ones indicate the shift of power the young woman is

experiencing. For instance, Annie thinks to herself, “In three weeks, I grew tired of them and

they found a nice resting place in a drawer, along with some other things that at one time or

another I couldn't live without.” (Kincaid, 3). What Annie once found valuable is completely

different, hence why her often being nostalgic has led to her realizing the true imbalance and

shift of power in her life. As well as being a nostalgic individual, Annie John is a true dreamer.

She experiences a flashback of an old fear of the jetty, in which she touches on her father and the

watchman's conversations late at night. As Annie tuned into their conversation and remembered

those moments, she thought to herself, “I was always sorry when we got to the jetty and saw that

the night watchman on duty was the one he enjoyed speaking to; it was like being locked up in a

book filled with numbers and diagrams and what-ifs.” (Kincaid, 4). These conversations caused

boredom amongst her as a child, but the comparison made speculates that Annie’s personality is

the dreamer kind, as she uses her imagination rather than focusing on numbers. Thus, being a

dreamer makes you crave change and reach your goals, hence why she seized the opportunity of

her newfound power and decided she would like to move to England for her apprenticeship. In

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addition to the character traits mentioned prior, Annie is also a timid individual. She may be

excited about moving forward in her life, but she is also afraid as this causes change in her life.

Her timid personality relates to the imbalance in power because she is intimidated by her

newfound level of power, which is made clear when she thinks, ‘I was on the verge of feeling

that it had all been a mistake, but I remembered that I wasn't a child anymore, and that now when

I made up my mind about something I had to see it through.” (Kincaid, 5). The imbalance of

power, led to her gaining power as she gained her independence, which is evident through the

life changing decision Annie made. Therefore, Annie is a very nostalgic, dreaming and timid

individual. As she continues to navigate life and develop traits, she will continue to experience

the difference in the imbalance of power. For who once was a little girl with no power and

independence, Annie has grown to have more power and independence, resulting in her character

development relating to the imbalance of power.