Boys and Girls by Alice Munro

From the short stories that I have read from Alice Munro has to be Boys and Girls. We read it before in class, maybe around last year, but when I read it again over the summer it really sunk in and I enjoyed it quite a lot. For those of you who don't know, Boys and Girls tells a coming of age story from a young barn girl's perspective. 

·        She has a little brother name Laird, and it was evident to see that in story that he would be the one to help his father in the business when he was more grown up and able to.

·        The narrator on the other hand never liked to do ‘female’ work, like: cooking, cleaning and house work.  I feel like she always thought she had something to prove to her father, that even though she was a girl she could still ‘man up’ and do her duty in the family. 

It is a coming of age short story because she starts off having this idea of who she wants to be, which is like a boy. But as the story goes on there are signs where it is more clear as to who she is becoming…a girl. For example: When she thinks of stories at night. At first, she thought about being a hero and more courageous, but as she was getting older it went more about what she was wearing, how her hair looked, if she was attractive etc. 

So to me, it already had a very interesting and intriguing plot to it, but what really got me was the subplot that the story offered. The subplot was that in the story was the story of the two horses Flora and Mack. Where I believe the narrator sees herself in Flora, or can relate with her in a way. Considering how Flora used to run, and prance etc. Until the men in the truck caught up with her and shot her down. This can be related back to the narrator because she starts off wanting to be like a boy, not tucking her knees when she sat down, working with her father. Until society caught up with her and her dreams of being a boy came shattering down. 


My final thoughts is that this story made me realize that no matter how you start off in your life, society always plays a role in defining who you are. Maybe that’s not what we want, but it happens a lot. For example: Homosexuals. Up until recently they were always frowned upon and looked down on because of society.

My Summer!

My summer so far has been amazing! Directly after school ended I hopped on a plane and headed back to Lebanon, and it was so exciting. When I landed I had a feeling of nostalgia come over me probably because I haven't been there in almost two years. Everything was coming back to me though, such as: how Lebanese Liras look like, the horrible driving, the different language etc. It was an amazing experience now reminiscing over it. Since having sold our old house there, it gave me a chance to live with my best friend since we were three years old, Elie. Every time we meet it's like nothing ever changed, it all goes back like I had never left in the first place. 

I stayed there roughly a month before having to come back and in that time I did a lot. I saw some of my family that still lives there, old friends, and I had a great time. And I think the reason for that is because no matter where I go Lebanon will always be home to me. My friends and I went to the beach, go-karting, malls, cafes etc. All in all great experience in Lebanon.

However it had to be cut short because I had to come back and see my brother who was leaving for University at the time. So I came back and had about two weeks of just plain family time before he had to leave. It was kind of sad to see him leave but I knew this was coming, and I’ll see him again roughly in four months for when he comes back to AD in Christmas break.

Other than that (and for the remainder of my vacation), I have been and will continue to just do more school work. And if I have free time meet up with friends from school who are still here. Excited and motivated for the upcoming year.