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Gender Roles In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro

1501 Words7 Pages

Everyone can agree that males and females are born biologically different from one another, but there has been an extensive debate surrounding the development of stereotypical masculine and feminine gender roles within individuals. Some believe that the characteristics defined as gender roles occur naturally; however, others argue another point. One such piece of literate that argues this is Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls”. Munro’s critics have noted that she has a “commitment to the everyday lives of women [and she conducts] unflinching investigations into the by turns suffocating and satisfying world of the domestic,” (DeFalco 377). Munro continues to follows the same pattern with her short story “Boys and Girls”. In this story, the reader follows the narrator as she grows into a gendered adult as the process reveals influences on gender roles. …show more content…

These types of characters divide into three groups according to their impact or view into the process of establishing gender roles.
The first group of characters consists of external forces and includes the salesman and Henry Bailey. When the salesman comes to the family 's farm, he makes a comment about the narrator’s gender standing. The father induces his daughter (the narrator) as his “new hired …show more content…

Within the short story “Boys and Girls”, Munro utilizes character to provide views to support the idea that gender roles are not naturally produced but are instead created and enforced by the societal norms of the time. These characters are as follows: the salesman, Henry Bailey, the mother, the father, Laird, and the narrator herself. “Boys and Girls” provides the reader with a view of gender roles that can impact society by challenging how societal norms affect gender roles in

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