Boys and Girls

“Boys and Girls” According to The Norton Introduction to Literature, “An initiation story is in which a character-often but not always a child or young person-first learns, or is initiated into a significant truth about the universe, reality, society, people, himself or herself” (379). Alice Munro’s short story, “Boys and Girls” is an initiation story, where the narrator goes through an intense and radical initiation into adulthood. The narrator is initiated into an understanding that …

…she is initiated into a realization that she is expected to become more like a traditional rural housewife. Similarly, her younger brother, Laird, is also initiated, but into a man-hood, something he yearns for. The narrator goes beyond presenting events as they occur; she is the interpreter of those events, discussing their impact on her life. Munro’s story illustrates the struggles between the dreams and reality of initiation, bases on gender stereotypes in society.