Goodbye Norma Jean

Good bye Norma Jean The death of an infant can modify one’s characteristic and psychological behavior to the point of suicide. In Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh” she leaves the ending of the story for her readers to draw their own conclusion of how Norma Jean leaves her husband Leroy. Most readers see her divorcing Leroy and starting a new life as an independent woman (Cooke 196 par.1). When in fact, this is a story …

…depressed since the death of her child. Living in a negative environment of a lifeless marriage and a critical mother. Here is where she plunges backwards into the Tennessee River to end all of her misery. In conclusion, I believe Bobbie Ann Mason’s character Norma Jean was not symbolizing the modern woman striving to find her identity and individuality, but a bereaved mother who’s depression and inability to accept life takes her own.