shiloh

“Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason represents a change over the course of a young woman’s life. Bobbie Ann Mason uses Norma Jean to help clarify that relationships can fail and that roles do change in today’s relationships. Mason uses the character Norma Jean to give her audience an idea how times have changed as well as people. Norma Jean, who was forced to marry at a young age, sees a new path as …

…realize that she does not have to be dependent on anyone. She has to be strong and make her own decisions. They were running her life and not Norma Jean. As she told Leroy at Shiloh, “She won’t leave me alone-you won’t leave me alone. I feel eighteen again. I can’t face that all over again. No, it wasn’t fine. I don’t know what I am saying. Forget it.” (Mason 55)