Shiloh Bobbie Ann Mason Summary

Shiloh is a famous battle field that the Confederate soldiers fought on in 1862. In the short story “Shiloh” written by Bobbie Ann Mason a different war took place. The main characters Norma Jean and Leroy battle with the memory of losing their child during their younger years. Even though this death wasn’t anyone’s fault this event still put a strain on their battle field which is their relationship. This tension was never acknowledge until Leroy returned home after many year as being a truck driver. Now reunited the couple realizes that a distant relationship is healthier than having a relationship that is under the same roof. When first reading this story one might think that Norma Jean should be happy that her husband was finally home with her but she wasn’t. In
Many may say that having distance in a marriage can make the marriage weak, but in this case it made this couple stronger. In the story Norma Jean states, “In some ways, a women prefers a man who wanders” (75). In this sentence Norma Jean was expressing how she liked him gone and on the road. She felt that their relationship was better and stronger when they didn’t have to see or talk to each other. Norma Jean and Leroy had that understanding that they knew they loved each other and they didn’t have to see each other to prove that. They were both happy with this distance and loved every second they were away from each other. Being so far from one another while trying to overcome what happened to their baby made them stronger as people as well. I say this because they both manage to move on from the death of their child by their self and still keep their marriage. In “Shiloh” the narrator mentioned, “Leroy has read that for most people losing a child destroys the marriage” (68). This shows that it is very rare that marriages stay together after a tragedy like this happens. Norma Jean and Leroy’s marriage weathered the