Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

"The Shining Houses" Essay - Point of View

Satisfactory Essays
328 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
"The Shining Houses" Essay - Point of View
"The Shining Houses" by Alice Munro uses Mary's point of view to show how younger generations mistreat the older ones.

Mrs. Fullerton, one who is of the older generation, is an individual that does not fit in with her new, younger neighbors. Despite that, Mary gives her and her story credence. However, Mary feels the division between Mrs. Fullerton's generation, and the younger one that she is a part of, as she felt as though she was going through barricades when going from Mrs. Fullerton's offbeat house to the subdivision's uniform houses. Mrs. Fullerton is like her house; different, self-sufficient and lasting.

Because of the generation gap, Mary's neighbors and Mrs. Fullerton have different values. Mary's neighbors, the "shining houses," are superficial and selfish. They are unaware that their values will one day lead to their destruction, as the future generations will flow with the cycle, the story's theme. They were fuelled by their only strength: "self-assertion and anger." The "shining houses" appreciate their identical subdivision, and sacrifice individuality for aesthetics. Though refusing to sign the petition that hoped to drive Mrs. Fullerton out, wouldn't make a big difference, Mary stands up for what she saw was just, and though all she could do was walk away with hands in her pocket, she was not defeated.

Mary, a member of the younger generation and like every other resident of Garden Place, "did not talk to many old people any more" and owned a house that looked like the one beside and across it. Mary, knowing both sides, and has heard both Mrs. Fullerton and her neighbors' stories, is in a dilemma. She sacrifices being the topic of gossip at the next coffee party and asserts her position as one who does not care how things look and stands up for Mrs. Fullerton. Mary differs from every other resident of Garden Place by showing vulnerability while her discrete refusal to conform with the others imperceptibly bridges the division between the two generations.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Native Son Analysis

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Her only stress reliever is drinking. All of Bigger’s friends do not live life to the fullest. They live scared. Bigger’s friends rob their own kind but are scared to disrupt the lives of their “Caucasian superiors”. The entire African American community has been held down for so long that all they know is to work and stay in their lane. Their view on the world and society is limited. They are all products of their environment. The Dalton family has a blend or incorporation of views on life and society. Mr. Dalton is perceived as a rich civil rights advocate. He has given millions to the black community to help better their lives. In reality, Mr. Dalton does not seek to solve major problems that African Americans face. Mrs. Dalton is blind elderly woman. She may lack vision but has a greater perception of the inequalities that African Americans face in America through their everyday lives. Mary Dalton is your typical radical and defiant teen that seeks to make a dramatic change in her environment and the world. She is most like her mother. She is compassionate and desires better for those who struggle regardless of race. She is a communist or a “Red” but this is the only political party that can match her values and…

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Out of This Furnace

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    They are all forced to adapt and react to their circumstances. As all immigrants did at that time period, they come in search of bettering their lives, to start anew in a place full of hopes and opportunity, but quickly realize that it is an uphill battle against seemingly insurmountable odds. Without other options, they find themselves scrambling to make ends meet however they can, facing terrible living conditions, deal with social discrimination, and face tragedy, yet continued to press on. Even with her husband's death, Mary tries as best she can to support her family in his absence. And when she herself dies, Dobie has no option but to become self reliant and keep going. With little to lose and everything to gain, the protagonists, as well as thousands of immigrants like them, relentlessly struggle to be recognized as "American" and to adapt to the world around them.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Their family always was pleased and in check with the bills for the first few months when they moved to a new house. Two places where they stayed the longest was Phoenix and Blue Mountain. In both areas Dad found good paying job as miner or electrician in a mine and for the first few months all the family’s needs were full filled according to the writer. However, when dad lost his job, things around the house would go back into chaos and left mom no choice but to teach and this made life better with their needs met again. During these days everyone was happy and the children received presents regularly like a new bicycle. These events were when the most smiles and happiness in kids was shone off. Finally towards the end of the book everyone moved to New York City and from beginning to end in their stay everyone was joyful. However their dad did die and Maureen moved to California after stabbing her mother but order was still there. Jeanette went to an Ivy League college and after graduating she became a journalist which was what she always wanted to be since high school. The author made this time seem very cheerful except when they talked about her parents in the streets. Towards the end the thanksgiving dinner brought the family all together witch it brought forth a conclusion worth reading. The Glass Castle states on the last paragraph “We raised our glasses. I could almost hear Dad chuckling at Mom's comment in the way he always did when he was truly enjoying something.” This showed at the end of all the pain and suffering there was true peace for their family at…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    They must deal with countless tragedy on their travels; such as the terrible drought, the death of grandma and grandpa, the depression, throughout the family, and thee struggle to provide food and shelter for their family. The family is the voice of all the other families who were at the all-time low during the depression. Throughout the novel the families personalities start to change with each other situation that occurred. Forced off the land by the bank, “We know that - all that. It’s not us, it’s the bank. A bank isn’t like a man. Or an owner with fifty thousand acres, he isn’t like a man either. That’s the monsters” (Steinbeck, 33). Then they packed up all of their belongings on top of their truck and traveled to California in hope of a fresh…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There is evidence of comfort in their conformed lifestyle. One man came up with a plan to which all members agree on. 7) Conformity and ignorance has made these people blind to the facts behind Mary's arguments. 1) The connection Mary feels causes here to sympathize with her neighbor and disagree with the groups plan. All Mary has "really done [is] serve [herself] up as a conversational delight for the next coffee party. According to the new community's views, her house is ruining the appearance and market value of the new houses. 7)…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A constant internal conflict is the worry of how they will get their next meal and how cold they will be that night. They also lacked a sense of security in their own house. I would recommend this book to people that don't like to read non fiction, because I, myself have a very hard time reading non fiction without getting bored. However, this book grabbed my attention by giving me very interesting bits of Jeannette's problems that she encountered. This book is not recommended for young children because there is racist language, sensitive content and sexual assault in different situations. Recommendation: Point of view First Person as Jeannette Protagonist Jeannette Walls…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The House of Night is a vampire series is a mother and daughter duo by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast. It follows a young teenager, Zoey Redbird who is marked as a Vampyre (Spelling in books) fledgling during a normal day at school. In this series the only way you become a vampyre is by biological change that begins in the body after puberty. It does not happen to all but those that it does happen too gains a fresh and sometimes painful outline of a crescent moon on their forehead.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fullerton's house, talking - or really listening - to Mrs. Fullerton, who sold her eggs." And so begins "The Shining Houses," with two very different women conversing in an apparently normal and civilized way in a brand new, orderly, clean subdivision. Like many of Munro's beautifully-crafted stories, this one is notable for the depth with which these ordinary characters are developed through the author's typical and natural use of meticulously chosen images, phrases, and pieces of conversation that often say more in their omissions than in their actual words. As the students begin to explore these ordinary people, they begin to understand the tension and anger that exist in this new subdivision of shiny, new homes, where disorder, eccentricity, and non-conformity will not be tolerated by the upwardly mobile, good "people who win." Students will begin to see how Munro carefully characterizes the neighbours through their words and behaviour to reveal, ever so subtly, their beliefs and values - that the egg-lady, Mrs. Fullerton, is bringing down their property values and life-styles with her "shack, eyesore" of a home. As the students ponder the ethical dilemmas concerning stereotyping, competing rights and responsibilities, and the nature of an urban environment, they will appreciate the craft and artistry of one of Canada's pre-eminent writers. The concluding "Another Viewpoint" activity (p 73) encourages students to consider Mary as a "quintessential…

    • 2568 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the beginning of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, the house was a symbol of family and wellness (wholeness) and was an important entity that interconnected all of the main characters of Housekeeping. Sylvie, on the other hand, was a ragtag thirty-five-year-old woman that had recently come back to this house to care for her nieces Ruth and Lucille. Before Sylvie’s return, Ruth and Lucille had lived relatively normal lives, being very average at school, playing outside on the frozen lake, just getting by in the small town that is Fingerbone. It wasn’t until the passing of their grandmother that they had found themselves with Sylvie. Upon first contact with Sylvie, she had a strong transient nature about her as if it was dug deep down…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I'M the King of the Castle

    • 5618 Words
    • 23 Pages

    The novel begins on a deathly note. Three months before the main events of the story, the grandmother of the Hooper household dies. Her son Joseph then refuses to live at Warings, the family home, until he owns it, i.e. until his father dies and he inherits it. This tells the reader knows immediately that the relationship between Joseph and his father is poor. Soon afterwards it b ecomes clear that the relationship he has with his own son is no better. Communication between Joseph and Edmund Hooper is limited and a cause of some concern to Joseph.…

    • 5618 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do Not Trust Everyone

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages

    They were now getting home from the hospital and Samuel would not be quiet about the town. So Mary had no choice but to check out the town and the house for Samuel. Samuel brought up the link of the town’s history and attractions. There was a four star rated school in the town and a very low crime rate listed. Samuel then brought up the link of the house listing and had Mary look at it. Mary at first was a little shy about it but then she seen the walk in closet and fell in love with the house right then and there.…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick is a phenominal movie. Stanley Kubrick made this movie with no coinsedences. The main character, Jack Torrence, agrees to watch the Overlook hotel in the winter. Over his time there he goes insane, almost like Norman Bates from Psycho is insane. Also throughout the movie there is a ton of red, white, and blue. This movie is under the suspense unit, but some can argue that it is horror.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Joyce was so Pleased with everyone that she wants they should teach their own skills and show the world that if there is hope and encouragement, then anything can happen at any age. She wanted to show to the people who have left them here as worthless should know and understand that how successful and priceless they were, And with their teachings the young generation would get the shadow of luck, and the price is only the true dedication to learn. And it was decided that the old age home got the name "Stella Carter Art Center" Where all their talents would be taught to the new generation. Some were proficient in music, some in painting, some in handicraft, some in cooking, some In any writing and some in teaching. Students are arriving from all the places and the old age home was established into the "Art Center". There was only one elderly person to whom her grandson used to come to meet. One day, she gladly said that her grandson wants her to become their daughter-in-law. Joyce was stunned and shy at the same time . maybe because she also liked the young man. Her silence made the elderly lady to understand what she wants and she told "Ashley" her grandchild to tell his mother 'n' dad and make sure that they are happily ready to go to…

    • 1862 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The text under stylistic analysis presents the excerpt from the novel «True believer» written by Nicholas Sparks. In this passage the author touches upon the issue of generation gap. He contrasts the grandmother, Doris McClellan, with her grandchild, Lexie. It is known that the adults like to teach their children how they should live their life and Doris isn’t exception.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A New House - Essay

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In this paper I will discuss which principles of economics directly relate to my decision of purchasing a new house. I will discuss the marginal benefits and cost which will help me make a firm decision. I will also explain how the strength of the economy affects my decision. I will also asses how international trade and the domestic economy played a role in the strength of the economy.…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays