Norman Jean Moffit, an ordinary women trying to find herself

             Have you ever gotten to the point in your life where you realize that you could do "bad all by yourself"? Many people come to find that out late in their lives, just like Norman Jean Moffit from the story "Shiloh", by Bobbie Ann Mason. Norma Jean is using repression in order to combat the loss of her child, which was the only thing that held her and Leroy together. The first being, she uses her newfound self-empowerment in order to take her mind off her troubles. Second, not once does she ever mention her deceased son by name. Lastly, she feels as though her mother and her husband are smothering her and she wants out.
             Norma Jean from the beginning of their relationship was always dependant on her mother and her husband Leroy because of her lack of confidence in herself, thanks in part to her husband's big rig accident, Norma Jean found self-empowerment. In the beginning, Norma Jean had given up on playing the piano, but her husband buys her an organ for Christmas and she immediately took to it and learned to play. "She used to play the piano when she was in high school. It don't leave you, she told him once. It is like riding a bicycle."(292) Norma Jean also goes back to school and she took up weight lifting as a hobby. "Norma Jean is going to night school. She has graduated from her six-week body-building course and now is taking an adult education course in composition at Paducah community college." (297)
             When it comes to their deceased son, Norma Jean never refers to him by his name. "They never speak about their memories of Randy, which have almost faded," (292) Norma Jean's mother, Mabel, makes her feel guilty about her baby's death, even though her baby died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. "She just said that about that baby because she caught me smoking. She just trying to pay me back."(297) What her mother said hurts her so ba...

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Norman Jean Moffit, an ordinary women trying to find herself. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 15:29, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/12370.html