The short story "Boys and Girls," written by Alice Munro, was written in a
first-person point of view. The main character, Alice, is a static character. She is the
oldest child in the family, and has a younger brother, Laird. Alice is very helpful
around the house with her mother, but tends to disappear from the house to help
her father outside, which she enjoys best.
Alive has quite the imagination. At night she would make up rules for her brother
and herself, such as: "...we had rules to keep us safe. When the light was on, we
were safe as long as we did not step off the square of worn carpet which defined our
bedroom-space; when the light was off, no place was safe but the beds themselves."
Alice loves her mother, but also has a lack of trust for her and at times considers her
to be her enemy.
Meet Alice
English: Punds 1964 The Isbister sisters were livi...
English: Photo of the portrait of Richard Lauder, ...She overhears her mother saying: "Wait till Laird gets a little
bigger, then you'll have a real help." And "I just get my back turned and she runs
off. It's not like I had a girl in the family at all." Alice thinks to herself: "She was
always plotting. She was plotting now to get me to stay in the house more, although
she knew I hated it (because she knew I hated it) and keep me from working with
my father."
Alice is afraid that she is going to grow up to become a housewife just like her
mother. She hates being in the house all day, cooped up in the kitchen peeling fruit
and washing dishes. She prefers to be outside working with her father, cutting the
grass, raking the leaves, and taking care of the foxes.
Curiosity and rebelliousness led Alice into trouble...