"Shiloh" and the Trap of Tradition
In this blog post, I'll seek to frame an analysis of the short story "Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason around the following quotation: "He can't always remember where he learns things anymore" (Mason 149). This line occurs in the context of the protagonist Leroy's reminiscences. Once a truck driver traversing America's vast network of highways, he is now forced to spend time at home with his wife, Norma Jean, after he suffers an injury. The two are forced to grapple with the fact that they never really knew each other. They got married young after Leroy got Norma Jean pregnant. She subsequently suffered a miscarriage, and from then on, Leroy went to work his current job as a truck driver. Of course, the line reflects that many of the ways Leroy views his situation remain unconscious to him. One hegemonic structure of his community that seems to greatly inform his understanding is that of a marriage where the man travels outside as the breadwinner, only ra...