Overview of Alice Munros The Turkey Season

Alice Munros The Turkey Season was first published in the December 29, 1980, issue of The New Yorker. It was later included in Munros 1982 collection, The Moons of Jupiter, and in 1996s Selected Stories. The Globe and Mail calls The Turkey Season one of Munros very best stories. Plot In the story, the adult narrator looks back at a time in the late 1940s when, at age 14, she took a job as a turkey gutter for the Christmas season. The story goes into great detail about the various other workers at the Turkey Barn -- Herb Abbott, the mysterious and alluring supervisor; two middle-aged sisters, Lily and Marjorie, skillful gutters who take pride in never letting their husbands come near them; cheerful Irene, young, pregnant, and belatedly married; Henry, who periodically drinks whisky from his thermos and who, at age 86, is still a devil for work; Morgan, the rough-edged owner; Morgy, his teenage son; Gladys, Morgans fragile sister, who brings her own soap to prevent allergies, frequently calls in sick, and is  rumored to have suffered a nervous breakdown. Finally, there is Brian, a crass, lazy newcomer. Eventually, Brians rude behavior goes too far. Munro never tells us exactly what his offense is, but the narrator enters the barn after school one day to find Morgan screaming at Brian not only to leave the barn but also to leave town entirely. Morgan calls him filthy and a pervert and a maniac. Meanwhile, Gladys is said to be recuperating. The story concludes some days later with the strange camaraderie of the Turkey Barn crew celebrating their last delivery on Christmas Eve. They are all drinking rye whiskey -- even Morgy and the narrator. Morgan presents everyone with a bonus turkey -- the deformed ones that are missing a wing or a leg and thus cant be sold -- but at least hes taking one home himself, too. When the party is over, snow is falling. Everyone heads home, with Marjorie, Lily, and the narrator linking arms as if we were old comrades, singing, Im Dreaming of a White Christmas. Thematic Threads As we might expect from an Alice Munro story, The Turkey Season yields new layers of meaning with every reading. One particularly interesting theme in the story involves, quite simply, work. Munro spares us no details of the raw job at hand, describing the turkeys, plucked and stiffened, pale and cold, with the heads and necks limp, the eyes and nostrils clotted with blood. She also highlights the conflict between manual labor and intellectual labor. The narrator explains that she took the job to prove she was capable of manual work because thats what the people around her valued, as opposed to the things I was good at, like schoolwork, which were suspect or held in plain contempt. This conflict mirrors the tension between Lily and Marjorie, comfortable with the work of gutting, and Gladys, who used to work in a bank and who seems to find manual labor beneath her. Another intriguing theme in the story involves the definition and enforcement of gender roles. The women in the story have clear ideas about the ways in which women should behave, though their opinions often contradict each other. They openly disapprove of each others perceived transgressions, and when they do agree on standards, they become almost competitive about whos better fulfilling them. All of the women seem uniformly drawn to the character of Herb Abbott precisely because of his ambiguous sexuality. He doesnt meet any of their gender stereotypes, and thus he becomes an endless source of fascination for them, a puzzle to be solved. (You can read more about the way Munro establishes Herbs elusive character in Ambiguity in Alice Munros The Turkey Season.) Though it would be possible to read The Turkey Season as a story about Herbs sexual orientation, I think its really a story about the other characters fixation on Herbs sexuality, their discomfort with ambiguity, and their obsessive need to fix the label.

Why School Should Start Later - 899 Words

School Should Start Later Almost every day high school students are waking up around six o’clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier than that. Nearly every morning students are waking up without adequate sleep. If sleep is one of the most essential needs of the body in order to grow and develop, shouldn’t we be more aware of how much it affects students everyday performance? The ways in which students are affected by sleep-deprivation is precisely why school needs to start later. Schools that start before 8 a.m. are a major reason students aren’t getting adequate sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation teenagers need on average 8  ½ - 9  ½ hours of sleep a night(Schute, Nancy). Realistically students rarely get that much sleep. When students don’t get adequate sleep it has the ability to affect their attention span, memory, problem-solving ability, and mood(Rosenberg, Russell). Are these students actually expected to pay attention, learn, solve problems, and have an acceptable attitude when they wake up sleep deprived? With a sleep cycle that changes once students hit puberty and an increase in the production of melatonin its nearly impossible for teens to fall asleep before 10:30 p.m.(Edwards, Finley). In my own experience I don’t even get tired until around 11:30 p.m. and barely fall asleep before 12, so it makes it extremely difficult to wake up at 6 a.m. and get ready for the day. Pushing school start times back could produce negativeShow MoreRelatedWhy School Should Start Later1531 Words   |  7 PagesI realized I missed the bus! Does this happen to you? Because of early school starts I have to wake up super early which makes me super tired. School starts way too early! Should students have to wake up at unreasonably early times just to get to school on time? No, they shouldn t and school should start later because it causes many risks and problems in students lives. There are many reasons that school should start later, but the main reason is because students don t get enough sleep and areRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later816 Words   |  4 Pagesbiggest issues facing our high school systems. Many school’s across America have started to push back their school start times. Is it worth it? The answer is yes. School should start later in order to unlock our nation’s high school potential. One of the reasons that school should be started later is because it does not give growing teens enough time to sleep. Sleep researcher, Wendy Troxel, who spoke on TED, says that high school aged kids’ sleep cycles do no start until 11 p.m and do not end untilRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later1371 Words   |  6 Pagesreasons for why this is which doesn’t include the laziness of students, and there is no reason for school not to have a later start. So, schools should start later in the day. Reason 1: Many students are not getting enough sleep. In especially middle schools and high school, teenagers are sleep deprived. At the age when they need it the most, teens are not getting enough hours of rest because of how early their school starts. It is very unreasonable that school for teenagers starts early when theyRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later1056 Words   |  5 Pages Later Start Times School start times should be later because school times should revolve around the student’s best ability to learn. When America started public schools, they had the same time frame, around seven to three. They did this so the farmers would have time to go and work in the afternoon. Well, needless to say we still have the same schedule now, with a much different industry and way of life. There are countless reasons schools should start later and countless studies that proveRead MoreWhy We Should Start School Later Essay506 Words   |  3 Pagesthat the average high school student does not get enough sleep. While some experts like Dr. Lee Yanku say â€Å"It is not the schools starting time that is the problem as to why students don’t get enough sleep, it is because of facebook, myspace and cell phones† The truth behind it is that we can’t budget sports, homework and extracurricular activities into one day and still get nine hours of sleep. This is hurt ing student’s academic averages and needs to change. Changing the school time will help boostRead MoreReasons Why Schools Should Start Later During The Day1295 Words   |  6 Pages I am doing my paper on the reasons of why schools should start later in the day. I will analyze many negative effects that come with sleep deprivation, such as caffeine usage and car wrecks. I will also discuss the positive aspects of schools starting early, such as extra time for extracurricular activities. American Academy of Pediatrics. â€Å"School Start Times for Adolescents.† Pediatrics, vol. 134, no.3, Sept 2014, pp.642-649. pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2014/08/19/pedsRead MoreSchool Hours895 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Later School hours we Demand Topic Outline Introduction: Students complain about how tired they are during their morning periods. Thesis: Schools should start later according to Dr. Ross and Mr. Philips. Students feel very emotionally distress early in the mornings. It’s only reasonable to think that concentration would be better after enough of time to actually wake up. i. Dr. Ross and Mr. Philips ii. Emotional distress Read MoreShould School Day Start Later? Essay1395 Words   |  6 PagesMs. Scruggs English 3 08 December 2016 Should School Day Start Later Even though that schools are starting too early and students aren t getting enough sleep. Schools should start later because teens can get more sleep and teens can get their work on time., That schools should start later so students can learn better. because Teens are falling asleep in class because they are getting to school early. and Schools are starting too early and should start later. Students need more sleep in the morningRead MoreSchool Should Start Later642 Words   |  3 Pagesmiddle and high schools start as early as 7:00 am, requiring teenagers to rise at least at 6:30 in order to make it to class. As a nation, we can only view this as a monstrosity. In this essay, I will be going over three areas of analysis: one, why early start times for middle and high school create situations not in the interest of learning, two, why a later commencement time would have substantial benefits, and three, why said benefits would outweigh the disadvantages. First, why early commencementRead MorePersuasive Essay On Why School Should Start In School769 Words   |  4 PagesWhy do we hate going to school? Why are we sluggish all day? Why do some people get too tired to put full effort into a test? People are tired of these unfair school hours. Things need to change; but how? Well, theres plenty of options. Schools should be on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s, with a week break every two weeks, starting at 9:00 a.m. and goes year round. Why does school start so early anyway? I’ve always been told it has to do with preparing us for a regular work schedule, but

How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic Free Essays

The realisation of the reader from this extract, that Jekyll has only been experimenting with science produces dramatic tension. Throughout the extract, Jekyll confesses that he can only speak ‘by theory alone’ regarding his attempts to create the potions to transform himself into Hyde. This represents his constant uncertainty about the results of his experiments. We will write a custom essay sample on How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore if even Jekyll, the man performing the experiments, is uncertain of the results, dramatic tension is caused for the reader to discover the results of the experiment. Jekyll also confirms that he doesn’t know anything for certain, as he only speaks what appears ‘to be most probable’. Since the results are uncertain, the reader doesn’t know the effect the experiment would have on Jekyll. The reader also discovers that no-one has attempted the experiment before, which builds up tension and suspense about the end result and makes the reader intrigued to continue reading in order to discover it. The unknown of the experiments Jekyll performs builds drama and is dramatic since the unexpected may happen. Stevenson’s imagery of imprisonment in this extract makes it more dramatic since it portrays the idea of Jekyll being trapped. Jekyll presents being Hyde as a disguise ‘like a thick cloak’ in order to abandon his life as Jekyll, which is boring and tiresome, as if he is escaping from prison in order to live a new and free life. The ‘thick cloak’ could represent protection and by suggesting it is like a piece of clothing, this shows that transforming into Hyde is effortless and comforting to do but the constant interchanging between the views of Jekyll, when he is himself, and Hyde is dramatic. Jekyll likens the potion to a drug by saying that it had ‘no discriminating action’, explaining that it is addicting once he has tried it. However it then became impossible to prevent the change describing it as falling into ‘slavery’ and by being trapped this leads to the extract becoming tense and exciting. Metaphors are used through the extract to provide imagery for the reader. Jekyll explains that Hyde was pure evil and that it was ‘written broadly and plainly on his face’ suggesting that when people saw Hyde, it was immediately clear that he was a cruel person. By using this metaphor, Stevenson is attempting to show the personality of Hyde through his face and that his characteristics were clear from his physical appearance. After drinking the potion, Jekyll ‘had come to the fatal cross-roads’ which is a crucial moment in the novel for him, as he can choose only choose option suggested by the ‘cross roads’. This is dramatic because as there is a decision to be made which is extremely important, this builds suspense, especially as the decision carried the possibility of death which requires Jekyll to ponder his options carefully. Since the cross roads are ‘fatal’ this may imply that the cross roads will lead to disaster or death. It could also indicate that the cross roads were unavoidable as it was fate that determined Jekyll would have to make this decision. The dangerous decision that has been forced upon Jekyll makes the extract dramatic, since his decision may lead to his death. The use of violent and dramatic language by Stevenson in the extract increases the pace of the novel and makes it more engaging and exciting. Jekyll is uncertain about the result of him drinking his potion which creates tension and by ‘hurrying back to my cabinet’ this shows that there is urgency from Jekyll to discover the effects of the potion which leads to the extract being exciting and dramatic and it is building up tension. When Jekyll had transformed into Hyde he was aware that people were frightened of him and took an instant dislike. He said that people couldn’t approach him without ‘a visible misgiving of the flesh’ and by using violent language to describe their reaction, it demonstrates the severity of the cruelty that Hyde possessed. By saying ‘the flesh’ instead of skin, this shows that people were unable to hide beneath their skin, the reactions they felt regarding Hyde. This language engages the reader with the emotions felt by the characters towards Hyde, producing anxiety among the reader resulting in a dramatic confrontation that is described. The exposure of many mysteries is revealed all at once which creates a dramatic atmosphere. In the extract we learn that Edward Hyde ‘was pure evil’ which is the reason behind people such as Utterson and Enfield ‘taking an instant dislike to him’ as we learn previously. We also discover the motive for Jekyll to transform into Hyde which is because he ‘began to profit by the strange immunities’ of his position, as he is taking advantage of the freedom he has when Jekyll is Hyde. The answers to the questions which were formed by the reader earlier in the novel were slowly being revealed throughout it. However in this short extract, lots of answers are provided to the reader from Jekyll, because he is explaining the actions of both himself and Mr Hyde. Also since the novel is told in third but in this extract it is in the first person perspective, it leaves few questions remaining, allowing the reader to piece together Utterson’s perception. This therefore results in dramatic tension as the reader now understands the actions Jekyll has taken and is intrigued to discover the fate of Jekyll and Hyde. How to cite How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic, Papers