Discusses the character of the girl in Alice Munro's short story, "Boys and Girls."

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. 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 with her parents. When she held

the gate open for the horse at the end of the story, her father lost some respect for

her. In her fathers opinion, she went from the hired man, to "just a girl."