Gabrielle Roy's Short Story 'The Move'

In Gabrielle Roy’s short story, “The Move”, a young girl faces the reality of her dream of moving when she tags along and helps a family move across the city. The unfortunate image of the abandoned, frightened dog, left laying down on the edge of the big city watching as his caretakers disappear, represents the protagonist’s epiphany, and theme, about how the expectations of one’s idolised romanticised fantasies, and desires, can fall short from reality.
Roy uses imagery to develop how one’s expectations are better left in their imagination. In the beginning of the story, the prairie girl longed to gain experience from change and to attempt her dream of moving. The narrator says, “...this was an adventure of which I knew nothing, and it was
Near the end of the short story, as the protagonist comes back to the stable from a long day of moving items from one location to another, she notices a difference in the stable she once thought was filled with magic. The narrator says,”...which had once seemed to me to contain more magic and charm than even the cave of Aladdin!” (Pg. 1084, par. 11) This particular comment tell the readers that the young girl sees the contrast in the one place she thought was filled with glamour. The images of the once magical and charming stable transforming into a dull, lifeless stable symbolises the illusion of one’s beliefs and how reality can alter their perspectives. In a way, the protagonist loses some innocence and will not be able to alter her outlook on the old location. This image displays that reality can be harsh, yet effective to those whose expectations are unrealistic. The “after” image of the stable represents a reality one has to face, and will be difficult to accept.
Gabrielle Roy’s short story, “The Move”, tells the readers that one’s expectation on their romanticised fantasies are not always in their grasp. It reveals that reality is bitter and crude, as well as stating that it is difficult to accept