Summary Of Dickie In Mission Creek

In the sleepy town of Mission Creek, on the outskirts of London, Ontario-- we follow George and Dickie on their summer vacation along with the short-lived and fuel relationship that follows suit. The two boys are uninterested in the dull, small city atmosphere which cannot begin to compare to their eccentric lives in the metropolis. Bored out of their minds, the pair end up at Pop's Diner where they encounter Adelaide and, consequently, Lois who both agree to accompany the boys on a date for the night. This provides Dickie with the opportunity to become acquainted with Lois' family-- a very open and outspoken mother, wiseacre grandmother and her late father along with the story of his decapitation. After exchanging pleasantries, they move along the way where they pass around a bottle of hard moonshine before splitting into pairs-- inevitably to have sex. As expected, neither George nor his date care for the awkward small talk afterward. However, it is Dickie who develops feelings for Lois, whose defensive personality forbids any chance of their relationship progressing. After a night of whirlwind emotions for the two, Lois
Partly due to the fact that the story is narrated through Dickie's eyes-- we can get a sense of the poetic definition he assigns to his environment. Everything is seen with some sort of beauty to it, from the "hardy things like red and yellow nasturtiums ... lilac bush[es] with brown surely leaves, [growing] out of the cracked earth" (Munro 2), to the "red brick ... glaring in the midst of the towns walls of faded, pale-painted wood" (2). On the other hand, George's opinions of the little town are rather crude, which unlike Dickies is less poetic in nature: "What a dump! Jesus what a dump!" (2). Furthermore, his unrefined behaviour is a testament to his dim actions: "George always read everything out loud-- posters, billboards ... signs"