Analysis: Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

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Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning and also the basis of education. Curiosity had killed the cat indeed, however the cat died nobly. Lives of Girls and Women is a novel written by Nobel Prize Literature winner, Alice Munro. This novel is about a young girl, Del Jordan, who lives on Flats Road, Ontario. The novel is divided into eight chapters; and each chapter refers to a new, unique event in Del's life. As an overall analysis of the book reveals that Del Jordan's intriguing curiosity has helped her throughout her life, and enabled her to gain further knowledge The character is often seen in scenarios where her attention is captivated, and through the process of learning she acquires information in order to her answers her questions about particular subjects. There are many examples in the book that discuss Del’s life, and how she managed to gain information, as well as learn different methods of learning along the way.
Our first demonstration of curiosity can be seen from the beginning of the novel. I Del refers to a man as Uncle Benny; despite the fact that the two aren’t related by blood. Uncle Benny works for Del’s father and uses the swamps of Flats Road to hunt for various animals. Del starts to analyze Uncle Benny, she learns that he is a very independent man and hunts for a living. Benny turns out to be partially illiterate, having the ability to read yet being incapable of writing. The chapter: Flats Road is about Uncle Benny and how curious Del is to know about his life. Uncle Benny discovers an advertisement in the newspaper about a man offering his sisters hand (single/divorced mom) in marriage to an independent man who resides in a quiet country home and is fond of his farm life. Benny accepts the of...

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...e she was curious about things that she was supposed to keep out of her mind, such as sex. Yet, Del learned in the end. Del learned many things such as religion, love, sex and hardships of life where you just have to accept when the ones you love die. Alice Munroe explains the life of Del as she grows from a child, to an adolescent teenager to a fully grown woman heading into University, writing a novel about a Sheriff and his family. The main idea portrayed in this book is that being curious isn’t a bad thing. Everyone is born with curiosity, everyone has a right to be curious about things as life gives them an opportunity to learn and gain more knowledge from the events that occur in their life.

Works Cited

Pandey, Sandeep. "Curiosity is the key to knowledge." IndiaStudyChannel.com
Munro, Alice. Lives of Girls & Women. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972. Print.

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