Fate in Miles City, Montana by Alice Munro

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Fate in Miles City, Montana by Alice Munro

In life no one knows their actual fate and the story "Miles City, Montana" gives a true picture of just that. In this story, we see two different times and events that take place. The first event is the death of a childhood friend and the second is an almost unexpected tragedy that makes a woman think back to the childhood catastrophe. Munro uses mostly dialog to help give the reader a description of the theme in her story. In "Miles City, Montana," Alice Munro discusses some realities of life: how drastically things can change, and how quickly and unexpectedly death can come.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator starts by remembering a childhood calamity. Her young playmate Steve Gauley had drowned in the nearby river. This untimely death brings back memories that question the meaning of life.

The question is about Steve Gauley's life in particular. His mother had left Steve and his father to fend for themselves. Steve's father was "a drinker but not a drunk" and, "the fact that the child had been left with him when the mother went away…seemed accidental" (Munro 458). The narrator felt it was a shame that people, especially her parents, felt this way, but it was the truth. Steve Gauley's life was somehow accidental just like his death.

Twenty years later, the narrator tells about a family trip to Ontario in which she finally discovers for herself the realities of death and life. It would take her own children to teach her that life is fickle and death is lurking.

The narrator is confused about the true meaning of life and she tries to find it among herself. Going on the trip helps her to find that sense of relief. During the trip, the scenery is fla...

... middle of paper ...

...or understood that death was a fact and "[her parents] had made [her] and for that reason [her] death…" (Munro 470).

In "Miles City, Montana" the author, Alice Munro, depicts the truths about life. A person is born knowing the inevitable fact that death will come. Somewhere between life and death, that person lives, at first by trusting their parents then slowly discovering the meaning of life on their own. Sometimes it can end in tragedy as in the case of Steve Gauley's life or sometimes we can overcome death as in the case with Meg. Either way death is lurking and we must discover our own truths and meaning of lives if we are to truly enjoy our time on this earth.

Work cited

Munro, Alice. "Miles City, Montana." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 458-471.

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