All Quiet On The Western Front

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Rose met at the nursing home whose only communication was spelling words. After meeting this patient, Rose dreamed that Flo was in a cage and spelling words like the old patient she met in the nursing home. Rose tells Flo about her visit to the nursing home and is obviously trying to influence Flo into going to the home. Flo is suffering from some sort of dementia, perhaps Alzheimer's. In this story the author doesn't tell the characters ages, Rose's occupation, and other information necessary to develop a clear picture. Instead, Munro makes the reader use more of ones imagination in developing the story. Although Munro is not explicit, the story is about an unhappy relationship between a daughter and mother.
In the story the narrator flashes back to a time in Rose's career when she was in a play with her breast exposed. Flo showed her displeasure by writing her a letter that said "shame" and adding that if her father was not already dead, he would wish that he was (Oates ...

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Her dementia appears to leave and she is clear-headed.

The irony of the story is that although Flo, who has had no relationship with her daughter Rose for most of her adult life, now needs assistance or nursing care and finds that Rose is the one who is at her side through this transition period.

In the second short story "Differently" Munro is also talking about the relationship of two women, Georgia and Maya. Munro points out that these women become friends on more than one level, sharing stories, secrets, and special times together. The mood of the story changes abruptly with the introduction of an illicit love affair and the betrayal of a friend.

"Differently" is an ...

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