An important question to consider in reading Munro’s short story ‘‘Day of the Butterfly’’ is whether the story is an accurate representation of Helen’s memories. The point is not to question the reality of Myra’s illness, of course, but to question Helen’s memory of her treatment of Myra. Childhood memories are often poorly recalled. Many…
Tag: Day of the Butterfly
Day of the Butterfly – Setting
Canadian Immigrant Life For much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Canadian immigration mirrored that of the United States. Western European immigrants were welcomed in Canada, strict limits on Chinese immigrants were put in place, and by the end of the second decade of the twentieth century, sharply reduced quotas limiting the numbers of…
Day of the Butterfly – Symbolism – Literary Elements
Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a technique that allows the writer to create a darker mood by suggesting an ominous change in events in the future. In a detective story, a writer might use foreshadowing to provide clues to help a reader solve the crime. In ‘‘Day of the Butterfly,’’ Munro uses foreshadowing at the end of…
Day of the Butterfly – Themes
Cruelty Miss Darling’s instructions to the class to be nice to Myra have exactly the opposite effect. The children not only begin to make fun of Miss Darling by imitating her words and actions, but they begin to treat Myra more cruelly, with little regard for her feelings. Before Miss Darling interferes, Myra is excluded…
Day of the Butterfly – Characters
Miss Darling Miss Darling is the teacher for Grade Six. Young and inexperienced, she is more concerned about her own image than in dealing with the bullying that occurs in class. She lacks self-confidence and is unsure about what she should do. The older, more experienced teachers ignore the children at recess. They go into…
Day of the Butterfly – Story – Summary
‘‘Day of the Butterfly’’ is told from the perspective of Helen, and begins with Helen’s memories of Myra, a young girl with whom she attended grade school. Though Myra had attended the same school for a couple of years, Helen only remembers the last year, the year they were both in Grade Six. In Helen’s…