Building a House; Destroying a Marriage.

In "Shiloh," there seems to be no theme that occurs more throughout the story than that of Leroy's dream to build a log cabin for his family to live in. While reading, just as I would forget about the house and focus my attention on what I thought to be the greater meanings of the story, such as Leroy's failing marriage or the role of his deceased baby in Norma Jean's distant attitude, I would find myself reading yet another line about how everything would be solved under the roof of a log cabin. What true role does the construction (or lack there of) of the log house play in "Shiloh?" I will try my best to answer this question in the next few paragraphs. 

While reading "Shiloh," the similarities between Leroy's dream house and Leroy and Norma Jean's marriage struck me as uncanny. As the story begins, both aspects of Leroy's life are being built up, although the "construction" of the marriage and the house are forming more in his head that in reality. In addition, Leroy is always telling Norma Jean that he is going to "build you a real house," (50) and when she says she wants out of the relationship he tells her that he refuses to let her leave him. Both of these situations are examples of Leroy trying to convince Norma Jean of what he thinks she wants, when really he is the only one who desires a log cabin and to continue the relationship. Right after reality sinks in that his wife is really gone for good, Leroy decides that "building a log house was the dumbest idea he could have had." (155) Just like the crumbling of the marriage, the idea of the cabin is also in ruins. He comes to realize that maybe no amount of renovation could have fixed either one. 

Because Leroy never actually got around to building the log cabin, the idea never really went further than his imagination. In his marriage, Leroy also never really got around to asking what was wrong and different than before, or why the tension existed. He answered the question of the failure of his marriage over and over in his head, but just like when it came time to take the plans of the house from blueprints onto land, he was never able to formulate what his thoughts to Norma Jean. One cannot help but wonder how much of Leroy's marriage was part of his imagination as well. In this story, the house is used as a parallel to the marriage; both of which end up in pieces. 

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