The title of the story by Alice Munro, “Boys and Girls” focuses on girls coming of age. Munro uses the symbol of a fox to depict girls’ transition through life. The symbol of the fox in the story is very critical. First, Munro places the child on a fox farm to show the similarities of the fox maturing to be slaughtered and the maturing of a girl into a woman. Then, the value of the …showed first 75 words of 428 total…

…showed last 75 words of 428 total…writes, “barking seldom-they save that for the night-time when they might get up a chorus of community freenzy.” (716) This symbolizes how a girl feels about maturing into a women, but scared to speak out to her family alone, so tells herself in the dark, alone, hoping for more to join her. The way Munro uses the fox in the story is such an amazing way to illustrate the struggle of a girl becoming a woman.