Alice Munro’s, “Face,” is a very effective piece of short fiction. Munro uses various literary tools to create a story that keeps the reader gripped until the very end. One aspect of her writing that I admire is the structure of the piece. Her piece begins with the main character explaining his “deformity.” This deformity is described through how other characters (his mother and father) react to the sight of his “mulberry coloured birthmark.” The rest of the story essentially describes what he accomplishes in his lifetime with the theme always revolving around his birthmark. The end of the story brings the reader back to his childhood, when he finds the version of the poem that the nurse had partly read to him. It reminds him of his childhood as he refers back to Nancy, wondering what would happen if he ran into her on the subway. I admire how Munro finished the piece, reflecting on whether running into Nancy later on would change things, he says, “The answer is of course, and for a while, and never.” This ending leaves the reader thinking, wondering and trying to picture in their head the scene that Munro has just created.
Another aspect that I admire about this piece is the skilful use of character development. All of the characters, especially that of the narrator and Nancy are very well created and cause the reader to become attached to them. This trait is especially true because the narrator’s one major weakness is his physical flaw, which we are shown immediately and which is always a barrier in his life. The reader becomes engrossed by the character as we experience with him some of the most mortifying experiences of his life. The one that really stuck in my head was when Nancy took red paint and splattered it all over her face saying, “Now do I look like you?” As the narrator’s birthmark was never formally addressed, this came as a shock to him. He runs away saying, “I’m not red.” As a reader, this part of the story made me really connect with the narrator. Munro uses similar examples throughout the text.
Munro’s story also had a very believable plot. All parts of the story seem as though they were a memory being recounted by this narrator. I found that his job as a radio spokesperson was also a believable career option for the narrator. I liked how after we were shown the weakness and shame that he felt as a result of his birthmark, we were also shown his talent, his gift, namely his beautiful voice that people from all over admired on his radio show. The only issue that I did have with the piece is how irate the narrator’s mother got with Nancy. It is understood that what Nancy did was cruel and made fun of the poor little boy. However, Nancy was a child, and like all children was just being honest. Her actions only seem cruel from the perspective of an adult, especially that of the mother of the child being made fun of. This aspect of the story could be seen as the intention of the author. The narrator’s mother was already upset that Nancy and her mother were living on their property and she was just waiting for the child to do something, anything, that she could get angry at her for. This episode was the perfect opportunity.
In conclusion, after reading the story, I felt as though I was reading a story that had actually happened to a real person. This feeling is consistent with all of Munro’s pieces and I hope to be able to create this same sense of realism in my short fiction writing.
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