Every individual has their own perspective, depending on where they are, how they fit into society and how they deal with other people. People's lives are stories, we live in our own story and believe in it but sometimes upon interacting with others they influence us with their own story. In our daily lives, each of us shares common experiences with friends, neighbors, and family. With that, people can think deeply on an issue or topic and act accordingly to what they view and believe shape the possible course of action. The excerpt of "The Shining Houses" by Alice Munro traces the development of Mary on how she found herself exploring her neighbor's life as she had once explored the lives of her family. .
Mary is the central character of the story who is facing the conflict of coping up with people that surrounds her and her sympathy to Mrs. Fullerton. She is divided between the new and old generation. She wants to help and listen to Mrs. Fullerton who is resisting the constant change in society in order to preserve the history of her residence. Mary is Mrs. Fullerton's neighbor, they both live in the same community. She is one of Mrs. Fullerton's customers in her fresh eggs business. She sometimes asks Mrs. Fullerton to babysit her son but Mrs. Fullerton always rejects the idea of taking care of her son. At the beginning, she thought of Mrs. Fullerton as an old and indifferent lady. Mrs. Fullerton isn't a really a charming old lady. Hence, she never really became close nor friends with anyone in the new community. However, one day Mary came to Mrs. Fullerton's house to pay her money for the eggs then suddenly, Mary found herself listening to Mrs. Fullerton's story about her husband and the life they led together. The story of her husband, them having kids, him passing away, her meeting and getting a second husband and that second husband leaving the house. Mary realized that Mrs. Fullerton's house had so much history and that second husband leaving the house.
