Walker Brothers Cowboy

Although the main action in “Walker Brothers Cowboy” takes place in a single afternoon, it is nonetheless accurately classified as a coming-of-age story because it features a young protagonist whose new and unexpected insights into her father cause her to experience moments of disillusionment that implicitly contribute to her loss of innocence. This growth is triggered by the girl’s half-articulated observations of her father on this singular afternoon, and the events highlight the disparities between the narrator’s limited understanding of the world and the unspoken realities of the adult landscape that surrounds her. Throughout the story, the narrator becomes more comfortable with the idea of the past as something that one cannot fully know, and she begins to notice the complex ways in which the past influences the present. With this profound inner transformation, the narrator experiences The Disillusionment of Fading Childhood as she comes to see her father in a more nuanced light. While her initial view of Ben Jordan portrays him simply as a kind and tranquil figure, the story’s conclusion reflects her broadened perspective on him, which has expanded to acknowledge the untold stories of his life before he became a father. Alice Munro’s narrator essentially describes her own shift in perspective as she asserts:

I feel my father’s life flowing back from our car in the last of the afternoon, darkening and turning strange, like a landscape that has an enchantment on it, making it kindly, ordinary and familiar while you are looking at it, but changing it […] into something you will never know, with all kinds of weathers, and distances you cannot imagine (Paragraph 108).

Struck into a contemplative silence by the events she has witnessed this day, she returns to her mundane daily life with a more complex perspective on her father, as well as a more nuanced understanding of her parents as full-fledged people and not just as her caretakers. The visit with Nora Cronin has given her a privileged glimpse at the person her father used to be, and seeing Nora’s house and family likewise forces her to realize the life that might have been, if her father had decided to make a life with Nora instead of marrying the narrator’s mother. Realizing how deeply her father must have once loved Nora, the girl contemplates the setting sun and comes to realize that everyone’s life extends far beyond the part of it that touches her own.

Munro also uses symbolism to highlight the narrator’s transformation toward maturity and awareness. For example, the symbol of the lake represents the narrator’s home life and her family. From the very beginning, the lake is associated with the protagonist’s sense of home, which includes her closeness with her father, who likewise represents the concept of constancy. Soon, however, the narrator’s simplistic view of the lake is complicated when her father describes the vast geological forces that created it. The narrator is unable to imagine things that happened so long ago, just as she is unable to imagine her father in any other life. At this point, she prefers to stick to her simpler understanding of the lake, for her narration states, “I wish the Lake to always be just a lake, with the safe-swimming floats marking it” (Paragraph 5). The lake therefore serves as a symbolic reminder of The Bittersweet Effects of Nostalgia. Like the narrator’s father, the lake appears timeless and permanent, as if it has always been exactly as it is, but in reality, it has a tumultuous history that stretches far beyond the narrator’s experience, and realizing this truth shatters the girl’s mistaken belief in its constancy. When the girl mentions the lake again at the very conclusion, she adds newfound nuance to her perception of it, for she almost seems to catch herself in the act of making an overgeneralization when she states, “[T]he sky becomes gently overcast, as always, nearly always, on summer evenings by the Lake” (Paragraph 109).

As the protagonist undergoes this inner growth, the narrative style in “Walker Brothers Cowboy” remains both contemplative and conversational, at times including interjections from the narrator that comment upon the story rather than advancing it directly. Munro’s style therefore creates a sense of realism that mirrors the rhythm of casual gossip between friends. This style underscores the theme of Finding Solace in Companionship, for Munro’s approach is designed to develop a sense of camaraderie between reader and character. This sense of closeness contrasts sharply with the isolation of the narrator’s mother, just as Ben’s companionable closeness with Nora contrasts with the disconnect between him and his wife. Thus, the narrative displays a frankness and honesty that creates an inherent sense of trustworthiness. This desire for honesty, paired with a nuanced and realistic portrayal of emotions, constitutes a hallmark of Munro’s style.

It is also significant that some characters in the story are explicitly named while others are not. Although Ben and Nora, who do most of the talking in the story, are given full names, the protagonist’s name is never revealed, nor are the names of her mother and brother. This strategic omission draws attention to the importance of Ben and Nora’s relationship, as their interaction causes the protagonist to gain a more mature perspective on her father’s past. The lack of a name for the mother also symbolizes the woman’s inherent lack of independence, for she is essentially held captive by her regret over the past. By contrast, Nora’s vibrant personality makes her a far more dynamic character, and unlike the stubborn stasis of Ben’s wife, Nora adapts from one moment to the next, quickly changing her clothes after the Jordans arrive and responding to Ben’s news about his life with news of her own. Additionally, the protagonist’s lack of a name implicitly draws her perspective closer to that of the author herself, an effect that is furthered by the conversational interjections in the narrative. This, combined with the frank tone of the narration, imbues the story with the contemplative essence of a memoir.

Munro makes use of the motifs of laughter and song to establish the kindly tone of the story and to establish the narrator’s close relationship with her father. Ben is especially prone to using laughter and humor to strengthen connections. While he applies this approach to everyone in his life, his wife’s grudging and belated smile at his antics contrasts sharply with Nora’s immediate and effusive laughter at his clowning. These two reactions emphasize the key differences between the romantic relationship he once had and the one he has committed to pursuing. Thus, even the lighthearted moments are weighted with The Bittersweet Effects of Nostalgia.