An Ounce of Cure

Kristina Shelswell

Kristin Beeby

English 12

ASSIGNMENT: ''An Ounce of Cure''

1. In your opinion what is the primary conflict in “An Ounce of Cure”? Discuss your choice.

Problems, we think they all disappear when we try to live life as though they never happen. In the fictional story of “An Ounce of Cure”, the protagonist deals with her teenage crises of the undying love for her boyfriend which continued on to be persistent even after she was “dropped”. The primary conflict in An Ounce of Cure is between Man vs herself. The story discusses a young girl who struggles to accept herself and the whirling emotions she experiences as she begins transitioning into adult life. This conflict is demonstrated by her obsessive replaying of the events surrounding her first kiss, which ultimately left her heartbroken and suicidal. "One night I had an impulse to swallow all the aspirins in the bathroom cabinet, but stopped after I had six...” (Paragraph 4).Her decision to attempt to kill herself is a manifestation of this conflict. Alternatively, the story has the potential to be viewed as conflict of man vs. society. In many ways the conditions the narrator finds herself in are lack of a relationship she has with her mother. "with an expression of brooding and fascinated despair" (paragraph 1) This displays that the mother did not think of her daughter as anything more than “an abduction into the White Slave trade" (paragraph 1) The protagonist finds herself having a reputation to uphold that is in many ways beyond her as it does not allow her the freedom to explore and make mistakes as everyone does while growing up.

1. In what way does the title “An Ounce of Cure” foreshadow events to come? Explain.

The title "An Ounce of Cure" foreshadows the events to come. As an example the saying "An Ounce of Cure is Worth a Lot of Trouble" describes that she found herself in trouble when trying to branch out into adulthood. Instantly the titles reaches out and explains that there is something in need to be cured, which we find out later on that it is her that is in need of a cure. This displays that there will be a series of hardship and obstacles the narrator will face to become essentially "cured", it is implying that something emotionally tragic happens. This short story is about developing individuality and discovering oneself.

1. Do you consider the title to be ironic? Explain your response.

The title is ironic due to the fact that hard alcohol is served in ounce form (one average shot equals one ounce), and to the protagonist the alcohol that she consumes is her "cure".

1. In your opinion, what is the theme or central message of Munro’s “An Ounce of Cure”?

The main theme in “An Ounce of Cure” is: recognition and depression as well as loss of innocence. Throughout the story, the main character is innocent and naive, when her love breaks her heart; it is the beginning of her loss of innocence. Also, when she drinks the various bottles of alcohol and gets drunk for the very first time, she loses her innocence to alcohol and its effects. She also faces depression when her boyfriend broke up with her after only two months of dating; she delved into sadness and mild self-destruction. Throughout the story she grows and learned from her mistakes, “I felt that I had had a glimpse of the shameless, marvellous, shattering absurdity” (paragraph 31). She then discovers recognition near the end of the story and shows confidence and independence as she discovered her "cure" into adulthood.