The short story “Shiloh,” written by Bobbie Anne Mason, is about the downfall of a marriage between the two main characters, Leroy and Norma Jean. Leroy and Norma Jean were married when they were both eighteen years old; Norma Jean was already pregnant with their son Randy who tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome when he was four months old. Although devastated over the loss of their son, Leroy and Norma Jean tried to move on with their lives, continuing on with their jobs and with their marriage. Leroy was a truck driver who was gone for long periods of time and Norma Jean worked at a drugstore where she worked with cosmetics.

After being involved in a terrible tractor-trailer accident in which he severely injured his leg, Leroy returned home for good because of his inability to drive any longer. While he is home, Leroy begins to appreciate his wife much more than he did before but realizes that there is something different about her. She does not seem to be as enthusiastic as he presumed she would be about the fact that he is home as much as he is now. While dealing with such stresses within their marriage, Norma Jean’s mother, Mabel, adds more fuel to the fire. She scolds Norma Jean when she catches her smoking, and makes harsh comments about the death of her baby, stating: “fate was mocking her” because of getting pregnant so young and while unmarried (“Shiloh” 542). This infuriates Norma Jean and the pressure she feels because of all of her stressors has become too much for her to handle. Seeing how much stress Norma Jean is under, Leroy suggests going to Shiloh, an old battleground in Tennessee, where Mabel has been insisting they go for quite sometime. Norma Jean agrees.

While having their picnic on the battlefield in Shiloh, Norma Jean and Leroy do not say one word to one another. Then, all of the sudden, Norma Jean tells Leroy that she wants to leave him. This blind-sides Leroy. Although knowing in his heart that he truly can’t stop her from doing what she wants to do, Leroy tries to tell Norma Jean that they can start over, that they can fix it. She refuses. As Norma Jean walks away, Leroy reflects on his life. He realizes that he has never paid attention to the important things in life and is now paying for it.