Henning teaches English at Long Island University. In the following excerpt, she examines Mason's metaphorical use of details to reveal characters and situations in "Shiloh. "

Mason's story "Shiloh" is about two people and a community who are affected by their beliefs in the American dream and the myth of progress: you can succeed and build a happy life for yourself and your family in this country if you keep up with the times and if you work hard. Leroy Moffitt and Norma Jean, a couple who have been married for fifteen years, find their lives disrupted not only by the trucking accident that has rendered Leroy disabled and unemployed but also by the changes that are occurring in their home town in Kentucky. While the community around them is being built up ("Subdivisions are spreading across western Kentucky like an oil slick "), Norma Jean is building muscles...