In some respects, "Boys and Girls" is a classic coming of age tale. Most societies have either cultural narratives or cultural rituals that bespeak the end of childhood and the entry into adulthood. The way that this shift in a boy or girl's life is depicted will tell a great deal about the values of a particular culture. If the tale is about a boy who goes on his first hunting expedition, then the reader surmises that bravery is paramount to what makes a boy a man in that society. What, then, marks the transition from girlhood to young womanhood? It is this problem that Munro takes on in "Boys and Girls." Interestingly, Munro first depicts the young girl narrator defining herself like a boy seemingly would do. She thinks up stories at night in which she is a hero who is brave and saves other...