The Roaring Girl

“The Roaring Girl” is a short story published in 1995 by the Canadian author Greg Hollingshead. It is included in a short story collection of the same name which won Canada’s Governor-General Literary Award. Set in 1954, the story concerns a homeless girl who “roars” into the life of an eight-year-old boy, transforming him and his family.

This study guide refers to the 1997 G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardback edition.

At the start of the story, the boy learns from his father that his mother is pregnant and that her pregnancy is risky due to her age. The father, who works in a factory, brainstorms ways to bring in additional money to support another child.

The father decides to open a car service station. Though his village is largely undeveloped at the time, the narrator comments that in the future, the development will soon include “plazas, wholesale outlets, a twenty-story pink-stucco hotel, fast-food places, car lots, subdivisions crowding in from behind” (56). At first, the mother is upset to learn about the father’s business idea because she thinks service stations are “low” (56). Apprehensive of his father’s ability to run the station, the boy also has doubts. The father hires Ed Walsh, an acquaintance from the Legion, to work during the week, but Ed is an alcoholic who sleeps more than he works. The boy works on weekends with his father but doubts his abilities to interact with customers. When someone robs the station overnight, the father gets a German Shepherd to guard it.

One day, the father discovers an intruder in the station, a hungry and homeless teenage girl dressed in disheveled clothes. When she faints, the father calls Dr. Mackey who, as usual, is of little help. The father brings the girl to their house so she can recover. Feeling nervous about the girl, the mother urges the father and the boy to refrain from asking the girl prying questions. At dinner, the mother tries to make light conversation, but the girl remains silent and the mother doesn’t push her. The girl finally responds, “Look. I’m fuckin’ shattered,” and this quickly ends the conversation (64). The author characterizes this and other outbursts of profanity as “roars.”

All summer, the girl lives at the family’s house. She works at the service station and proves to be much more competent than Ed. Soon, she complains to the parents that Ed is worthless as an employee. Even though Ed still drinks and money routinely disappears from the cash register, the parents keep him on the job.

Though the girl fascinates the boy, he tells his parents he doesn’t like her. He doesn’t know why he lies about his feelings. Assuming the boy looks down on the girl due to her lack of privilege., the parents chastise him for his insensitivity. On Friday nights, the girl babysits the boy. The boy looks forward to his time with her, even after he gets scared when she yells at him for turning down the television. When the boy discovers pornography in her room, he cannot keep himself away, and when she catches him reading the magazines, she “roars” again, threatening that she will break his legs if he tells his parents.

At the end of the summer, Ed’s wife Noreen calls the station and asks where her husband is. The family learns that Ed and the girl ran off together and stole all the money from the register. The father claims it was worth a week’s earnings to be rid of both of them.

Eventually, the factory fires the father. He gives up on the service station, which he could only support with money from his factory job. The mother gives birth to Wayne, a sickly baby. Later, she works as a bookkeeper, while the father stays home to cook, clean, and watch the children.

At the end of the story, the boy reminisces about a time he walked down the street with the girl, awestruck that he was able to keep step with her.