It has been said of Anton Chekhov, the famous Russian short story writer, that in all his “work, there is never exactly one point. Rather we look into someone's heart: in a few pages, the curtain hiding these lives has been raised, revealing them in all their helplessness, anger and resentment. Alice Munro also falls into this category. Many of his stories, such as “Royal Beatings,” focus more on revealing characters rather than plot. This is not to say that nothing happens in Munro's stories. Instead, more scenes take place in “Royal Beatings.” The narrator, Rose, tells us about her life as a child growing up in Hanratty, Ontario; of the stories and work of his stepmother Flo, in the shop owned by the family, of his father's habit of isolating himself in the furniture shed, of being beaten and then indulged. However, the plot is secondary to the story. The scenes created by Munro are not based on action, but on the emotions and revelation of the characters. “Royal Beatings” begins in the imperfect tense with Rose telling us what her life was like. His attitude and circumstances are immediately revealed. Her mother had died when she was still a child, so she grew up with “only Flo as a mother.” Her father wasn't easily available and Rose was a little scared. Rose loves her family but is not like them; she is clumsy rather than intelligent and needs to "pursue absurdities". Characters are revealed and emotions are exposed, but the story doesn't turn to action until nine pages in. Then, the reader is thrown into the action in the present. Rose vividly describes a Saturday in which she and Flo argue and irritate each other. Rose's father is called from his shed by Flo and so he gives Rose what he r...... middle of paper ...... e. She connects both aspects of Hat, even though she was never able to connect her father, the man who occasionally beat her, with the man who talked about literature and philosophy when he was alone in his shed. The story "Royal Beatings" is a beautiful depiction of Hat's young girl's view of the world around her. Munro uses vivid details to create a story and characters that feel real. It draws the reader in and allows them to understand Rose through her touching words about her life. So, in the end, it allows the reader to make the connections that Rose perhaps misses. “Royal Beatings” is not about any particular moment in Rose's life or any action related to the reader. The story, in fact, is not about the plot at all. Instead, it's about creating characters with a sense of verisimilitude and humanity, revealing "all their impotence, anger and resentment”..”