Abstract The paper examines JoyceCarolOates' short stories that deal with children or adolescents and unexpected threats and peril: 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been' and 'Heat'. The paper discusses JoyceCarolOates' own experiences and her social and political viewpoints and concerns. The paper shows how her narrative style is authentic-sounding and fully convincing. The paper demonstrates how Oates is a feminist and how her feminist concerns are apparent within both stories. The paper also analyzes how Oates is both a nostalgic and a realistic writer.
From the Paper "For the narrator of "Heat" herself, life after the twins' violent death has simply gone on, with relative non-eventfulness and, ironically, what now triggers her distant memories of the twins and their horrible deaths is when she herself now goes to the area of the icehouse in order to make love. Violence and death was once, the narrator knows, literally "right around the corner" from where she now enjoys the ecstasy of lovemaking, but at the same time the memory of the Kunkel twins' fateful afternoon nearby, so long ago, though it remains sharp and vivid is also, somehow, at the same time, distant and surreal."
Abstract This paper discusses how both Kate Chopin and JoyceCarolOates can best be characterized as feminist authors of their respective centuries who show how apparently positive female social roles actually limit women. The paper first looks at how Kate Chopin was famous for chronicling the frustrations and limitations of the role of married women during the 19th century with such novels as "The Awakening" and "The Story of an Hour." In comparison, the paper then examines how JoyceCarolOates also delves into the role of modern women in her fiction writing.
From the Paper "The wildly prolific Joyce Carol Oates also delves into the role of modern women in her fiction writing, although a quick review of her works spanning the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, suggests it is more difficult to draw as direct a connection between Oates' major works and biography than it is with Chopin. However, like Mrs. Mallard of "The Story of an Hour" briefly delights in a fantasy coming to life, only to find her hopes dashed when the promise of freedom is taken away, the heroine Connie of "Where are you going, where have you been," finds her fantasy of being seductive and more beautiful than her conventional mother and sister to be far different than she realizes in reality. In Oates, much more explicitly than in Chopin, the trap of femininity 'used' as a vehicle of liberation for the teenage Connie becomes a lie, as Connie becomes the victim of rape and possibly (it is implied) even murder. "
Abstract In this article, the writer describes how the American fiction writer JoyceCarolOates has not simply tackled issues of national importance in her novels. She also has a substantial critical body of literary essays and works of nonfiction. The writer discusses that over the course of her career, as Oates' has grown more prolific as a writer of fiction, Oates' nonfiction essays and writing have had an increasingly literary rather than a journalistic quality in the tone of Oates' prose, even while their subject matter has tackled issues of national importance. Referring to examples of Oates' literary works, the writer examines the author's concerns and style of writing.
From the Paper "The review of McCarthy precedes a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose. "No one would mistake Cormac McCarthy's worlds as "real" except in the way that fever dreams are 'real,' a heightened and distilled gloss upon the human condition." (Oates, 2005) Oates shows evident familiarity with the entire span of McCarthy's works, and the reader might have difficulty fully comprehending the review, had the reader not read Blood Meridian and All the Pretty Horses, books that Oates has read and refers to as common knowledge in her analysis of how the masculine and bloody world of the author she is reviewing speaks to the extreme nature of the human life, not just in the Wild Wild West McCarthy chronicles, but in modern times. Her essay on Lear, in contrast, wrestles more with what Shakespearean critics such as Norman Lear have written about the Bard's use of narrative structure."
This paper deals with the victimization of women in three of JoyceCarolOates's short stories: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"; "Heat"; and "The Molesters."
Abstract This paper examines how JoyceCarolOates is known for writing about violence towards women. It looks at how the situations she writes about are everyday situations that women face all over the world all the time and how Oates is excellent in bringing out fear through these situations. In particular, it focuses on "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"?, "Heat", and "The Molesters" as typical Oates's stories where women are victimized by men.
From the Paper "The villain in this story is Arnold Friend. Oates created a very frightening character here through his appearance and speech. Arnold wears dark sunglasses that do not let anyone see where his eyes are looking. This is quite creepy since he is probably staring her up and down, like a lion checking out his next meal. It is revealed that Arnold is not the young guy that he first claims to be, and is in fact around thirty years old, adding to his villainous nature. Another very disturbing part of Arnold is his friend that is waiting in the car the whole time Arnold is talking with Connie. This man "wasn"t a kid either"he had"the face of a forty year old baby? ("Where"? 502). This adds to the fearful appearance of Arnold, since a forty year old man has no place there."
Abstract The paper studies American author, JoyceCarolOates, her childhood and writing history. The paper discusses Oates' third book, "Them" about an American family in the 60's, as well as other books by her including "Do With Me What You Will" and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?".
From the Paper "She loves to write, and can be very compulsive in her habits. When she is not working on a book manuscript, she "relaxes" by working on short fiction and essays. When she first began writing, she worried that some of her more gothic and horrifying fiction would not be taken well if readers knew she was a woman. "In fact, Oates was known to disguise some of her work. Early in her career, she sometimes masculinized her name with such variations as J.C. Oates" (Horne E15). She has also written several suspense novels under the name "Rosamond Smith.""
Abstract This five-page undergraduate paper discusses what "The Lady with the Pet Dog" and "Life After High School" by JoyceCarolOates have to say about the satisfactions and frustrations of romantic relationships.
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the similarities and differences between Katherine Anne Porter's "He" and JoyceCarolOates' "Heat", including a conclusion that provides reasons for favoring one story over the other.
From the Paper "The short stories "He" by Katherine Anne Porter and "Heat" by Joyce Carole Oates share many similarities as Oates tended to re-imagine the works of classic writers. However despite a number of similarities in each work with respect to setting themes and ..."
Abstract This paper explains that In JoyceCarolOates' popular short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", the seduction of the teenage Connie by Arnold Friend is accomplished through his exploitation of the ideology that was transmitted through the medium of popular rock music. The author points out that the story is set in the American 1950s against the backdrop of drive-ins, the ever-present music conveys a superficial understanding of romantic relationships that forms the basis of Connie's understanding of her emerging sexuality. The paper relates that the prevalence of music in the text lends a mythological or fairy-tale quality to the narrative, which in large part describes the seduction to take place. The paper concludes that, due to the prevalence of a superficial understanding of the world and human relationships that is constructed by pop music culture, Friend is able to use the ideals of such songs as an illusion for his predatory nature.
From the Paper "Arnold Friend disguises himself in the clothing and mannerisms of the youth of the period, but does so in a manner that seeks not only to imitate others but to embody the ideals projected through the music. His arrival at Connie's house is connected to the music that Connie has been listening to inside her room, immediately creating an illusion of common interest: his transistor radio play "the same program that was playing inside the house." This serves to draw Connie out, initiating a brief discussion of the DJ that is on. Friend appears just a shade different enough from the other boys to create interest."
Tags: seduction, fairy-tale, rock, sexuality, illusion
Abstract This is an analysis of the characters and themes that run through JoyceCarolOates' short story, "Four Summers." One of the themes-- alcoholism-- runs through the story which takes place over the course of four different summers in the narrator's life. The different characters and their development over the course of the four summers is examined in detail.
From the Paper "The short story "Four Summers" written by Joyce Carol Oates takes place over different summers in the narrator's life. Its starts when she is very young and the short story ends with her being married and pregnant. This story is about Sissie's life around alcohol and how it changes her life dramatically over these four particular summers. She grows to hate her parents, her life, and even her marriage at the end of story. Alcohol is the root of all evil in this story and it shows how a bright young girl's life is ruin because of the use of alcohol."
Tags:carol, joyce, oates, short, story, summer, alcohol, parents, marriage
Abstract This paper looks at how the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by JoyceCarolOates, was primarily inspired by two sources. First, the serial killer, Charles Schmid of Tuscon Arizona, and second, Bob Dylan's song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." It then analyzes how Oates' short story was brought to life when Joyce Chopra directed the film named "Smooth Talk" in 1986 and how, although the film is inspired by Oates' short story, it greatly compromised her original vision.
From the Paper "First, Charles Schmid's killings in the 1960's were a primary source of inspiration for Oates' short story. He was notoriously famous for his "youthful magnetism". Schmid persuaded young girls to fall in love with him and later strangled them to death. He is very similar to one of the main characters in Oates' short story named Arnold Friend.
According to Hanna Miller of the Arizona Daily Star, "Charles Schmid, who's killings brought Tucson national attention in the '60s, was an unlikely teen idol who painted a mole on his powdered face and stuffed tin cans into his cowboy boots to add a few inches to his tiny frame." In comparison, Arnold Friend also stuffed his boots to appear taller for he too had a small frame and very persistent with persuasion. "
Abstract Manipulation is the primary theme of JoyceCarolOates? short story, "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been"? Through the careful development of her characters, Oates presents us with details that enhance a tale of violent manipulation thrust upon an innocent girl. This paper examines Oates's technique and how it contributes to the overall effect of the story.
From the Paper "Oates spends a considerable amount of time describing Connie. Our first indication that this might be a tale of terror is the first sentence, which tells us that her first name was Connie instead of is Connie. Connie is a typical young teenager, filled with typical emotions. For instance, just as every teenager, Connie does not always get along with her mother. We are told that sometimes Connie's mother would pick at her "until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over" (Oates 2075). Connie tells her mother white lies and wonders if it is "cruel to fool her so much" (2076). In these scenes, Oates is providing us with enough information to know that while Connie is growing up, she is still naive."
Abstract This paper analyzes the main character, Connie, in "Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been?" by JoyceCarolOates. The author describes the character's experiences in the novel and her social situation in a background of violence.The author reveals how Oates uses violence, especially violence towards women, in her writing.
From the Paper "Carol Oates, the author of a number of distinguished books in several genres, is one the most productive, versatile, serious and modern writer of America. Her stories are the image of violence and tragedy. She is praised because of her versatile writing, varied production and prolific publishing. ?Her work is characterized by often unbearable violence, and this violence emphasizes her characters' struggles to define themselves against their oppressive environments."
Abstract This paper examines the story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", a chilling story by JoyceCarolOates, which tells the story of a young girl obsessed by her own beauty and popular music, who is seduced by an evil being. It discusses the symbolism in the story and how it relates to the Devil vs. God and good vs. evil. It shows how Oates shows, in a chilling way, the power evil has over good, and how evil can wear its victims down in the end, even when they know what they are doing is wrong.
From the Paper "Clearly in this morality play, strength and evil win out, because that is the ultimate point of the story, that evil can wear down a victim in the end, just as Friend wears down Connie, even if the victim knows what they are doing is wrong. "She put out her hand against the screen. She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited" (Where). What is so sad about Connie is not that she is coerced, but that she set herself up for it from the start. She is a shallow and selfish girl, who does not surround herself with anything good, and so she cannot fight the force of evil, because she does not really recognize what goodness is."
Abstract This paper examines JoyceCarolOates's short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"?, which was written in 1966, and how, twenty years later, it was made into a movie entitled "Smooth Talk", the winner of the 1985 U.S. Film Festival for best dramatic picture. It looks at how Oates extends reality with her character, Arnold Friend, based on the real life of Charles Schmid, who cruised teenage hangouts, picking up girls. It also shows how the producer of "Smooth Talk" also takes detours from the road of reality by further developing the characters of Connie's mother, father, and older sister, June. In particular, it examines how the two endings differ greatly.
From the Paper "While the physical characteristics seem similar, however, the description of Connie's sexual nature differs, playing an important part in the development of the final scenes of both the story and the movie. While the writer of Smooth Talk portrays Connie as a flirt and a tease, she, nevertheless, resists going "all the way" with the boys she cruises with on summer nights. This makes the compelling seduction by Arnold Friend at the screen door that much more chilling as she faces rape and the loss of innocence to someone she hardly knows. In contrast, by implying in her short story that Connie is already sexually active, author Joyce Oates deepens the terror of the screen-door meeting by focusing not on just the sexually persuasive nature of Arnold Friend but also on the demonic trance-like state he uses in order to control his victims."
Abstract This paper contends that since JoyceCarolOates' story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", is based, in part, on a real-life series of rapes and murders, we can only guess that the when the character Connie opens the screen door, her ultimate demise has begun. The paper discusses how the Oates short story gives rise to the fact that women have, to some degree, achieved parity in dating, but sometimes are still prey to manipulating males who consider women as "the weaker sex" and how it is the rights of women that seem to continue to be in jeopardy.
From the Paper " Now, having seen some factual comments and suppositions about men versus women, some questions about Oates' short story need to be examined: Why was Connie "ripe" in the sense that there was this flirting with danger with an "older man"? One glimmer of this comes at the very opening, where Connie is continually brought down by her mother: "You think you're so pretty?" (Oates 117). If one's parents put you down and some "older man" comes on to you, what young girl wouldn't be flattered and interested- at least, at first. Next, why did she let him, and later on Ellie, into the house? Surely, her parents had warned her about never letting a stranger in. Again, it is the fact that Connie was getting attention she had not previously received. She dreamed about boys, even went out for hamburgers with one, when she was supposed to be in the movies with one of her girl friends. "
