It seems as though Joyce Carol Oates clearly understands the effects of trauma since she writes about several harsh and eerie realities in her “tales of mystery and suspense” from her collection entitled Give Me Your Heart that visibly distinguish her from other writers. In this collection, Oates leaves readers' minds in turmoil and suspense as she releases her emotions by turning what we might think is the norm into something far more insane—perhaps far beyond our understanding. Oates has an obsessive and violent need for love that chills the soul as she takes her readers on an unpredictable ride through her haunted thoughts. She punches readers in the gut by using gothic and sardonic language in her stories while subtly adding a twist of her own eerie ambiguity to portray unrealistic scenarios that we, looking at the bigger picture, may indeed be able to relate to.
There are three key distinctions that distinguish Oates from other authors. The first and probably most obvious one is the fact that she always degrades men, turning them into monsters and describing them as dogs which contribute to a major theme of her collection. In her first story, “Give Me Your Heart,” the narrator writes to her ex-lover, Dr. K—, a creepy letter representing her vengeful feelings towards him for kicking her out and throwing her onto the street. She makes him out to be a horrid monster as she describes him as her “cruel, deceitful first love, who ravaged not only her virginity but her faith in humankind.” She eerily captures his attention as she states, “You entered my virginal body, you took from me my innocence, my youth, my very soul.”
Along with this story, she makes a vast statement in “Strip poker” when she depicts an innocent fourteen-yea...
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...clear that she has some sort of problem with men as we can see throughout many of her short stories, and hence the title of her collection, Give Me Your Heart, which serves as a double entendre. Men have stolen her heart and she feels it’s right to seek revenge and take “his” heart away, representing all of the men who hurt her, however it can also be interpreted as a plea for someone to love her and to give her their heart romantically as well. She accomplishes her goal of portraying love on several different levels, from unconditional to vengeful to familial, and ties them all together to address the underlying issue that love and life aren’t always the way they seem—that we should try and transcend all the wicked and all the hate and all the negative emotion that goes on in our lives, but as Joyce Carol Oates clearly depicts, it won’t be easy in the slightest.
Diane Urban, for instance, was one of the many people who were trapped inside this horror. She “was comforting a woman propped against a wall, her legs virtually amputated” (96). Flynn and Dwyer appeal to the reader’s ethical conscience and emotions by providing a story of a victim who went through many tragedies. Causing readers to feel empathy for the victims. In addition, you began to put yourself in their shoes and wonder what you would do.
and symbolism shown in both of these stories. Her style is unique to other writers but
Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.
In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “…& Answers” a woman, who is mentally ill, is visiting with a psychiatrist to discuss an accident that happened involving the death of her daughter. The mother and daughter were supposed to be going to the park to play, but there have been some older men hanging around the park, so the mother didn’t feel comfortable bringing her daughter there to play. Instead they went for a ride to show the little girl how beautiful the north area of the state was this time of year. During their drive, they came upon a man who was swerving on the road and next thing the woman knew, was that she was being placed on a stretcher and into an ambulance. As she talks about the accident, she begins to bring up and talk about some
In the article, “The Question of Poe’s Narrators” James W. Gargano discusses the criticize in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and tries to help the readers understand why Poe writes the way he does and identifies some of the quotes in his work. According, to Gargano, other authors view’s Poe’s work as “cheap or embarrassing Gothic Style” (177). The author is saying that Poe’s work makes the reader look at themselves not only the work. The author explores three main points. Some author thinks that Poe’s life is reflected in a lot of his work, uses dramatic language to show his style in work, and explains how Poe’s work manipulates his readers to understand.
Like many of Poe's other works, the Tell-Tale Heart is a dark story. This particular one focuses on the events leading the death of an old man, and the events afterwards. That's the basics of it, but there are many deep meanings hidden in the three page short story. Poe uses techniques such as first person narrative, irony and style to pull off a believable sense of paranoia.
Edgar Allen Poe was an American Writer who wrote within the genre of horror and science fiction. He was famous for writing psychologically thrilling tales examining the depths of the human psyche. This is true of the Tell-Tale Heart, where Poe presents a character that appears to be mad because of his obsession to an old mans, ‘vulture eye’. Poe had a tragic life from a young age when his parents died. This is often reflected in his stories, showing characters with a mad state of mind, and in the Tell Tale Heart where the narrator plans and executes a murder.
Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting poems and morbid stories will be read by countless generations of people from many different countries, a fact which would have undoubtedly provided some source of comfort for this troubled, talented yet tormented man. His dark past continued to torture him until his own death. These torturous feelings were shown in many of his works. A tragic past, consisting of a lack of true parents and the death of his wife, made Edgar Allan Poe the famous writer he is today, but it also led to his demise and unpopularity.
Over the decades, Oates has established herself as a highly prolific scribe who has written dozens of books, novels, short story collections, young adult fiction, plays, poetry, and essays. Her first published book was in the year 1963 titled “North Gate”, followed by her debut novel “With Shuddering Fall” in the year 1964.
Oates studied English at Syracuse University and earned her Bachelor degree in 1960 and the Master degree in the University of Wisconsin in 1961. Besides fiction, poetry, and short stories, Oates also wrote mysteries under Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. Her characterizes individual of American
As an accomplished writer, Joyce Carol Oates has books such as We We’re the Mulvaneys in Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, is a National Book Award winner, and has written several New York Times best sellers. Early on in her life, she experienced violence and grief through local children who were beaten and sexually abused by their father. This may be why there are themes of sexual, romantic, and familial relationships in her works. Oates is from upstate New York, which is where many of her stories take place, including Man Crazy and We Were the Mulvaneys. Oates's novel Man Crazy tells the life story of Ingrid Boone from her early childhood to her adult life. This includes details about her alcoholic father who would come in and out of her life, to
She seems to test the characters and as result they have some extreme consequences for the choices they have made. This is the best part of her writing and a judgmental flaw. It seems that O’Connor is harsh on women, her writing tends to hold women to a higher standard to man. Especially, the characters in her stories that think they are better than everyone else. There is a certain way that a woman is supposed to “carry” herself and present herself to God without
Shown by the dark, and emotional stories told in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” and Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Tell-Tale Heart,” similar writing styles become apparent. Edgar Allan Poe is known for his dark stories that are borderline psychopathic, whereas Hawthorne’s stories provide a sense of hopelessness, and are considered as depressing tales. Both writers have very vivid imaginations that translate into the stories they write. These tales are only two examples of extraordinary pieces of American Gothic Literature that can be compared between the two authors. “The Birthmark” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” are Hawthorne and Poe’s way of telling two different stories that share a common
The cause and effect relationships in “The Tell-Tale heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Monkeys Paw” by W.W Jacobs create a feeling of suspense. Others should care because; these stories show the reader that one should live a life without reacting on bad thoughts and greed. It also shows the reader that do something bad could be a lifelong effect. These are great stories about crime, death, and love. The characters in these stories are left with deadly secrets and a feeling of loneliness, not knowing if they will see their loved ones again, or face what they have done and move
...as. “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Purloined Letter”. Each of these tales have depth that explains the train of thought that one experiences in critical situations. The horror allows one to emotionally connect and observe the situation. The puzzling effect that Poe leaves one with really puts one in a rational state of mind that is needed in committing crimes. Finally, the psychological theme puts it all together as Poe gives a detailed path of mental positions and how they come about. As the reader goes on, he or she realizes that Poe uses indirect messages too. This is seen in “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Edgar Allan Poe uses the themes of terror, puzzles and psychology in his written adventures to show and prove that the human mind is something that is in constant change. Every action has a consequence.