1. In We Were the Mulvaneys, Patrick avenges Marianne’s rape with his form of justice and, from what can be told from the first few pages of Expensive People, there is a hint at justice brought upon the “child murderer”. Does the definition of what “justice” for these crimes are connect between both novels?
2. After tragedy occurs in We Were the Mulvaneys, each character goes through a similar type of alienation. In Expensive People, Richard writes his confession alone, hinting a similar form of alienation. Is this a typical characteristic of Oates’ novels and how does it impact each character’s identity?
3. In both We Were the Mulvaneys and Expensive People, multiple male characters, including Zachary, Abelove, and Richard, lust after
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females in the novel. Does Oates’ continue this theme in her other novels and how does is affect the view of males in general in her novels? Unlike the first half of We Were the Mulvaneys which focuses on the family dynamics when the Mulvaney clan is together, the second half of the novel focuses on the role that each family member plays in their respective circles of alienation. While Patrick and Marianne thrive away from home in college, Mike Sr. and Corrine begin fighting more and lose the farm to debt as Judd becomes depressed. The theme of alienation demonstrates how without the children and parents together, the Mulvaney family falls apart until they are reunited at the end of the novel. Oates’ portrayal of the women of We Were the Mulvaneys as weak in the eyes of other characters in the novel begins to dissipate as Marianne breaks out into the world and Corinne beings to stop taking responsibility for her husband’s violent, alcohol-driven actions.
Her tone towards the women is positive, particularly as the novel approaches its end with the introduction of Sable Mills, a widow who lives with Corinne, also a widow by the end of the novel. It is too soon into Expensive People to tell whether or not Richard’s mother Nada is portrayed as weak or strong but she does yell at her husband in the beginning when he treats her …show more content…
poorly. Throughout We Were the Mulvaneys, the shift of the narrator between Judd and an omniscient third-person reflects Judd’s role as an adult journalist.
It also acts as a way for the reader to see into the minds of other characters such as the quickly deteriorating Mike Sr. and the crestfallen Corinne after the changes in her family and home life.
Expensive People is a combination of social satire and gothic horror. The novel is a satire because it reflects on the role of family and how society’s views impact it. It comments on it and exaggerates the flaws. It is gothic horror because it has elements of suspense as well as romance. In this case however, the romance appears to be in the form of an Oedipus Complex, as analyzed through a psychoanalytic lens.
Expensive People begins as a novel of the narrator and main character’s confession to a murder he committed as an eleven-year-old. The narration is first-person and the narrator, Richard, takes a lot of time to explain out each event in deep detail, as was the case with Judd in We Were the Mulvaneys. By employing a narrator that is limited and slightly disturbed, she makes the narrator appear unreliable thus dragging out the confession of who was murdered. This is the classic Gothic horror theme of
suspense! Evolution of Argument – As the story of the Mulvaney family ends in We Were the Mulvaneys, the family begins to heal and come back together. Judd remains in isolation after his siblings leave him and his parents’ crumbling marriage. Him being trapped in the middle is significant of the theme of alienation. Oates places him in the middle to give us a window into how a family that is significantly older than him behaves. Moreover, the story centers around him because he is not directly involved in any of the events concerning Marianne. He also is a journalist and this story reflects him and his way of reporting. While this novel begins with the heart wrenching pain of Marianne, the ending is one of optimism and hope. With the death of Michael Sr., the family can rebuild and come back together. This expresses Oates’ view that without bitterness and vengeance, love can grow and all can be redeemed, regardless of what mistakes they made. Oates, a feminist, writes in a way that critiques each male character in the novel and their reaction toward Marianne and her rape. Her focus on sexual violence and the men’s attitude toward this incident reflects on how society treats women as a whole. A very politically-outspoken writer, the story of the Mulvaney family reflects her own thoughts on the subject, particularly through the words of Judd. Unlike all of We Were the Mulvaneys, Richard tells his story in Expensive People from a first-person point of view. The confession structure of this novel reflects on the violence accepted by American society and the role of family. While Richard does not have as large of a family as the Mulvaneys, his mother and father play a particular role in his development even though the extent of that beyond his disdain for his father is unknown so far. As was the case in the story of the Mulvaneys, Richard also experiences alienation, particularly after an event of violence. Moreover, this novel continues the theme of lust that each male character has for a particular female character in the novel with Richard’s lustful relationship with his mother.
It’s like Tom Outland’s death stirred up turmoil for the family. Everyone became at odds with each other. Before Tom died, Mrs. St. Peter had a grudge of jealousy towards him because of the bonding relationship he and her husband, Professor, St. Peter had formed. Rosamond and Kathleen have a grudge against each other because both girls were fond of Tom but Tom loved Rosamond. Tom left all his money and inventions to Rosamond and it was a large sum that provided her with the enablement to live comfortably. Kathleen feels like Rosamond flashes the money in her face and finds it preposterous. ““I can’t help it, father. I am envious. I don’t think I would be if she let me alone, but she comes here with her magnificence and takes the life out of all our poor little things. Everybody knows she’s rich, why does she have to keep rubbing it in”” (69)? The Outland holds bitterness and unresolved
Throughout the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses cruelty to argue that similar dignities exist across very socially different people and that both people of the elitist old money and the contemptible new money are capable of cruelty. In doing so, he wants us to see that wealth, or the culmination of both monetary currency and social currency, can disguise cruelty with a beautiful façade and that to successfully judge a person’s personality, one must look beyond superficial gestures and instead into the inner brutality of the person.
Wealth has both a good and a bad side. It can change the life of a person for the better or worse, and that is clearly shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Wealth affects the lives of the characters of Their Eyes Were Watching God very differently than the characters of The Great Gatsby. Janie’s wealth came about, mainly, from her failed relationships.
Tobias Wolff’s “The Rich Brother” is a story of two brothers, Donald and Pete. These brothers have very contrasting lifestyles; Pete is a successful businessman with a wife and kids. Donald, on the other hand, is an outcast. He’s unemployed and irresponsible. He lives his life as a vagabond. Despite these facts, the successful brother, Pete, still lacks the self-esteem he desperately craves. Therefore he tries to make his brother, Donald, feel foolish with every chance he gets.
Money can cause people to act selfish and arrogant, especially when they have so much money they do noteven know what to spend it on. In the novel,
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily uses setting, characterization, and figurative language to show us how old money is selfish and responsible with their money and how new money is selfless, but uses their money unwisely.
Did you know that many people greed over money? Neither did I, it’s just ridiculous how people act over money. Now , this is worst did you know how men greed over women? You wouldn’t expect that but it actually happens. The Pardoner’s Tale and The Wife of Bath were almost the same but they also had some differences too.
is the driving force of the story. All the characters express different emotions and contribute in different actions because they all have a desire to have possession of this valuable objects. Trust, greed, and stupidity are characteristics that describe the characters in the story. Consequently, these characteristics end up eliminating each character one by one. This novel focuses on the themes of deception, greed, and is developed through excellent character
throughout the novel allows the audience to gain a better understanding and personal compassion for both the character and the author. 	The novel is written in a short, choppy sentence structure using simple word choice, or diction, in a stream of consciousness to enable the reader to perceive the novel in the rationale of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another, relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is.
The first portrayal of justice occurs when Squier manages to convince Mantee to shoot and kill him. The reason why Squier’s death is justice is because he is then able to help Maple. Squier makes Maple the beneficiary to his life insurance policy, and with that money Maple is free to leave the diner and pursue her dreams of traveling to Paris and becoming a painter. Without Squier’s help Maple would most likely remain at the diner and never be fully happy. The last portrayal of justice occurred when law enforcement officials closed in on Mantee’s location and a shootout began. After the shootout one of the characters claims that the police got Mantee. I interpreted that this meant Mantee was also shot dead. Mantee’s death is justice because he in essence paid for all his wrong doings and he harm he caused to
“Money is the root of all evil”(Levit). Man and his love of money has destroyed lives since the beginning of time. Men have fought in wars over money, given up family relationships for money and done things they would have never thought that they would be capable of doing because of money. In the movie, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the author demonstrates how the love and worship of money and all of the trappings that come with it can destroy lives. In the novel Jay Gatsby has lavish parties, wears expensive gaudy clothes, drives fancy cars and tries to show his former love how important and wealthy he has become. He believes a lie, that by achieving the status that most Americans, in th...
Names represent a kind of social identity, and Oates' main interest here is in exploring what might happen when her character's social framework and the comfortably predictable life that goes with it are suddenly, and irrevocably, taken away. This, of course, is precisely what happens. What then, Oates seems to be asking, would be left? The answer, which is feverishly detailed in the remaining thirteen pages of this sixteen page story, is something this woman would never have asked for nor anticipated.
6. Characters (4-5 main or important characters): List them and describe their role(s) and significance (use t terminology ex. flat, round, dynamic, static, foil, protagonist, antagonist)
The conversations of the rich people are based solely on material wealth and finances. For example, the women tend to discuss fashion and new cloths and gossip about each other. The author clearly shows that “all they think of is money”, pointing to lack of moral virtues and proper education as well (Fitzgerald 31). The men also have negative features, such as greed, betrayal and bribery. Generally, the whole society lives in the conditions of dishonesty, injustice and corruption. Many symbols, such as valley of ashes or Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s faded eyes witness the moral and social decline experienced by that generation. Perhaps, it was the influence of the recent war and economic recession, or it could indicate the fall of the individual morality and focus on the financial
Christopher, Cathy, Carrie and Cory Dollanganger suffer from the effects of greed at the hands of their mother, Corrine, in the novel Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. Compassion gives a person the ability to see through someone’s behavior to find the truth hiding behind it. Therefore when personal gain and self indulgence overshadows the needs of others, such greed plays a prominent role in the life of those impacted by that selfish desire. To accurately describe greed is to take a cup with a hole in the bottom and try to fill it with water, and not understand why the cup never fills up. Greed stems from desire; so then it is greed, which is never satisfied, disintegrates hope, and pollutes the soul.