In reading Joyce Carol Oates’ They All Just Went Away, much of her imagery calls to mind a series of events from my childhood. When I was a small child, my family lived in St. Louis City, on Washington and off Delmar Boulevard. At that time, the area was not up and coming; it was not the attractive and developed area of recent years. We lived on the second floor of a three story apartment building, and on the first floor lived the Buckners. They were a sweet elderly couple. My dad had a special relationship with them because he was young man with a family who had moved from his childhood home in South Bend, Indiana, and he had lost his parents. Mr. Buckner was strikingly handsome. He was a fair-skinned man of slender build with silky black hair. It was not until I was introduced to the music and movies of Mr. Cab Calloway that I recognized the resemblance. Mrs. Buckner was a school teacher who became the neighborhood grandmother. The Buckners had a daughter, Elaine, who was beautiful and had large brown eyes. When I found …show more content…
The stoop outside of my apartment building was where my friends and I would play jacks, shoot marbles or jump rope - whatever the day’s activity. As he would pass us, Elaine’s fiancé would stop and play with us momentarily or share a funny joke. Gradually, I came to like the man. They were soon married in our neighbor’s backyard and moved into the Buckners' apartment. Before long, the whole block began to experience a different side of them, and thus starts the parellel with They All Just Went Away. For instance, as with Mr. Weidel, Elaine's husband “worked only sporadically” (247), which was a major bone of contention between he and Mr. Buckner. On top of that, he was physically abusive. While playing, my friends and I would overhear the “grown-folk” discussions begging the same questions raised in Oates’ essay: “Why doesn’t she leave him? Did you see that black eye? Did you hear them the other night?”
They have been “wandering across the great state of California” (2). The setting moves to Grace's grandma’s house. It was “two stories with attic windows”, “sky-blue paint with white trim”, “ and a wood porch” (19). There were “two chairs covered in yellowed plastic and pine needles” (19). There was a gently sloped driveway.
While walking downtown with her girlfriend, the author describes as, “[her] heart began to skip every other beat, pounding, pounding, pounding … [as she stood] paralyzed like a frightened, little jackrabbit.” Repetition of the word “pounding” in the text develops a fast pace, indicating the urgency and panic felt by the author; terms such as paralyzed are utilized to emphasize the urgent, panicked mood. However, sanguine moods still persist throughout the narrative. For example, in the opening paragraph the author describes how she, “watch[ed] the golden dots of morning light glide across [her] ceiling, [and she] melted into a feeling of peace specific to the freedom of early summer.” Terms such as “golden,” “glide,” “peace,” and “early summer” help the reader detect a placid mood in the text, directing the reader towards the state of contentment the author feels surrounding her relationship. Mood differentiations in the text, from the urgency of the narrator’s walk downtown to the tranquil peace of the narrator’s relationship, indicate the contrasting aspects of the LGBT+ community, both in terms of the impending fear of violence, and the love that is the
But then something happened—Pemberton Park became popular. Especially among couples. Lovers would walk holding hands and the young man would sit silently, jealous and mad that they were invading his space. It happened more and more, but he did nothing. Nothing…nothing…until one night, almost twenty-five years ago, when his old girlfriend came to Pemberton Park with her new lover. When he saw her, he was filled with rage. He could not take it any more. Night fell, and his old girlfriend kissed her new boyfriend. It was her last kiss.
Of all the ten children of Henry and Nanny Delany, Sadie and Bessie developed a bond of companionship from childhood to the end of their lives. They were even able to complete each other’s thoughts, because they shared what Karl Mannheim described as a "common location in the social and historical process" that "predisposes them for a certain characteristic mode of thought and experience." They therefore, corroborated some of Mannheim’s discussions on "location" and its effect on a generation (Karl Mannheim, The Sociological Problem of Generations, pp. 290-91).
Ted Kooser’s “Abandoned Farmhouse” is a tragic piece about a woman fleeing with her child, the husband ditched in isolation. The mood of the poem is dark and lonesome, by imagining the painting the writer was describing I felt grim because of what the family went through. As reported in the text, ”Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.” This demonstrates the understanding of why they deserted the farmhouse. The author also composes, “And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.” This proves that the residence was unaccompanied. When placing the final touches, the reader begins feeling dark and lonesome, asking about the families disappearance.
“It was a large, beautiful room, rich and picturesque in the soft, dim light which the maid had turned low. She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below. All the mystery and witchery of the night seemed to have gathered there amid the perfumes and the dusky and tortuous outlines of flowers and foliage. She was seeking herself and finding herself in just such sweet half-darkness which met her moods. But the voices were not soothing that came to her from the darkness and the sky above and the stars. They jeered and sounded mourning notes without promise, devoid even of hope. She turned back into the room and began to walk to and fro, down its whole length, without stopping, without resting. She carried in her hands a thin handkerchief, which she tore into ribbons, rolled into a ball, and flung from her. Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the glittering circlet.
Ethan Frome is the story of a family caught in a deep-rooted domestic struggle. Ethan Frome is married to his first love Zeena, who becomes chronically ill over their long marriage. Due to his wife’s condition, they took the services of Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver. Mattie seems to be everything that Zeena is not, youthful, energetic, and healthy. Over time Ethan believes that he loves Mattie and wants to leave his wife for her. He struggles with his obligations toward Zeena and his growing love for Mattie. After Zeena discovers their feelings toward each other, she tries to send Mattie away. In an effort to stay together, Ethan and Mattie try to kill themselves by crashing into the elm that they talked about so many times. Instead, Mattie becomes severely injured and paralyzed. The woman that was everything that Zeena was not became the exactly the same as her. In Ethan Frome, the author communicates meanings in this story through various symbols. One of the most significant symbols used in this story is the very setting itself.
Each one complimented the other and it was as if they were two halves of one whole. Like many things in life, they each secretly enjoyed the immediate surroundings of the other. As much as Nel regarded the neatness of her house with dread, Sula felt the house to be comfortable and relished the neatness. On the same token, Sula disliked the disarray and lack of privacy in her house, but Nel found it to be a welcome change and a taste of real life. Sula and Nel found friendship in each other, because they were both lonely people. When they were young girls, they would go to Edna Finch’s Mellow House together to purchase ice cream. The ice cream representing the end of one’s life, the real treat was on getting there. They looked forward to the looks and sly comments of the boys as they made their way to the ice cream parlor, and as most girls do, exhibited an air of indifference while secretly relishing in the attention they received. It was an ...
The story began when La Vaughn was just fifteen. La Vaughn described her school life and her two best friends, Myrtle and Annie. Myrtle and Annie had been her friends all throughout her childhood, but now, it seemed that the three friends were drifting apart as their common interests changed. Both Myrtle and Annie had become very involved in a religious youth group that La Vaughn had no interest in joining. La Vaughn felt that the leaders in the religious ...
Joyce Carol Oates intrigues readers in her fictional piece “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by examining the life of a fifteen year old girl. She is beautiful, and her name is Connie. Oates lets the reader know that “everything about her [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere but home (27). When Connie goes out, she acts and dresses more mature than she probably should. However, when she is at home, she spends the majority of her time absorbed with daydreams “about the boys she met”(28). This daydreaming behavior is observable to the reader throughout the story. From theories about dreams, theories about subconscious thought, and the clues that Oates provides, the reader is lead to believe that Connie’s experience with Arnold Friend is a nightmare used to awaken her to the consequences that her behavior could result in.
In the story, Oates presents the main character, Connie, as a somewhat bratty teenager that does not have a close relationship with her mother or sister. Her mother shows envy towards her daughter making comments to her such as, “ Stop gawking at
Oates is accused of "producing too much" (676). This story is no different. Her exposition is painstaking. She sets the scene by making the main character and protagonist, Connie, parallel to an average girl in the sixties. Oates' narrator introduces Connie using elements of description which puts emphasis on the vanity of the main character. Connie's mother is quickly introduced and is used by the narrator to reveal how much disdain her mother has for her vanity. The narrator uses the main character's mother to introduce her sister, June. One is led to believe that sibling rivalry is one of the many causes that lead to the demise o...
It was a sunny day with a sweet aroma of blooming tulips. The sunlight glittered on their faces as the breeze rattled the chestnut tree above. There was an occasional giggle as they talked, but there was also a hint of discomfort and awkwardness between them as they peeked at each other’s face and recoiled when the other looked up. When the bell rang twice, I saw them say goodbye and walk away from each other. In the darkness of the crowd, a glimmer flashed into my eyes from Hannah’s cheeks.
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” clearly illustrates the loss of innocence adolescents experience as they seek maturity, represented by Connie's dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie symbolizes the many teens that seek independence from their family in pursuit of maturity. Connie’s great desire to grow up is apparent from the beginning of the story, as she experiments with her sexuality. However, it is clear that Connie is not interested in pursuing a relationship, but relishes the maturity she feels after being with the opposite sex. After following a boy to his car, she was “gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place” (2). This suggests that Connie's exploits
When Willy and Linda purchased their home in Brooklyn, it seemed far removed from the city. Willy was young and strong and he believed he had a future full of success. He and his sons cut the tree limbs that threatened his home and put up a hammock that he would enjoy with his children. The green fields filled his home with wonderful aromas. Over the years, while Willy was struggling to pay for his home, the city grew and eventually surrounded the house.