... there is a clear interpretation of evil in Arnold Friend's portrayal of a demon who tries to lure Connie into his world of sex and emotion. Joyce Carol Oates seems to create scenarios of real life and center them into her story. The harsh reality she includes in this story is that there actually are ... even have a sexual connotation that Connie does not pick up on because she is so young and blind to the world of sin that Arnold lives in. Oates chooses her words carefully to show that Arnold is a devious yet recognizable snake. For example, the narratorsays: "And his face was a familiar...

• Word Count: 790
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... voice that allowed the reader to imagine Connie in a child-like manner. She had thin wrists which she would always wear jingling charm bracelets. Joyce Carol Oates overall described Connie as a pretty, young girl. Most teenage girls have two different sides concerning their social life; the side they show to their ... wanted to make it clear that she was not one of "those" girls. "She always drew thick clear lines between herself and such girls- (Oates, 18). The actions concerning Connie's social life were clearly not abnormal for a girl of her age. The emotions that Connie experienced b...

• Word Count: 681
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In Joyce Carol Oates" story "Shopping," Oates tells a story of a mother and her daughter spending the day shopping together. The mother, Mrs. Dietrich, loves her daughter more than life itself. Oates alludes to the idea of Mrs. Dietrich loving her daughter, Nola, more than she loves her own mother by stating, "She loves Nola with a fierce unreasoned passion , certainly far stronger ... than any she felt for her own mother" (Oates, 170). Nola is a seventeen-year-old girl who attends a private school in a different state. With Nola at home for spring break, Mrs. Dietrich plans a day to go shopp...

• Word Count: 997
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School