Joyce Carol Oates is noted for her ability to create stories with terror and also known for the descriptive violence in her portrayals of America life. Oates wrote in many types of forms, but most of her books have strong elements of naturalism, a literary style emphasizing an objective ... presentation of life. Gothic elements, emphasizing the mysterious and horrifying aspects of life, also appear frequently in Oates's writing. For example, violence, often male and sexual, consistently plays an important role in the lives of her characters (Creighton 26). In story "Where Are ... the one he h...

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... not of a chance meeting-turn-date rape, but instead, a dream sequence induced by popular culture, transformed into a self-actualizing nightmare. In his article "Joyce Carol Oates's Where are you going, Where have you been as pure realism-, Coulthard argues that Oates's story is strictly, a written representation of a victim of the real-life murderer, Charles Schmid. He claims that the characters are not "personifications of ... perfectly matches the description of Alleen Rowe, Schmid's first victim. However this view seems flawed given the inconsistencies that exist in the story's realis...

• Word Count: 1223
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , Jane Caputi describes the legendary fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger as an "unrepressed individual, a revolutionary figure who disregards and destroys traditional mores and values". I feel that Q_P_, the main character in Joyce Carol Oates" Zombie also fits the description of Krueger given by Caputi in her article. There are several instances of behavior and attitude displayed by Q_P_ in Zombie that I feel put him in ... afford to dwell on the past, because if he does he will be reluctant to attempt creating another "zombie", which he feels he must have. It is very evident throug...

• Word Count: 1165
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School