To finish the Cinderella connection, on page 4 Kozikowski writes that while Cinderella lost a show, a slipper, Connie is losing her innocence, and the prince charming in this case is the devil disguised. Kozikowski goes on to suggest that Connie's character is really created by Oates to reflect how the "sexual appetite" of a male can "devour the feminine ideal" (Kozikowski, 2004)
Connie "threw her shoulders up and sucked in her breath with the pure pleasure of being alive," which is a way for a young woman to show off her breasts. And soon in that same paragraph, a cute boy in a gold-colored car stared at her, "his lips widened into a grin" and Connie couldn't resist looking back at him even after she "slit her eyes at him"; Arnold wags his finger in a scolding kind of motion (like a parent would warn a child), and said, in an obvious foreshadowing, "Gonna get you baby" (Oates, p
Oates Dramatizes the American Culture More than creating believable, interesting, fascinating characters -- and great tension -- in this short story, Oates' ability to create a theme through setting and cultural activities is extraordinarily powerful. The "squalid hamburger joint" is very much a cultural image; and the blaring of Ellie's radio also contributes to the theme of sleazy boy out to pick up a girl for his own pleasure (Slimp, 1999)
Meanwhile, Oates is well-known as a writer who can bring characters to a point of realism that is stark. Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski writes that Oates has shown the reader how powerless Connie is "from the outset" of the story (Urbanski, 1979)
Those characters that Oates presents also mirror other characters in literature, like Cinderella and the devil. Setting the Stage for "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Critic Brian Wilkie asserts that Joyce Carol Oates' fiction is so "various" in its tone and its subject it appears as though the author set out to craft the stories "that it is impossible to write" (Wilkie, 2006)
As the title of the essay indicates, Oates identifies herself with a common phrase used in court, so as to reveal the imports of playing the role of a juror for a trial. The work is forwarded by the author's brief discussion of the concept of justice, or by what she calls the "pursuit of an abstract principle of justice" (Oates)
He describes his surroundings for the reader by saying, "Fast-flowing clear water, shallow, shale beneath, and lots of leaves. Sky the color of lead and the light mostly drained so I couldn't see my face only the dark shape of a head that could be anybody's head" (Oates line 3-6)
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
Rather than begin with an overview of the plot, Oates begins her essay with a quotation from the French Catholic philosopher Pascal, to highlight not the concerns of McCarthy so much as her own reflections as a reader while engaging with the novel. "Life is a dream a little less inconstant" (Oates, 2005) The review of McCarthy proceeds a flight of philosophical fancy, as Oates muses not simply about this novel, but about the style of the author and why his work compels her, and compels other readers, time and time again, despite the violent nature of McCarthy's prose
When an individual has no direction, any struggle can be a form of having direction. Another critic suggests that Connie is not a victim of rape but that she chooses to accept the rape because she wants to transition from being a little girl to a woman (Gillis)
This is a characteristic that is common to Oates's work. One author notes that Oates has received much criticism for including too much violence and focusing too heavily on disturbing events (Kamm)
In this way, Heat can actually be seen as a way of showing people that in the real world, there never is a total perspective. This is also considered a common characteristic of Oates's writing, with one text describing Oates as being known for creating realistic stories that cause people to think about the reality of the world (Moore & Moore)
as if each paragraph, or chord, were separate from the rest. For how otherwise can we speak of the unspeakable, except through the prism of technique?" (Oates 607)
This has led some to interpret the story suggesting that Arnold represents the devil, with Connie unable to be saved because she does not have faith. Another critical perspective on the story suggests that Arnold may actually be viewed as a saviour (Tierce & Krafton)