The Abdduction By Joyce Carol Oates Analysis

Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development.

Connie was easily attracted to Arnold Friend and was naive. Another rhetorical device that can be found in Oates short story is theme. An abundance of themes can be found, one being, the innocence and naiveness of Connie. She is manipulated and easily engulfed by Arnold’s compliments for example, “She couldn’t decide is she liked him... so she dawdled in the doorway”(35).

The character in the fictional book is what makes a great story and brings it to life to the reader’s eyes. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” by author Joyce Carol Oates, the fifteen-year-old protagonist Connie is an interesting character who seems to be obsessed with wanting to grow up so fast. However, Connie seems to act differently when she is at home and when she is away from it. When she is away she seems to be a tad sexual with her appearance and tries hard to prove she is maturing. In this story, Connie is a tragic hero, who teaches us that even a great quality can be our doom. A tragic hero is usually a character who has a flaw that leads to their downfall at the conclusion. This happens when she tries so hard to act mature and finds out that maturity was not what she expected. Next, the narration is a key factor to the story that makes it what it is. The third person limited narration has Connie’s point of view which indicates that she somewhat thinks she knows what other characters are thinking throughout the story, sometimes the point of view seems to shift,

The short story “Where is Here” by Joyce Carol Oats introduces us to a very complex character, labeled the stranger. The author uses the method of indirect characterization, which results in the reader making their own assumptions of the character. Indirect characterization includes some of the following: stranger’s appearance, speech, actions, private thoughts, as well as the reactions of others. The previously stated categories are the things we will analyze and draw conclusions from.

Religion is a big influence in Flannery O 'Connor 's writing. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” stresses the idea of good and evil. This can also be viewed at the evil in Christ. The story is set in the early 1900s. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” begins with a woman and her disabled daughter sitting on their porch and she notices a man walking towards their home. The man, Mr. Shiftlet, sees an old car that he wants. The old woman, Lucynell, is also craving something and takes the opportunity to achieve it. By her use of symbols, imagery, and irony, she reveals that there is corruption within Christ.

In "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," Ursula K. LeGuin makes use of colorful descriptions and hypothetical situations to draw us into a surrealistic world that illustrates how unsympathetic society can be. LeGuin's ambiguity of how the story will go is purposeful; she cunningly makes her case that each of us handles the undesirable aspects of the world we live in differently, and that ultimately, happiness is relative.

Currently, a plethora of outstanding stories have been written. What makes a story, though? The answer is the elements that the author includes into his or her writing, such as symbolism and imagery. "Hills like White Elephants," written by Ernest Hemingway, and "A Good Man is Hard to Find," written by Flannery O'Connor, are just two examples of admirable work. Each writer incorporated plenty of elements to improve the story. Since the amount of elements is limited, these two writers exploited several of the same ones. Although the stories have numerous resemblances, they are also remarkably different.

The world is a massive place full of endless literature, beginning from ancient scrolls to daily news articles, filled with many secrets, perspectives and surroundings that help connect literature to an individual’s daily life. Some writers use the skills of literary elements to express and discuss an event that has happened to them or what has happened to others. This helps others to comprehend the perspectives of the author’s understanding toward an incident that one might experience. For instance in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, she uses many literary elements to express her views over most of her stories. O’Connor expresses her views in her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by using the literary elements of point of view, irony, and setting.

The purpose for this book is to bring together stories that have not been put together before. Larson brings together two opposite types of storylines and combines them into a unique perspective of writing to inform readers that many things can happen in one location as well.

Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett use a series of techniques throughout Lindhout’s memoir, A House in the Sky, to develop the specific purpose for writing. One of the most frequently used techniques is imagery, utilized for the reader to feel as though they are with her in captivity. Secondly, Lindhout uses anecdotes to show how rare it was for the guards to treat Lindhout kindly and her way of mentally escaping captivity. Lastly, Lindhout applies allusions to the memoir to give the reader information as to where they are being held and events that take place while being in captivity for 460 days. Imagery, anecdotes, and allusions aid in identifying the specific purpose for writing; which is raising awareness of the reality of being held hostage.

Utopia is any state, condition, or place of ideal perfection. In Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" the city of Omelas is described as a utopia. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" presents a challenge of conscience for anyone who chooses to live in Omelas.

Most teens learn to use irony as a way to avoid telling the truth, tip-toeing around the truth. They do this to deal with or avoid issues in their lives that they do not want to face directly. They would prefer to mask their feelings with lies, then be direct and turn to irony to convey emotions they cannot be honest about. In Joyce Carol Oates short story, this is exactly what Sunny does. The understanding and meaning of a free world between Sunny and Zachary display just how differently people view and relate the outside world to their life choices and responsibilities. A discussion could be brought on about this topic, or if teens view it as a free world too, and how they feel about their own responsibilities and choices, in this free world.

Jalapeno bagels is about a boy named Pablo whom cannot decide what to take to school for International Day. He wants to bring something from his parents’ baker. He wants something that represent his heritage but he cannot decide what to bring. His mother who is Mexican baked pan dulce and change bars. His father who is Jewish baked bagels and challah. Both of the bake good were good but while helping his parents with the bakery on Sunday morning, Pablo made a decision on what to bring. He decided to bring jalapeno bagels because they are a mixture both of his parents and just like him too. The multicultural representations in the story line is Mexican and Jewish. The pictures that were drawn in the book, the family has the same color of skin even though the parents are different cultures and the main character is mixed. There were no different skin colors.

In the first place, Oates appears to suggest that one of the biggest dangers of adolescence is inherent curiosity. Connie is no different than any other teenager, she wants to explore just as much as the next 15 year old. Connie can't help but let her mind wander to fantasies as she daydreams in her free time and even when her mother is talks to her. While daydreaming is not extremely dangerous in itself, it is the first stepping stone toward a path of darkness as curiosity is able to “overpower” Connie. Curiosity is the driving force when Connie and her friends go out to the older teenager burger joint. They describe the restaurant as a “sacred building” (145) for which they “yearned” (145-146). Connie's curiosity eventually leads to her hooking

Often, the circumstances of a marriage can leave the people involved feeling empty and unloved. These feelings of hopelessness can lead people to make uncharacteristic choices. Adultery, even in a marriage without love, can have a dramatic effect on the people involved. For the adulterous partner, the feelings of guilt and anxiety can often lead to overwhelming confusion. The short story "The Lady with the Pet Dog" by Oates, shows how the act of cheating creates confusion in the mind of the main character thorough use of an unchronological structure, and unusual character development.