Everyone, please view the following website regarding the Joyce Carol Oates story. After we finish writing your first response essay, we will begin our discussion of Oates:
http://jco.usfca.edu/works/wgoing/text.html
The website hosts the story by Oates. If you do not have the textbook, then you can read the story online.
I'd like everyone to also read about her life, linked at:
http://jco.usfca.edu/life/index.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
_______________________________________________
ReplyDeleteKaren M. Delgado-
First of all, I i'm going to start saying that I liked the story but it was too tense and kind of shocking at some points. I think that most teenagers would identify with Connie because, to me, she represents the kind of characteristics that parents tend to criticize in their kids. For example, my mom tells me that I waste my time in the sense that sometimes I don't help her around the house because I'm studying or "grooming" myself. I didn't like the fact that she had irresponsible parents but that happens, and I think that Connie's irresponsibility was cause and consequence of her irresponsible parents. I think that Connie is a juxtaposition to Joyce Carol Oates in the sense that Connie was tired of her life and she wanted to run away from her rutine and lack of excitement but, in contrast, Oates has been doing the same thing all her life -writing- and she says in the biography that she hasn't got tired from her work and she loves it. Refering to Arnold Friend, I think he's an illusion but I definetly think he's not God because I don't think God would want to take the innoncence out of a young girl and also I don't think that he's rude and deformed. I liked the repetition of the element of music because I think that it's a perfect symbol of the "escape" of the problems that, not only did Connie face in the story, but that teens also face in daily life. I, like Connie, use music to relax, dream and calm myself and I think that many people do that.
September 27, 2009- 7:38pm (The hour that the blog says that is when I posted this is not right)
_______________________________________________
Karen, excellent job thinking about the characters and their relationships to the author and the real world or your real world. We will continue to discuss the story in class, after we have begun work on the first essay.
ReplyDelete