Joyce Carol Oates

John Updike’s short story “A&P” demonstrates a theme of maturation. In this coming-of-age story, the protagonist, Sammy, makes an impulsive decision to quit his job in order to impress the three girls he has become fixated on. Regrettably for Sammy, his childish actions go unnoticed by the girls and now Sammy is left to face the consequences. Though in the heat of the moment Sammy’s actions appear to be chivalrous, his judgemental attitude, disrespectful personality, and sexists beliefs prove…

In the short stories, “Araby” by James Joyce and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, we are able to interpret and analyze the stories and find a common ground between the two, with authors use of Figurative language, themes, and symbols. Both stories explore the ideas of love, loss, reality, and the feeling of imprisonment through social norms. In the short “Araby” James Joyce transports us to North Richmond Street, a quiet dead-end Street in Dublin, where the narrator lives. The narrator…

Divergent Comparison between Nora and Mrs linde “The world is a contradiction; the universe a paradox.” ( Kedar Joshi). A Doll house is a play written by Henrik Ibsen. A major 19th-century Norwegian poet, playwright, and theatre director. Ibsen is the founder of Modernism in theatre. In A Doll House, Mrs Linde and Nora’s characters contradict each other. Nora and Mrs. Linde move in directly opposite paths over the course of the play. Mrs. Linde is an independent women without…

“Counterparts,” the short story by James Joyce, Farrington is constantly unsatisfied with himself and the people around him. Farrington’s desire to escape from his frustration leads him to the public house, but there he only experiences an increase in anger because he sees everything as an obstacle in his path to comfort. Farrington is trapped in an endless cycle of anger because of his insecurity. To highlight Farrington’s entrapment, Joyce uses his reliance on drinking, his desire for status,…

The central idea of the short story, “Araby,” by James Joyce, is a young Irish boy who has a crush on his friends sister, who is considerably older than him, he goes to the market to get her some but eventually realizes that it’s not worth it. The author demonstrates this by writing, “But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires” (Joyce 2, Paragraph 5). This quote illustrates how the young Irish boy has a crush on this woman. There are many…

James Joyce's "Araby" is about an unnamed narrator who remembers the days of his youth and tells the story of his first love. North Richmond Street is where the narrator would grow up and develop feelings for one of his friend's sister, who is also an unnamed character in the story. The narrator explains how he would spend much of his time thinking about his crush, thinking about her in the most unlikely of times and places. One day, the narrator presses himself to talk to his lost interest,…

I was walking with my friend to class when it happen. Before it happened, I noticed that I had seen no teachers or adults for that matter in the halls. When it happened, there was the sound of a large crash and the whole building shook like there was huge earthquake just under Badger. What happened? At first, I had no idea what happened until I looked out the window then I saw it. A huge glass dome had covered the entire school. Floods of students like moths to light ran outside to see what had…

Jemma Henley walked down the high school’s corridor and turned. After a short walk up the stairs, she was already out of breath. She looked down to see the small box protruding out of her chest that kept her heart rate normal. Walking wasn’t simple for kids like her. Her v-neck t-shirt showed just the top of a scar that ran down her chest. Sighing, she continued her long walk to her classroom. Jemma checked her watch and looked around. Although she had gotten out of class as quickly as…

James crept away from Lazarinth before he had to fight his way through the main hall. He had no wish to attract any attention to his friend. James had walked the castle halls many times, and knew that after the main hall he had to run down a hallway, and then take the left at the end of the hallway. James judged his options, and figured that the best strategy here would be to run for it. James bolted towards the door kicking a ghoul in the head in the process. Every ghoul in the room turned…

Women in the 19th century were seldom independent as gender equality was absent. Independence can be defined as the unwillingness to adhere to the husband’s desire. In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Ibsen delves into Nora’s journey toward independence as a result from the inconveniences of her seemingly carefree relationship with Torvald. Torvald’s inconsiderate and hurtful criticism toward Nora acts as a stepping-stone toward her independence. Additionally, the revelation of Torvald’s…