The setting begins with a place of freedom in the diner across from the mall. The setting then shifts so a sense of helplessness. Connie is home alone and left with little to do. This boredom eventually leads her to letting herself get into Arnold's car. We are first introduced to Connie as the stereotypical self-centered brat. This characterization not only interests the reader it also, paradoxically, makes the reader dislike Connie. She is completely self absorbed, ignoring her family and their activities. I was really drawn in to the story from the beginning because I didn't see where it was going at first. Arnold is described earlier then he is introduced. When Connie is walking out to a boy's car, she sees Arnold in his car and he makes a creepy comment. This gives the impression of his domineer right away. When he pulls up into Connie's driveway, he is described as being deceiving and discussing. The strange thing about him is that he is not forceful. He is somewhat genuine and kind of nice about the whole thing, not forcing anything. He only threatens once when saying that he will come in if she calls the police. I think Joyce Carol Oates is trying to say that some people are not to be trusted. Don't necessarily judge a book by its cover, but don't ignore it either.
Important aspects of a short story;
1) Interest from the begging
2) Strong descriptions of characters
3) Appeals to a large audience
4) A strong climax
5) A hook
6) A variety of characters
7) Plot twists
8) A sense of empathy
9) An ending that can be thought out by the reader
10) Plots that relate to real life experiences
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
The first thing I identified with is that we both picked up on the dramatic mood shift within the story. However, while I see where Connie is self-centered in general I saw her to be like most teenagers, simply growing up and trying to break free. While Arnold is not blatantly forceful, he tries to be very manipulative and persuasive. He tries to put up a front of being loving and kind. This front is more dangerous than being obvious because it is trickier to see through initially.
I really liked your aspect number 9, "an ending that can be thought out by the reader." That was a creative one that I didn't think of.
I enjoy how you noticed the difference in settings and how they represented different things. I completely agree that the mall was a place of freedom for Connie and the car was more of a helpless time in her life. I think that another point you could have made was one about what her house was to her. I think that Arnold was trying to persuade her and at first, because Connie was so self centered didn't know how to react. Great obversations!
I think that your description of the setting amply describes the way that most of the readers felt. Also, your list of things that a short story needs was good. I liked the strong characterization aspect, as well as giving details that interest the reader to make the story more relevant to the reader's perspective.
I agree with what you conclude about there being a "trust issue" within the story. But I think it is much more than that. That's a good start, however, I think it might be better to dig deeper and explain that the trust begins with yourself, and Connie doesn't seem to have that so she is easily succeptable to many things, good or bad.
Post a Comment