Joyce Carol Oates's Short Stories Between Tradition and InnovationJoyce Carol Oates's short stories demarcate her position as an author straddling the realms of a passé literary tradition and of modern innovation. Oates stresses the importance of contemporizing conventional devices and genres rather than breaking with tradition. An in-depth discussion of her «re-imaginings» of classic short stories, her transformation of specific short story genres, and her construction of «cycles» as a means of expanding the dimensions of the short story demonstrates the influence of literary precursors and her own autonomous aesthetic. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 9 |
REIMAGININGS OF OLD MASTERS | 15 |
OATES AND TRADITIONAL SHORT STORY GENRES | 59 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
adolescent aesthetic American Gothic Annie attempts aware become bonds characters communication conflict consciousness contemporary conventional Crossing the Border David Bellamy death depicts dream emotional epiphany Evan existence experience experimental expression external extraordinary F. O. Matthiessen fear fiction Franz Kafka Gabriel genre girl Gregor Harold Bloom Hawthorne Henry James human Ilena individual initiation story inner insanity interpersonal relationships isolation James's John Barth Joyce Carol Oates Joyce's Kafka's Ligeia literary Lived lover Marriages and Infidelities meta-fiction Metamorphosis mind narrator's nature Nicholas Nicholas's Oates's narrative Oates's short stories Oates's stories pattern perspective Plot Poe's point of view portraying present protagonist psychic psychological Quarles re-imaginings reader reality Reaume relation relationships Renee Renee's reveal Screw sense sequence short story cycles social story of recognition strains structure Superfiction T. S. Eliot technique terror thematic theme Thoreau tion tradition Univ vision Walden Waller Winter Dreams woman writing