Joyce Carol Oates’s life influences her career in what ways?

Introduction:

On June 16, 1938, one was born. Joyce Carol Oates is a well-known and well-received American author. She writes in a variety of literary styles, including novels, short stories, novellas, verses, books, and nonfiction pieces (Oates 5).

Oates’ Early Career and Awards:

Oates’ first novel was published in 1963, and she has been a prolific writer ever since, with over 40 publications on her resume. Following her persuasive and exemplary writing, Oates was honored with many awards, including the 1969 National Book Award for her novel “them,” as well as the National Humanities Medal and two O. Henry Awards (Cologne-Brookes 446). Moreover, her winning of the Pulitzer Prize was earned out of her exemplary and towering works in the writing industry; among others the “What I Lived For”, “Black Water” and “Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories” in 1994, 1992, and 2014 respectively (Cologne-Brookes 451). After a long career of teaching and research since 1978 at the Princeton University, Oates is now a distinguished professor Emeritus in the program of creative writing in Humanities (Cologne-Brookes 445). To give an exhaustive explanation about how the author Joyce Carol Oates life influence her work, it is not only critical to outline how several literary elements have seriously affected Oates work in her different short stories but also her novels as well.

Literary Features in Oates’ Works:

When it comes to short stories or novels written by Oates and involving some characters, she has always stood out as the most amazing author, in giving illustrations and compelling point of view as well as the setting of such plots. Cutting across tens of hundreds of backgrounds, styles, genres, and themes, multiple novels, books, short stories, and plays as well as poems are a reflection of what Oates is best at when she puts her pen down on paper. Oates thrives on the utilization of multiple literary features in her works, including symbolism and imagery, irony, figurative language, metaphor, and juxtaposition, to express her feelings, views, ideas, and the literary wit to the target audience the world over (Muzaffar 192). On the contrary, as opposed to the feeling that her hard work would naturally attract positive commendations from her fans, there have been multiple sparks that drew dissent if not a negative criticism about the prolific nature of Oates in the writing segment. In fact, her peers have accused her of careless writing without self-reflection, and that at best she does not have a personal censorship of her writing habits. Nevertheless, the writing pace of Oates has not abated across decades, and even though some of her themes overlap in the texts she publishes, one thing stands out conspicuous; she is always relevant across time. Indeed, the many literacy subjects Oates` work thrives upon is a core derivative of what real life presents to every human person, and the themes beckon factual realities not only in the community setting but also boils down to the individual level. For instance, her Oates` “Night-Gaunts and Other Tales of Suspense” she writes, “Life was not of the surface like the glossy skin of an apple, but deep inside the fruit where seeds are harbored” (Oates 23). Here, she uses symbolism to give an illumination of what life is like. Typically, her imager is her work stands out as the most intriguing, in putting across critical elements that mirror human life. The symbolism is a reflection of the crossroads and dilemma of longing violence and sex and hence compels her audience to interrogate themselves about life. In essence, the cumulative imagination and craft of Oates are worth an appreciation and special recognition, and her work is for no one generation. Instead, it is a holistic reflection of humanity.

Oates’ Writing Approach:

On a critical approach, the writing approach Oates embraced in between the 1960s to the 1970s was characteristic of bloodshed and death, which was a reflection of the dark and violent times in which she lived. In fact, Oates came out openly and told off her critics that she was writing about what she saw in real life and that any adverse sentence would be a show of a sexist judgment (Oates 125). The characteristic use of symbolism as a literary element in her work helps bring on board themes of rape, mass murder, automobile accidents, arson, suicide, and even graphic details of what was unfolding in the society. Well, to a great extent, the themes of violence and death mirrors the past of Oates, considering that her grandfather committed suicide after he dared to murder his wife I vain. In fact, one of the most conspicuous elements in her novels is a vivid description of what life was like in the US, as well as the component of social connection, culture, and traditions that make up the twentieth century. The chronicles of the 1960s through to the 1980s are perhaps a show of how much Oates learns from her parents, and this to a better part serves to give a critical representation of the then America when through narration and depression she explicitly speaks her mind through her different characters. A good example would be the symbolic use of the Eden Country in western new york as well s the settings like Niagara and Erie in her work, “Bellefleur” (J. Oates). In fact, Eden is a term used symbolically to mimic the biblical Garden of Eden, and it is in the Eden County where America lost its innocence as a country in this context. Throughout this text, she tells of her American experience and the chronicles of life that spiraled to the 1990s.

The Use of Symbolism and Irony:

The collection of the short stories in the “Beautiful Days” is a reflection of the use of symbolism and irony alike by Oates to enlighten her audience about what life has to offer (J C Oates 38). The personal life of characters that are so interiorly, conservatively, and implicitly placed bare by the author in times of irreversible defiance and boldness when danger strikes are the most unraveling. The manifestation of this argument is manifested in “Fleuve Bleu”, where loves and those they develop affection toward getting into marriages, and the results they get eventually is very contrary to their expectations (J C Oates 98). In fact, Oates uses the literary element of irony to bring out the difference between appearance and reality in her work “Big Burnt” (J C Oates 126). The young woman who is more trusting than her instincts fall in love with a brilliant and sly professor. After a while, she learns when it is too late that she was in a fix, and that the relationship could never bear the fruits of life she had banked on. In all the stories discussed above, Oates creates a platform of wonder about human fascination with moral, psychological, and social boundaries until a time comes when they can make sense no more.

Surrealism and Literary Elements:

The surrealistic quality in most of the novels and short stories by Oates is a real show of her unique explanation of the emotional and personal behavior of her characters. The dreams that become hazy, the imaginations, perceptions, and nightmares that are evidenced in her characters hugely tell how much Oates is fascinated by ideas. The relationships and connections between people mostly turn to be false and tenuous, just because there is no reality and objective approach to life. Oates’ stories like “The Census-Taker,” “Queen of the Night,” and “The Seasons” done in 1963, 1979, and 1985 respectively do mirror these qualities, of desperate and unsuccessful relationships (DeGenaro 389). Typically, throughout her work, the use of different literary elements to pass across her themes and authenticate the setting makes the stories of Oates indeterminate. For the better part, her readers are challenged to create independent judgments and reach personal conclusions. Via exterior and interior reality, Oates is capable of producing a witty literary technician who portrays personality and behavior alike in a detailed manner. Indeed, the symbolism and imagery Oates engages in most of her stories to pass across the information include the flood, explosions, fire, broken glass, as well as exposed flesh. Indeed, Oates makes truth an imaginable and subjective occurrence in human life, whose historical and psychic exemplification can only be perceived through uncertainty.

Works Cited

Cologne-Brookes, Gavin. “Joyce Carol Oates.” A Companion to Twentieth-Century United States Fiction. N.p., 2009. 445–453. Web.

DeGenaro, William. ”Us and Them: Joyce Carol Oates and the Stories Students Tell.” Teaching English in the Two Year College 34.4 (2007): 380–393. Web.

Muzaffar, Hanan. ”Violence as Proof of Existence: Joyce Carol Oates and the Construction of Shelley the Schizoid.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 2005: 189–196. Web.

Oates, J C. Beautiful Days Stories - Joyce Carol Oates - Google Books. HarperCollins, 2018 ISBN 0062795805, 9780062795809, 2017. Web.

Oates, Joyce. Bellefleur - Joyce Carol Oates - Google Books. HarperCollins, 2013 ISBN 0062269178, 9780062269171, 2013. Web.

Oates, Joyce Carol. Night-Gaunts and Other Tales of Suspense - Joyce Carol Oates - Google Books. Grove Atlantic, 2018 ISBN 0802146287, 9780802146281, 2017. Web.