AGENDA:
Discuss "Heat"/
POV, Symbols and Themes
http://www.levity.com/corduroy/oateshea.htm
https://www.enotes.com/topics/heat-joyce-carol-oates/in-depth
Post on the blog:
1. Why do you think Oates chose to tell this story using the narrator and POV that she did? What effect does it create on the reader? How is the narrator affected by the story of the Twins?
2. What are some of the key symbols, images, leit motifs that Oates uses in the story? What effect do they have on the reader?
3. Ultimately, what do you think this story is about? What is the "big theme" that Oates is trying to express or understand by writing this story?
Read "Extenuating Circumstances"
WRITING PRACTICE:
Finish Synaesthesia exercise
Write a "Reluctant I" exercise (#3) or attempt a "Because" exercise that reveals the motivations and actions of a character
HMWK: Read Ozick's "The Shawl"
1. The narrator uses first person, but also is able to slip into 3rd person when going into the memory of the Twins. THe use of first person allows the reader to get a lot of information about the Twins and what happened to them without revealing so much information. This adds tension and suspense to the story, and allows the narrator to add emotion to their retelling. The narrator had been personally affected by the Twins and their deaths.
ReplyDelete2. Oates uses the Twins' bicycles as a continuous motif throughout the piece. The bicycles act as a symbol for the Twins and their relationship to one another. At one section Oates writes that the Twins' bicycles were always together, lined up, the wheels facing the same way, the pedals aligned. This acts as a representation of the Twins' kinship and how similar and bound they were to one another.
3. The main theme of the story is the intensely close relationship of the two twins and how their recklessness eventually reached a new height.
1)The POV the author used allows the reader to get a emotional connection with both the twins and the narrator. With the story being in first person, but also in 3rd person when telling the story of the twins really enhances the experience for the reader.
ReplyDelete2) The twins bicycles are continuous throughout the story used to symbolize the connection that they have with one each other. Also speaking of how they always have to be together or something bad will happen is continuously touched upon throughout the story.
3) I think this story is mainly about the relationship and connection that the twins had and how their misguided behavior eventually led to their downfall.
1. The point of view is using is mainly to allow the reader to get a sense of the twins. The story was also in first person but also was in third person.
ReplyDelete2. The bicycle is more of a connection that they are close. Mainly how they are together.
3. The main reason is the relationship between the twins and the highs that are being reached
ReplyDeleteI think that Oates chose to do this because she wanted the person telling the story to be an outsider because it really describes the individual characters in a better way, a way we might not have perceived it if it was told in one of the characters involved. The narrator is affected because she knew the girls personally but she was so young when it happened that it made her parents extra protective and scared. The place where it happened left a bad taste in her mouth so as an adult, when she would go there she would think about what happened to the twins.
She uses the images of sweltering heat. She makes you imagine how hot that day was and how bland says were by saying that everyday was the same except sundays. It affects the reader because it makes the town seem really boring and the fact that this event happened created excitment in the narrator.
I think the story is about the way a young girl perceives such a traumatic event. It’s not told in the POV of an adult so it adds this imagination to a real story. The details told might not have been how it exactly happened because she wasn’t there but it makes it better. I think that the twin girls were raped by the Roger and then he killed them even though he had a child like mind too. The theme is about rape and the impact it can have on a young girls’ mind. It causes an impression on your mind and how you see men and sex later. The narrator ended up having an affair by that house and was having sex.
1. By making the perspective of the short story from the point of view of another young girl, Oates can keep the setting, event and significance seen through the eyes of another child. It applies a level of innocence, and also makes the perspective one of an outsider. The narrator was very affected by the death of her two friends, and revered them and felt very sorry for their death throughout the story, and into her adulthood.
ReplyDelete2. Oates threads images of heat, and bicycles throughout the story. The heat brings a level of intensity to the tone. The bicycles symbolize the twins close, intertwining relationship with one another. The keep the reader engaged, and thread them along.
3. The closeness of the twins ultimately led to their death, because they could not be separated. Furthermore, it was about the reflection of a girl their age, seeing their death, experiencing the town grief and the shift in the tone and atmosphere of the town.
1. Why do you think Oates chose to tell this story using the narrator and POV that she did? What effect does it create on the reader? How is the narrator affected by the story of the Twins?
ReplyDeleteSince it’s in 1st person the reader gets an emotional connection with the twins and the narrator. The story also turns to 3rd person and it tells the story of the twins.
2. What are some of the key symbols, images, leit motifs that Oates uses in the story? What effect do they have on the reader?
The twins have a good connection with each other. Their bikes are used to symbolize that. The twins stay together even threw the good and bad times.
3. Ultimately, what do you think this story is about? What is the "big theme" that Oates is trying to express or understand by writing this story?
I thought that the story was about the twins and their bond.
1. The point of view that is being used is having the reader to get get attached to the twins. With the story being in first person and in third person adds a little bit of tension and makes the story more interesting.
ReplyDelete2. The twins bicycles are used to symbolize the relationship/connection they have with each other.
3. The main theme of the story is the relationship of both of the twins and their highs and lows.
1. The point of view was first person perspective. It was an outsider telling their perspective of an event that didn't have anything to directly do with them. This was successful in creating a sense of wonder. It enabled the reader to get a little insight as to what happened but never truly knowing the truth.
ReplyDelete2. Oates constantly uses bikes to show the twins eternal connection. Their bikes were symbols for them and the relationship they had. The heat was also used to intensify the setting.
3. The story centers around the theme of youth and innocence. The twins were so young and connected so intensely that that ultimately led to their death.
1. The narrator uses first person for the most part in the development of the story, with a small slip into the third person. The use of this point of view allows the reader to get information about the twins and what happened to them. The first person point of view also adds tension and suspense to the story.
ReplyDelete2. The author uses the Twins' bicycles as a motif throughout the story. The bicycles are a symbol for the two twins. Since the Twins' bicycles were always together, this shows how the twins are alike.
3. The main theme of the story is the close relationship of the two twins and how their recklessness eventually reached a new height.
1.The narrator first starts off with first person to allow little information of the twin, but further into it we approach third person and learn great information about the twins.
ReplyDelete2. The motif that the author uses is the bicycles because that represents how close the twin are to each other. Heat was also a factor because it symbols how tense and strong the setting was.
3.The main idea of the story is to show how close a sibling bond could be.