AGENDA:
Continue to work on your synaesthesia exercise.
Think, Pair, Share--With a partner/s, discuss the short story. Explore analysis online. Post a comment.
Heat
Questions based on the analysis provided at http://www.levity.com/corduroy/oateshea.htm. Feel free to use this information as a resource when writing your responses. Also, look at enotes analysis of themes.
1. Oates' brief introduction to the story as anthologized in The Oxford Book of American Short Stories explains:
For the author, the formal challenge of "Heat" was to present a narrative in a seemingly acausal manner, analogous to the playing of a piano sans pedal; as if each paragraph, or chord, were separate from the rest. For how otherwise can we speak of the unspeakable, except through the prism of technique?What does she mean by this?
2. Why do you think Oates titled this story "Heat"?
3. What main ideas—themes—does Oates explore? Don't forget discuss the title, often a clue to a story's theme.
4. Some argue that this story reads as a news article or obituary. Why do you think Oates chose to write the story this way? Do you think it strengthens or weakens the story? Why?
5. What do you think of the characterization of Roger Whipple? Do you think it's fair that he will not be charged for the sexual assault and murder of the twins?
Video adaptation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Mw-1EQTpM
HOMEWORK: For Friday: Read Tobias Wolff's "Hunters in the Snow"
The story told in "Heat" could be written as a brief news article, accompanied by a sentimental obituary: "The mutilated bodies of eleven-year-old twins Rhea and Rhoda Kunkel were found near Whipple's Ice on Main Street. Charges of sexual assault and murder will not be pressed against the assused, Roger Whipple, because of his alleged diminished capacity." " Schoolmates recall Rhea and Rhoda." At times, in fact, Oates' arid style seems almost like a newspaper account, stripped of all ornament, each sentence in isolation as if an editor, pressed for space, had blue-pencilled every unnecessary word.
Oates' brief introduction to the story as anthologized in The Oxford Book of American Short Stories explains that this perception is justified:
For the author, the formal challenge of "Heat" was to present a narrative in a seemingly acausal manner, analogous to the playing of a piano sans pedal; as if each paragraph, or chord, were separate from the rest. For how otherwise can we speak of the unspeakable, except through the prism of technique? [1]Oates means that the narrative has been pared down to its essentials. The prism image suggests elements separated so that one may see each of them individually. But the musical analogy is perhaps more useful. "Heat" is like a composition of chords and, to use another music theory term, cells (a figure of several notes, or in this case, words or images), thematically linked, but with no sustaining tones from one chord to another. This technique is used within blocks of several paragraphs, within paragraphs, and even within sentences. The cell, or word-images, may be presented wholly, or in fragments, as when in music one hears a figure of notes repeated in first the right hand, then the left, in a major then a minor key, an octave higher or lower.
The story may be best examined in four sections, which (in order to use the musical terminology consistently) I have called movements, and a conclusion, or coda. The "themes" to which I refer are spatiotemporal elements: what or who the narrator is talking about at any particular point in the narration. The term "chord" I lifted directly from Oates herself, and I use it to mean individual paragraphs or a group of closely linked sentences or phrases.
But the most important aspect of the structure of "Heat" is that the final chord, that which the story is about, is missing. Oates' technique is to prepare the reader for it, so that every "note" which would comprise that chord has been heard and every theme explored so that it should come as no surprise. But at the climactic moment, the narrator lifts her hands from the keys. It is this chord-like structure, and the playing each chord individually, that gives the piece its power.
1. Oates is referring to the fragmented style of “Heat” as the short story moves from different points in time and narrative points quickly and abruptly. Sometimes the moments are so short that they become frozen images instead of action. In this manner, the story becomes a maze or puzzle that the reader must piece together based on the clues that are scattered throughout. The different aspects of the story, presented in a stream of consciousness style, all blend together in a unique way, sort of life a piece of music would. The narrator seems almost uninterested in the topic in the way she describes some of the events, but that is one of the techniques that holds the story together.
ReplyDelete2. Oates titled this story “Heat” because of the specific connotations of that word. The violence against Rhea and Rhonda Kunkel was intense and charged and was committed during the summer, a time of heat and sweat. Also, the sexual nature of the crime can be deduced from this title. There are also many references to ice as the characters suck on ice cubes and the ice room that the bodies are finally found in. Their death becomes the opposite of heat. The title heightens the theme and simply lets the reader understand the main messages of the story.
3. The themes that Oates explores include violence, sexual assault, and the looming presence of death in all of our lives. While the first two are a bit more jarring, the third is more psychologically chilling. The story portrays life as this torrent time period full of pain and ferocity while death is the absence of that, almost peaceful. The description of Rhea and Rhonda in their caskets are evidence of Oates message, describing them as beautiful, like dolls. Death is encouraged and sought after in the story because of the difficulties in life.
4. Oates chose to write the story in this manner because it makes the story less attached and more abstract forcing the reader to become and active member of the story. The ending of the story and much of what actually occurred with Roger Whipple is up to interpretation because of this newspaper style. It strengthens the story because it makes the already uncomfortable themes a bit more unnerving, Nothing is what it seems when nothing is explained in explicit detail, leaving the reader sick, not wanting to imagine what truly happened.
5. Roger Whipple for most of the story is characterized as a harmless and ethical human being that always cares for others and would never even hurt a fly. While there is a certain weirdness to his personality, seeing as he is always quiet and secluded, but then becomes this crazed individual when he comes into contact with Rhea and Rhonda. In the public eye before the incident, he is portrayed as simple and family-oriented, although a bit weird, and that is also the way his family and news coverage describes him later. This characterization exemplified the complexities of personality and how public opinion often has a massive influence. I think more actual evidence would have to be given for me to state whether it was fair that Roger would not be charged with sexual assault and murder. The circumstances seem terrible, but nothing can be truly verified. In this case, there is not enough information to take either side in the debate.
1. By this, she describes her fragmented narrative style in which she delves into the story from different points of time. She tells of the past as well as the present, the two time period eventually melding together in the end. This fragmentation is the technique she uses in order to “speak of the unspeakable” and tell the entirety of this monstrosity.
ReplyDelete2. She entitled the story “Heat” in order to capture the many elements present in the story. Not only does it describe the boiling temperatures of the town, but the passion and frenzy felt by the different characters. “Heat” describes the frenzy and horror of the violent assault of the twins, as well as the love felt by the narrator at the end of the book. It is used to subtly summarize the themes of weather, rape, and love.
3. The main ideas present in the story are violence, sexual assault, and the presence of death that exists among everyone, even if they believe they are invincible. The title, “Heat” is able to capture these things, as described in the previous question.
4. Oates most likely chose to write the story this way to objectively convey the pure violence and inhumanity that accompanies these assaults and murders. There is little specificity and chronology within the story which works to make it more objective, allowing the reader to determine the fate of the girls themselves, as the people in the town did, and clearly demonstrates the horrors that occurred. Because of this, I believe the story is strengthened.
5. Roger Whipple’s characterization severely differs in different parts of the story. His public presence is one of peace and kindness. He is described as a family boy, hardworking and churchgoing. Later in the story, when he is with Rhea and Rhoda at his house, he is described as a frenzied monster, confused and overpowering. Because this side of him is not known by the town, it significantly influenced the outcome of the crimes. He was not charged because he was known as a sweet and gentle boy. I believe that Roger Whipple does not have a great enough lack of cognitive development to not be charged with these horrific crimes. There needs to be a greater explanation of his character in order to determine whether this is fair or not.
Karina Le & Isabella Watts & Deja Simmons
ReplyDelete1. Perhaps she meant that she attempted a journalistic style where all paragraphs can be connected together like a series of articles, while at the same time serving its purpose all by itself, if that makes sense. Each paragraph is slimmed down in the way that leaves little room for commentary, only doing so when a paragraph dedicated itself to the narrator’s comments itself. Perhaps she did this to soften the blow of the crime of the story, that two girls were assaulted and consequently murdered by a boy who, perhaps, could not control what he was doing at that time. But at the same time it’s “softening” the blow, it makes it more sharp in the way that the story reveals most of the crime in this manner, without any bias and without any tact.
2. There’s a lot of allusions to “Heat” in the way that it was a hot summer day when the twins died, it was the heat of rage that seemingly made Roger Whipple supposedly kill both Rhea and Rhonda, it was the flush of anger that made Rhonda turned back. It could refer to the heat of sex, or—again—the heat of anger, or the heat that comes from memories. Arguably, one of the themes tying the entire story together is the idea of Heat itself, and perhaps that’s why Oates titled the short story with that.
3. Other than her typical themes of sexual assault and child murder (with the occasion of Other), “Heat” mostly centers around the heat itself, whether it’s in reference to temperature, to the flush of emotions, or even to the heat between two other people.
4. Oates may have possibly written “Heat” in the way that is synonymous to the style of journalistic prose so that the reader could become more invested in the story. The way Oates writes the short story, making it so that each paragraph could be read separately while at the same time tying all of them together to create a full story, keeps the reader interested in the way that with each detail revealed, the reader constantly asks “why” certain events and the like. In this manner, Oates is able to keep the reader’s attention and continually invest them in the story through this play of her style, and thus makes each new fact impactful to the reader, as well as strengthen the story.
5. The characterization of Roger Whipple does the “job”, so to speak, in the way that it makes the reader pity him while simultaneously allowing us to condemn him for his actions. Though he has gruesomely murdered and possibly sexually assaulted the twins, one can find an excuse in his actions due to the narrator admitting he has learning deficiencies. There can also be an excuse that it was the twins that provoked him, following him into his home and agitating him. But in our opinion, Roger should’ve been charged in the way that even if he has learning deficiencies, the short story still reported that he had the mindset of a sixth grader and although it is lower than where he should’ve been at 19, a sixth grade mindset should’ve known that it was wrong to murder and then hide the two bodies of young girls.
Frank Cruz
ReplyDelete1.She means that each paragraph or sentence is an individual part of the story that is significant by themselves, but together weave a symphony of literature.
2.Oates title the story heat in reference to the ice shop, in that the heat caused the rape and murder to happen. That when the heat is on you see who people really are.
3. She explores the themes of violence, fate, and guilt.
4. Oates chose to write the story like it is news article to make the reader’s mind work. In putting enough to grab you but not fully satisfy your curiosity, Oates gets readers right where she wants. This style of writing strengthens the piece because as a reader you are forced to use your brain and imagine what happened.
5. The characterization is confusing, everyone claims that Roger was so sweet and innocent, that he wouldn’t even hurt an animal. How do you go from to not hurting an animal to full blown sexual assault? It doesn’t happen overnight, Roger was sick and had been probably plotting o hurting someone for a long time. I do not think it was fair that Roger didn’t get charged with the murder of the twins, even if he was mentally ill, he still should've been up to the judgment of the court.
Nasmere Johnson
ReplyDeleteGamzon
Advanced Fiction
1/31/18
1. Oates' brief introduction to the story as anthologized in The Oxford Book of American Short Stories explains:
For the author, the formal challenge of "Heat" was to present a narrative in a seemingly acausal manner, analogous to the playing of a piano sans pedal; as if each paragraph, or chord, were separate from the rest. For how otherwise can we speak of the unspeakable, except through the prism of technique?
What does she mean by this?
I believe Oates means that the story is structured in such a way that it is reminiscent of journalistic news articles/stories. Individual paragraphs are intentionally assembled that they are able to be standalone.
2. Why do you think Oates titled this story "Heat"?
I think Oates titled her short story “Heat” for a few reasons. The irony in the title is a subtle foreshadow to the fact that the twins are found dead at Whipple’s Ice. The town’s hot temperature is referred to several times. Heat (sex) takes place during the events of the story as well.
3. What main ideas—themes—does Oates explore? Don't forget discuss the title, often a clue to a story's theme.
Oates tends to bring light to the reality of sex and primisciousity in everyday life. The mostly innocent demeanor of the girls is paired with Roger Whipple’s seemingly innocent lifestyle and it ends up in cold blooded murder. There is also a sexual theme, as the title suggests.
4. Some argue that this story reads as a news article or obituary. Why do you think Oates chose to write the story this way? Do you think it strengthens or weakens the story? Why?
I believe she intended to write it like this because the content of the complex story and also because the immerses the reader and makes you not want to put it down until it is finished (though it is a short story)
5. What do you think of the characterization of Roger Whipple? Do you think it's fair that he will not be charged for the sexual assault and murder of the twins?
Mental health and sentencing/crime/etc is still a big debate in contemporary United States. Honestly, I think it’s fair because he obviously isn’t normal. He died not that much longer anyways and prison may have been worse for him.
ReplyDelete1. Oates means that a fragmented technique should be utilized in telling this type of story, as Oates switches back and forth between the time periods, speaking from her own perspective in each, but detaching herself from the occasion of the murder itself by continuing to tell the story while also admitting that she does not actually know what happened because she was not there. This type of detachment also softens the blow of such a difficult, sad topic.
2. Oates titled the story Heat because of the temperature itself that day, and also the heat of a violent situation. This title also contrasts the ice discussed throughout the story.
3. Oates explores the themes of violence, sexual assault, innocence, and temperature. The title “Heat” is explained literally by the presence of the images of hot summer days and ice. It’s also explained by the climax of the story, a violent situation which alludes to sexual assault and murder, as well as the heat and intensity of retelling such a story.
4. I think Oates chose to write the story this way to maintain the sense of detachment reiterated throughout the story. The narrator knows as much as a news article or obituary releases because she was not there. I think it strengthens the story by making the climax intriguing while also maintaining the unreliability of the narrator. You know what happened to the twins, but you don’t know exactly how, and you are left guessing with the narrator.
5. I think it’s interesting that Oates completely disconnects the characterization of Roger Whipple from his crime. He is painted to be this soft, sweet, withdrawn boy, with a family and an environment that has treated him unfairly. He is never directly linked with the actual incident which is unfair to the twins who are described more as conniving, petty individuals. I think it’s wrong that Roger Whipple will not be charged for the sexual assault and murder of the twins. He is being let off because of his sensitivity and mental immaturity, even though he was insensitive and cruel enough to commit the crime.
ReplyDeleteOates writes the story in four different pieces, she has the narrator explain what happened to Rhea and Rhonda, the narrator tells how she was affected, how the town was affected and the story of roger whipple. The prism technique makes the different pieces come together to tell the final story of what happened.
I think Oates titled the story “Heat” for two reasons. One because of the day the girls were killed, it was a hot summer day and that is how the girls ended up at whipple ice in the first part and the second reason is because sex. Every time the narrator meets up with the man she had an affair with behind whipple ice she is reminded of what happened to the girls.
There is a theme of a loss of innocence. Rhea and Rhonda were young and liked to play games with people and now this game they lost at, Roger Whipple found joy in the simplest things like a child. This scandal rippled through the town and took away the everyday pleasantries.
Oates writes this story this way because it takes the point of views of everyone involved so the reader gets the full picture I think it makes the story stronger, because it feels like someone standing in front of you telling you this story and naturally getting off topic.
Roger Whipple’s character has this natural innocence because he isn’t that smart. I am not sure if it is fair or not for him to get time in jail because we don’t know what is in the report. I think he should have been under the harshest arrest in the hospital.
Serita McKenzie
ReplyDelete1.) The author means that she uses technique in order to get across the story “Heat.” She compares it to playing the piano. The technique she used was to tell little pieces of the story, then veer off to talking about something else like the way the twins used to act together, or about the narrator’s personal life/experiences. But, like a piano piece, even if those chords were all separate from the rest, they all come together to create a composition, which is what Oates did with this short story.
2.) I think the author titled this story “Heat” because the heat in the setting in which the story takes place is almost like a character itself throughout; the way it’s spoken about. The heat was a main component of the story, a motif throughout.
3.) One of the main themes of this story was heat (obviously, hence the title). Another theme she brushed on was mental illness; Roger Whipple was described as someone who was slow, a 19 year old with the mentality of a 6th grader.
4.) I think Oates decided to write the story this way in order to tell what happened in a way that didn’t have to be emotionally involved, at least at first. Just listing the facts of what happened Roger Whipple did to the twins. I think this strengthened the story, because you’re able to understand what happened without being distracted by another character’s outlook or personal feelings about what took place.
5.) I think that the characterization of Roger Whipple was quite vague. Nothing was too clear about his character. The narrator tells you that he was mentally slow, and that claim is supported by the way the scene with the twins was described before they went into the house, when they were riding their bikes around him. I think purely because he was behind mentally that it was fair that he wasn’t charged for the sexual assault of the twins; instead he was institutionalized until he passed away. It’s not like he just got to walk away a free man - they recognized that he wasn’t right in the head, and they put him in a place that was accommodating to his mental needs.
1. She means that she wrote in this was as a kind of detachment from the horrors of the story but so that the reader would still feel a connection and investment with the plot and characters. Oates tells the story from both the present and the past, directly telling the outcome of the story at the very beginning and building up so that the reader can see what went wrong, but having no power to change the twins’ fate.
ReplyDelete2. Oates titles the story “Heat” both for the hot summer and as a reference to the feeling of the characters. It is an allusion to the sexual tension felt by Roger, and also the anger felt by Rhonda when her twin left her to go up to Roger’s room first. The girls are down at the Whipple’s ice farm because they were bored and wanted to buy ice to suck on to cool down.
3. Oates explores power and fate, as well as death. The twins liked to exert their power over people for fun, including their friends and Roger Whipple. However, at the end, Roger took their power away by murdering them. The story is also written in a way that clearly outlines fate, as the reader knows what will happen to the girls and can see the way they could have changed what happened to them, but didn’t know to. In their death, they looked peaceful and were remembered as angelic, though in life they liked to wield power and do whatever they wanted, which shows how death can erase the bad parts of someone.
4. I don’t actually think this reads as a news article, because it contains too much of the personal anecdote of the narrator. However, whatever format it is, I liked it. The way the reader knows what happened to the twins right in the beginning, but not knowing the actual event until the end intrigued me. It kept me interested in a way a normal linear story may not have caught my attention so quickly.
5. I don’t know what I think about Roger’s characterization. I wouldn’t think it was fair for a mentally ill person to be charged with a crime as harshly as mentally stable person, though I don’t like that he got off on no charges either. He still committed a violent crime, which should have some penalty.
Liana and Alexis
ReplyDelete1) Oates structured the story this way similar to that of a piano each chord separate from the other to make this topic more palatable. If she talked about this event all together with the rape, the murder and the dysfunction of the twins family the story might have ran the lines of being all too crude and would lack the meaning Oates originally set out to display.
2)“Heat” is an appropriate title for the story because ice is associated with normalcy maybe even happiness considering the Whipple’s owned an ice business. Heat is associated with the day of the murder, the sweating of their mother at the funeral. As harsh as it is to say while committing the rape on a hot day it was probably hot in that room.
3)A reoccurring theme in the story is the closeness of the twins. How Reya’s name always came before Rhoda. How their caskets were side by side, how one would not go home without the other. The color of their hair being red also contributes to the theme of heat. I’m not sure how these themes connect however they are all throughout the story.
4)I do not think that Oates the story in the style of an article or obituary. There are many lines that would not be appropriate for these types of writing such as “they screamed and laughed like they were being murdered.” and “sharp green eyes that bugged out until you begged them to stop.” I think she tells it in the style of a legend or how someone would tell a rumor.
5) Roger Whipple in the beginning of the story has my sympathy. The girls abuse the power they have over him, harassing him and making him do things for them. Of course I do not think it is fair that he was not charged for his crimes however this story is an example of troubled children from unstable homes. The twins abused their power over Roger and in return Roger stole that power from them and took revenge.
1) The author wrote the story in four different pieces . creating the story to be more meaningful in a unique way. Oat narrators the story from present and past specifically explaining what occurred in the beginning so the reader may understand the outcome.
ReplyDelete2) Oat used the title "Heat" because of the temperature itself and also the severe acts of violence that taken place in the story.
3)Oat display several themes in her writing . She clearly expresses Violence , guilt and also fate.
4)Oates chose to write the story in this particular style because the story makes the reader get more involved and understand the story . it makes the reader feel like someone is standing in front of them telling them the story.
5)The story relates to mental health problems that occur in the United States today. Roger transition as the story progressed . He went from being innocent to being involved In sexual assault. I do not think it was okay for him to now be charged for the crimes he committed.