Some stylistic devices of J. C. Oates

1. J. C. Oates

2. • Born on June 16, 1938, in Lockport, New
York, Joyce Carol Oates developed a love for
writing as a child and went on to become an
acclaimed, bestselling scribe known for her
novels, stories, poetry and essays, winning
the National Book Award for 1969's them.
Her other notable works include A Garden of
Earthly Delights, We Were the Mulvaneys,
Blonde, The Gravedigger's Daughter and The
Accursed.

3. • The most common of J. C. Oates stylistic device
is the use of numerous and sudden changes
between several narrative levels. Sometimes
devoting a full chapter or page on a single
scene, then again, especially towards the end,
quickly skipping from one subject to the other,
sometimes in a single sentence, it seems that
"time accelerates to the speed of light". The
quick skips between all the different levels of
time and place make the reader feel exactly
what is going on in characters' mind during
these "patches of amnesia" .Their thoughts are
all mixed up by the accident, their perception is
totally confused. The reader is forced to share
her thoughts and feelings.

4. • Her novels usually are not written in the
1st, but mainly in the 3rd person, which
usually conveys a certain distance
between the literary character and the
reader. There are, however, repeated
"breaks" in this 3rd person narration
,which seem to be moments of awful
consciousness between long seconds of
flashback-memories and unconscious
thoughts.

5. • Another stylistic element which helps
creating the intense atmosphere are
the long, unstructured sentences,
which go on for nearly a whole page
sometimes. They consist of numerous
short sentences linked together,
sometimes separated by commas,
sometimes not . They show that the
character ‘s mind is in such a
confusion, that in one instant she/he is
still fighting against “the rising water”.

6. • Also the common of J. C. Oates stylistic
device is flashbacks:
• "in her little white anklet socks", "Who′s
this! Who′s this! Little angel-bee
`Lizabeth“
• "That was so. (...) She saw that. There
was no mistake. Yet at the same time
she was explaining (...) he had not
abandoned her to die in the black
water."

7. • Her language is poetic and is
full of similes and
metaphors.
• Also J. C. Oates employs
foreshadowing :
• "ducking fast across the
busy road, to a drive-in
restaurant where older kids
hung out."

8. Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
• "The music was always in the background," the
narrator tells us, "like music in a church service, it
was something to depend upon" . It's so
omnipresent, in fact, that it seems to have worked its
way into the very way characters think, act, and feel.
• a "simple lilting voice, exactly as if he were reciting
the words to a song" . Because it's everywhere,
music can introduce a number of different themes,
including the effects of popular culture, the nature of
desire, and the dynamics of psychological
manipulation.