Contents
Introduction (1)
Chapter One Theoretical Foundation (5)
1.1 The Historical Background of Existentialism (5)
1.2 The Origin and Development of Existentialism (7)
1.3 The Main Points of Existentialism (9)
1.3.1 The Point of Absurdity (9)
1.3.2 The Point of Alienation (10)
1.3.3 The Point of Authentic Being (11)
Chapter Two The Absurdity in Oates’s Novels (13)
2.1 Absurdity in the Family (13)
2.2 Absurdity in the School (16)
2.2.1 Absurdity in Perry Middle School (16)
2.2.2 Absurdity in Syracuse University (18)
2.3 Absurdity in the Society (20)
2.3.1 The Absurd Legal System (20)
2.3.2 Sexism (21)
Chapter Three The Alienation of Human Beings in Oates’s Novels (24)
3.1 The Alienation between Man and Society (24)
3.1.1 Nativism (24)
3.1.2 Racial Discrimination (26)
3.2 The Alienation between Man and Others (28)
3.2.1 The Alienation among Family Members (28)
3.2.2 The Alienation between Male and Female (30)
3.3 The Alienation between Man and Oneself (31)
3.3.1 Foxfire Girls: the Distortion of Humanity (31)
3.3.2 Anellia: Loss of Identity (33)
Chapter Four The Pursuit of Authenticity in Oates’s Novels (36)
4.1 Legs’s Pursuit of Authenticity (36)
4.1.1 Choosing to Turn into a Trusty: Exerting Subjectivity (36)
4.1.2 Establishing Foxfire Homestead: Shouldering the Responsibility (38)
4.1.3 Kidnapping and Escaping: Self-deception and Failing to Shoulder the Responsibility (39)
4.2 Anellia’s Pursuit of Authenticity (40)
4.2.1 Regaining Identity: Refusal of Objectification (40)
4.2.2 Perfecting Herself: Struggling for Authentic Being (41)
4.2.3 Transcending Herself: Realizing Authentic Being (43)
Conclusion (45)
Works Cited (47)
Achievements (50)
Acknowledgements (51)
Statements (52)
Introduction
Introduction
Known as “the finest American novelist, man or woman,since Faulkner”, Joyce Carol Oates (1938- ) is undoubtedly a female writer of unique reputation and influence in modern literary circle. Born in an ordinary working-class family in New York and fostered by her grandmother on a farm, Oates’s childhood was tough because America was caught in economic depression at that time. As she says, “Everyday we are struggling for survival” (Oates 124), but it is Oates’s bitter childhood experience that arouses her attention to the existential state of human beings and lays her the foundation of existentialist consciousness.
With extraordinary talent and hard work, she ranks among the world famous writers and is regarded as the successful example of “American dream”. At the age of 19, she stood out among numerous competitors in the competition of short story held by Mademoiselle Magazine. At the age of 25, she published her first short story collection—–By the North Gate, which won her New York Times Notable Books of the Year in 1963. Since then, she has published about 50 novels and novelettes, 30 short stories, 10 poetry anthologies, 10 plays, and 14 literary criticism essays. Although she is prolific, each of her works maintains high level. The numerous literary prizes she won, such as National Book Award, O. Henry Award and O. Henry Special Award for Continuing Achievement, prove her indisputable achievements in literary circle. Moreover, she has even been nominated for Nobel Prize for Literature twice.
The width and depth of Oates’s works are so admirable for the reason that they involve every aspect of social life in the 20th century. Oates breaks through the boundary of gender instead of limiting her subject matter merely between family and marriage like other female writers. In her novels, she involves the subject of history, politics, law and other subjects that generally belong to male writers such as murder, rape, etc. Thus, some critics liken her works to circular panorama, “it makes reader see not only the contour of the whole drawing, but also details of historical events” (Milazzo 216). The variety of Oates’s subjects not only shows her concern for the social reality of America, but also reflects her attention to human beings’ existential state in the society.
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang tells a story about the rise and fall of a gang which is established by five white girls who mean to protect themselves in the chaotic and male-dominated society but develop into perpetrators of the society. As soon as it was published in 1993, it caused a great sensation owing to its plentiful violent and bloody scenes, explicit depiction of sex and other indecent behaviors, which are indispensable