In Joyce Carol Oates’ novella Black Water, Kelly Kelleher finds herself hypnotized by the charming, suave Senator. Her fondness for the “man in the prime of his career” (26) causes her to choke on the black water and die. Even though Kelly chooses to run off with the Senator, she is not at fault for her decision to accompany him. The Senator abuses his powerful position to manipulate Kelly. His untouchable status as U.S. Senator allows him to act without consequence or regret. The Senator neglects Kelly’s notion that the road they’re driving on is the wrong one, and his arrogance is exhibited by his insistence to drink and drive. The Senator’s hubris generates both of these aberrations. Moreover, when the accident occurs, he seamlessly covers …show more content…
First, though, she would work for his nomination at the Democratic national convention. In the intimacy of the bouncing Toyota, her senses glazed by the day’s excitement, it was possible for Kelly Kelleher, who rarely indulged in fantasies, to give herself up to this one. (26) This is her chance; this is her moment; this is what she’s waited for. It would be uncharacteristic of the ambitious girl to spurn the opportunity to meet her greatest influence. Kelly knows it too; she thinks to herself, “If I don’t do as he asks there won’t be any later” (7). Ultimately, Kelly is just another girl to The Senator; nothing drastically stands out about her. This becomes most apparent when The Senator calls Ray Annick after the accident. He says, “The girl was drunk, and she got emotional, she grabbed at the wheel and the car swerved off the road” (147). The cunning Senator does what politicians do best: lie. Yet there’s no consequence to his lie; the other witness is dead. Given The Senator’s elite status, no questions will be asked about his involvement. While Kelly is dying, she still imagines that he will save her; after all, he’s mesmerized Kelly to get in the car with him in spite of the fact he’s drunk. She hallucinates, “And yet: he was diving into the black water, diving to the car, his fingers outspread on the cracked windshield” (152). Unfortunately for Kelly, The Senator preserves his prestige …show more content…
The Senator has been venerated by Kelly throughout her whole life; she knows nearly everything about him. Kelly’s one dream has been to meet The Senator. She gets to meet him, and he chooses her. Kelly is overwhelmed by the allure of the politician. When she goes to get in the car with him, Kelly chooses to overlook his heavy drinking, instead focusing on the singular chance she’s been granted. Alcohol clouds The Senator’s judgment as he turns onto the old, abandoned road. Kelly notices the faux pas but refuses to initially say anything. When she was younger, she made her father angry for talking back to him. When she cautions The Senator about their predicament, he not only insists that he’s got a grasp on the situation, but also exerts his lure onto the innocent girl. Throughout the story, The Senator is always engrossing, even during Kelly’s final moments. She is convinced that he will rescue her from the black water; he doesn’t. Instead The Senator calls Ray Annick telling him that Kelly provoked the calamity. Overall, The Senator’s prowess as a politician, specializing in deceit and charm, coerces Kelly into getting in his car, resulting in a
When Betsy, a grace year girl, is being brutally killed by a poacher, Tierney thinks to herself, “It’s as if the poachers want us to hear every cry, every cut; they want us to know what’s in store for us” (80). Tierney thinks that the poachers make their kills suffer and scream to torment every grace year girl because they are cruel. They want the girls to live in constant fear of being poached and skinned alive. When Tierney asks Ryker how he could ever kill an innocent girl, he explains why is a poacher, “If I leave, if I don’t take my place as a poacher, my family won’t get my pay…they’ll starve” (235). Ryker tells Tierney that he hunts the garce year girls only because his six sisters and his mother rely on his pay from poaching.
Retired football player, Lou Holtz, once said, “How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” Metaphorically speaking, Cameron Lane Seawright’s life experienced two extremely contrasting halves. The first half was spent adoring her all-American, like everyone else in Messina. Everyone wanted what Cameron had, Neely Crenshaw- the star football player, especially Screamer (Grisham 183).
"My significant other will never kick the bucket for me..." he cries, "....that goodness won't pass on for me. " Proctor knows now that he should do anything he can to spare his better half. She is a decent individual, and he knows he should make things right. As the play goes on, Proctor tries to persuade the court that he is coming clean; that the young ladies are lying and Elizabeth is
Moreover, Reef is now beginning to realize more about what he had done and as well put more deep thought into it. Reef thought “ There were times when it seemed like the events of that day on the overpass had happened to someone else, some other Reef Kennedy … He knew that now. Shit got made. And the worst shit is the shit we make for ourselves”(Aker 284).
Out of 15 million children, 21% live in families with incomes that are below the federal threshold. It is not uncommon for these children to work hard to create a better life for themselves, a life which their parents couldn’t create for them. In the Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, the story encaptures the transition from childhood to adulthood and the need for change along the way, which is a stage in life that everybody goes through. Jeannette's need comes from the irresponsibility of her parents, their lack of self-sufficiency and grasp from the real world. There are times in our lives (for others like Jeannette it may be earlier), when there is no choice but to grow away from our parents and go out into the real world on our own in
Some classmates felt that his last shred of hope to keep him alive was his hatred for the party while others agreed that his love for Julia would help him from conforming back to the ideals of the party. When discussing what another classmates have found in class it has helped me to understand other points I might have overlooked in the novels we have read. I have improved from these activities by writing down other points and
His recollections about his experience as a young boy makes the horror real and urgent for the audience: “I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast.” (paragraph 4) The audience’s inevitable emotional response to these memories is one of deep sadness and empathy. The need for action instead of silence in the face of such horror is made even clearer.
His mother warned him about his fate if he continued to drink, like his own late father, but he felt that a few drinks would not cause any issues. Little did he know that a few drinks would turn into endless nights of drinking, and the biggest tragedy of his life; the death of his daughter. His daughter, worried sick about him, went to look for him at the tavern so they
Another turning point in which McCandless lost trust in his father occurs during the revealing of his father’s secret, second family after questioning a number of old family friends. This pushes McCandless past his limit, and results into him rejecting his
As they shoot her family, she almost does not care but is trying to save her own life. She claims that he is a good man, “”Listen,” the grandmother almost screamed I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from a nice family” (O’Connor, 477), but he is the farthest thing from a good man. He kills people and commits serious crimes.
In The Living, a young adult novel by Matt de la Pena, the reader follows the main character, a teenage boy named Shy, as his quest to work over the summer for extra cash becomes a life threatening journey he never could have expected. In this novel three themes are very present in the forms of Romero disease, stereotyping, and the past versus present experiences. All of these topics arrive in very different ways, but can be traced back to not only Shy’s life experience, but Matt de la Pena’s as well. Though it is not always the main focus of the storyline, Romero disease plays a huge part in shaping the action.
Jimmy Blevins, fatally shot, provided John with intuition about the importance of companionship. His death also provided knowledge of the consequences of the decisions a person makes. Although John had not known Blevins long, he felt a sort of responsibility for him, especially because he presumed he was younger than him by a couple of years. Even though their relationship was not a very close one, nobody wants to see anyone be executed for a mistake that was made at such a young age. This event saddened John, and made him feel about about, and even regret Blevins’ fate.
Joyce Carol Oates dedicates her novel Black Water to “the Kellys” because the story is meant to display the archetype of young women whose trust is violated by older men. Oates’s goal is to pin the blame on the men whose actions are destructive to the lives of innocent, young, and independent women. The problem, however, is Kelly bears some responsibility in her death. Kelly is introduced as a smart and independent young lady who falls prey to the temptations of alcohol and a suave Senator who has but one thing on his mind. Throughout the novel Kelly relinquishes more and more of her independence to the Senator’s will therefore giving up her innocence in the situation.
Susan Hill’s Woman in Black is about Arthur Kipps, a lawyer in London, who has been given the task of filing the papers of the dead Mrs. Drablow. While on his journey and at Eel Marsh House he experiences some interesting and eerie happenings. In Chapter 10; “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” Hill uses a variety of literary techniques to create an atmosphere of fear and foreboding. Hill uses sensory imagery to create fear and foreboding.
First, the theme demonstrates the dangers of female sexuality. In the story, the other is worried about the way her daughter is acting even though she has not hit adolescence yet. She says that if her current behavior continues it will lead to a life of promiscuity. Kincaid wrote, “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (180).