In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates we have the theme of conflict, independence and control. Written in 1966 and narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator, most critics would agree that the story is based on the crimes committed by Charles Schmid. What is also interesting about the story is the […]

In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson we have the theme of acceptance, family and tradition. Set in a mall village in New England the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story (the second paragraph) the reader realises that Jackson is using foreshadowing. The stones that the young boys are collecting and […]

In The Enormous Radio by John Cheever we have the theme of privacy, secrecy, obsession, doubt, change and control. Set in an apartment building in 1940s New York the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed, omniscient narrator and has a suspenseful mood. Cheever succeeding in drawing the reader further into the story, right to the end, […]

In Elephant by Raymond Carver we have the theme of acceptance, struggle, security, letting go and dependency. Taken from his Elephant and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story it would appear that Carver is exploring the theme of dependency. The narrator’s brother (Billy) is […]

In the short story Intimacy by Raymond Carver we have the theme of memory, struggle, letting go and closure. Taken from his Elephant and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and though the reader never learns the name of the narrator, very early on in the story we discover that he […]