The Thematic Study Of Joyce Carol Oates’s Initiation Novels

As a literature theme, growth plays an important role in American literary history. Joyce Carol Oates’s (1938-) three works:Foxfire:Confessions of a Girl Gang, The Falls and Missing Mom known as representatives of initiation stories, provide a perfect text for the study of this theory, for its concern about obstacles and solutions to initiation. This thesis attempts to interpret Oates’s thematic study through the approach of initiation story.In these three novels, Oates uses the first and the third point of view and puts her own life experiences into them, which enriches the truthfulness of the protagonists. Foxfire is regarded as Oates’s "the most intensive and not niggard writing". Oates tells a story about the Foxfire girls,"the flower of evil", crudely and lyrically. The Falls concerns a story behind the Falls,"the heaven of suicide", describing a woman’s life who obeys and fights against the fate. Missing Mum presents our unavoidable experience-Mum’s leave. This novel describes daughters’psychological process through bereavement, cutting the incestuous love and then restoring the family and finally getting a rebirth. This thesis attempts to study the novels through analyzing the protagonist’s growth based on the bloody cost they experienced by using the basic initiation novel plot pattern. The protagonists grow accordingly and they finally achieve their growth and epiphany.This thesis consists of six chapters.Chapter One is literature review of the study of Joyce Carol Oates abroad and at home as well as the objective of this thesis. The objective is to analyze Foxfire:Confessions of a Girl Gang, The Falls and Missing Mom with initiation theory and to interpret and conclude the characteristics of Oates’s initiation novels in theme through analyzing the protagonists’cost on the way of growing up.Chapter Two analyzes three growth steps in Oates’s initiation novels:firstly, all the three stories begin with a blood event or concern the blood. The second step is growth accompanied with misunderstanding and touching, which means the protagonists encounter obstacles under the influence of the violence. And finally they conquer difficulties and then become stronger and smarter in the third step, which is growth achieved by violence and points out every protagonist’s rebirth after the violence.Chapter Three discusses their costs in blood for the initiation which are painful and profound.Chapter Four explores the image and symbolic meanings of blood event, which symbolizes destruction and rebirth in The Falls, vengeance and victories in the Foxfire and self-independence and alliance in the Missing Mum.Chapter Five analyzes the inheritance and deepening of Joyce Carol Oates’s initiation novel to the American traditional initiation novel in theme. The last chapter is the conclusion of the whole thesis.The conclusion part, on the one hand, is a summary and review of the previous arguments of the thesis, reviewing the theme of protagonists’self-realization after the tough experiences of blood cost; on the other hand, points out violence and conflict is not only the upmost element in Oates’s initiation novel, but also the important embodiment of deepening the American initiation novels.