A Study Of Female Initiation In Joyce Carol Oates’ Novels

Joyce Carol Oates, a distinguished comtemporay American female writer, iscelebrated for her great productivity and wide range of subjects. She has won so manysignificant American literature awards and enjoys a high international reputation. Hernovels mainly describe female protagonists’ miserable life, which reflects the femaleliving conditions in the complicated modern American society. Many foreign andChinese scholars interpret Oates’ female characters from the perspective of feminism,but neglect the significance of initiation to the female protagonists in her novels.Therefore, the thesis employs the basic theory of initiation story to analyze the femaleprotagonists’ rebellion and maturity during their jounery to initiation in Oates’ novelMissing Mom and Foxfire: Confession of a Girl Gang. Centering on the four necessaryelements of initiation story: the protagonist, the guide, the companion and theepiphany, this thesis interprets the three stages in female protagonists’ initiation: frombeing innocent to having conflicts with family and society, from suffering to feelingconfused about life, and from paying cost of growth to achieving epiphany. Based onthe theory of intiation story, this thesis aims to highlight the theme of female initiationin Oates’ novels. It not only expresses Oates’ attention to American female growth andreflects the problems American young girls meet during their growth, but alsomanages to awake people’s concern on female growth as well as helps to solvepractical issues on female growth in America.