StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Joyce Carol Oates' in the region of ice - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Though Joyce Carol Oate’s story “In the Region of Ice” is typical of her technique of writing, it stands alone from her other works because of its psychoanalytical approach to interpreting a nun’s life that is repressed by the rigid religiosity of the religious system of…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94% of users find it useful
Joyce Carol Oates in the region of ice
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Joyce Carol Oates' in the region of ice"

“In the Region of Ice The Story of the Repressed Nun Though Joyce Carol Oate’s story “In the Region of Ice” is typical of her technique of writing, it stands alone from her other works because of its psychoanalytical approach to interpreting a nun’s life that is repressed by the rigid religiosity of the religious system of the society. Apparently the story seems to tell the story of a nun whose instincts were aroused by a mentally troubled boy. But whether the nun’s favoritism for the psychotic boy is to be characterized as her love and passion may engender controversy.

One may argue that her favoritism is to be viewed as her passion for her own “male” image that she finds in her indomitable student. The story also can be viewed as the footprints of the great changes that were taking place in the US society. Indeed Joyce Carol Oates depicts the details of the convent life of the era. This is the depiction of the era that entrepreneurs a trend to oppose any form of repression existing in any form of the society. The fact that Sister Irene, the nun of the story runs off to solve her student Alan’s problem refers to the socializing trend in the activities of the Church.

This is the modern trend in the profession of religious personnel as Sister Irene in her modern outfit wearing an abbreviated veil represents the young nuns of the late 60s or 70s. Also the story puts a serious question for it readers whether the rules and regulations that apparently ignore the human instincts are validated enough. The arousal of the carnal instincts of the nun by a psychotic boy clearly indicates the failure of religion as to the repression of the human instincts. If approached from a psychoanalytic point of view the story yields an interpretation of the inner core of human mind.

It seems to me that the nun is carried away with her student’s problem because of the reason that he represents her male “other” in many ways. In the story Allan appears to be impulsive, unreasonable, and rebellious. Sister Irene’s passion for the student can be viewed as her charm for her “self” that is revealed in Allan’s character. She sees herself that is proud, egoistic, rebellious, impulsive, etc, in him. On this point Allan can be viewed as the forbidden aspect of herself.

I think, though the story, “In the Region of Ice” is a well thought story laden with psychoanalytical implications of human mind, it seems that the skeleton of the story is yet to be fleshed out with the details of its characters. The characters seem to be more of sketches than of full fledged images. Joyce attempts to tell a lot about Sister Irene. But the nun should have been shown, rather than to be told. The Joyce Carol Oates appears to be in a rush to finish the story. After all, Joyce Carol Oates successfully depicts the tone of her era in the fusion the convent life of a nun with the psychoanalytic implication of human mind.

Works CitedOates, J. Carol. “In the Region of Ice”. The Longman Anthology of Short Fiction, ed. Dana Gioia & R. S. Gwynn, Longman. 2000.

Read More
Tags
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Joyce Carol Oates' in the region of ice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1551935-joyce-carol-oates-in-the-region-of-ice
(Joyce Carol Oates' In the Region of Ice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1551935-joyce-carol-oates-in-the-region-of-ice.
“Joyce Carol Oates' In the Region of Ice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1551935-joyce-carol-oates-in-the-region-of-ice.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Joyce Carol Oates' in the region of ice

Feasibility of the Overseas Expansion of Acomb Tyres in India

The World today is witnessing in the era of Globalization.... One can see that the world has been knit much closer than it was say two decades earlier.... The availability of new & sophisticated technologies like the Internet, mobile communications etc.... to all people regardless of their standard of living (in a majority of the world population) has led us to a sea expansion in the volume of international trade & communications. … Companies today are much more interested in tapping newer & untapped markets in search of raw materials as well as to sell their goods....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Great Population Spike and After by Walt Whitman Rostow

The author of the present book report "Great Population Spike and After by Walt Whitman Rostow" points out that Rostow was a strong opponent of communism and openly supported capitalism.... In this book, he has given his views on what problems and prospects the world is likely to face in the year 2050....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

International Organisation the Coca-Cola Company

Contemporary corporate industry contains countless business units in its vast fold; some of the organisations in the corporate world are working as limited local or regional trade unit, while few of the companies serve as multinational organisations, which have expanded their… These organisations include Microsoft Corporation, Honda Car, Marlboro Tobaccos, Virgin Atlantic, Nokia, Proctor & Gambles, Red Hat, Hitachi Luminars and others....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Gambino Crime Family

One of the most notorious of these families is the Gambino family, founded by Carlos Gambino.... With a long, rich history of the Mafioso from which the story of the Gambino family is founded, an American… The American undercurrent of rebellion is supported in the way in which organized crime utilizes criminal behavior in order to form paths of profit....
21 Pages (5250 words) Research Paper

SWOT Analysis of New York City Police Department

hellip; The author states that in order to curtail the weaknesses and threats by making effective use of strengths and opportunities, NYPD will have to ensure that it takes all corrective measures that will enhance its performance in the region and helps it in fulfilling its mission of creating a friendly and crime free area for the citizens.... He developed a vision for the entire management team that has been helping the team in following a clear path of direction for effective performance in the region (Sugarman, 159)....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

The Legendary Marilyn Monroe

After an exhaustive documentation, joyce carol Oates redraws the inner life of Norma Jeane Baker -the little fatherless women dependent tranquilizers and stimulants, the ill-fated actress and lover and his "Mirror Magic Friend", the blonde idolized the world became known as… "Dramatic, provocative and disturbingly suggestive Blonde is as explosive as its protagonist, the legendary Marilyn Monroe.... " "In terms of Marilyn Monroe, the public always stayed outside and looked inward, but here in this new and exciting novel, Blonde, joyce carol Oates reverses this process to be planted inside the tortured psyche actress to finish off a disturbingly intimate portrait....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Global Business Plan of Garmin Global Positioning System

Garmin Limited has made huge business plans to be incorporated in the wonderful island of Taiwan, where there is an urgent need of such devices because of the geography and culture of the region.... The paper aims to devise a comprehensive business plan for Garmin Global Positioning System, which looks for launching its business in the Far Eastern country of Taiwan....
13 Pages (3250 words) Term Paper

Unexplained Underwater Archaeology

Moreover, this is similar to its suspected age of around 7,500 years when the melting of the ice Age glaciers actually buried it in the water.... This work called "Unexplained Underwater Archaeology" describes the possible origins of the Bimini Road, the Yonaguni Monument, the Kerama Circles, Adam's Bridge, the Atlit-Yam and the Mound of Bethsaida....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us