Initiated into Subordination. On Joyce Carol Oates’s I’ll Take You There
Journal Title: Przegląd Narodowościowy - Review of Nationalities - Year 2016, Vol 6, Issue 6
Abstract
The article proposes a sociological reading of the novel I’ll Take You There by Joyce Carol Oates. Though the book can be classified as an initiation novel, it also constitutes an accusation of the very procedure of initiation as forcing individuals to agree and adapt to unfair social mechanisms. The context of the protagonist’s struggles is provided by the social structure of the early-1960s United States, with its inherent misogyny, anti-Semitism, racism and classism. All these factors shape her destiny in accordance with the logic of social reproduction. A destiny of overwhelming power of allocation, which the heroine is trying to resist. As an academic novel, I’ll Take You There is also an insightful deconstruction of the universalism preached within the Western academic world, and especially philosophy.
Authors and Affiliations
Anna Zawadzka
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP541344
- DOI 10.1515/pn-2016-0012
- Views 81
- Downloads 0
“Tetiček” and his concept of democracy. Analysis of the issue based on the book of Professor Marek Bankowicz entitled Demokracja według T.G. Masaryka (Democracy according to T.G. Masaryk)
-
Nationalism and the issue of nation-building in the nineteenth century’s Georgian political thought
In this article, we discuss two different directions about the Georgian nationalism of the 19th century: first we consider, thetrinity of language, homeland, faith – maybe one of the best classical formulations of nation...
Separatist and autonomous tendencies in modern Italy
The article focuses on the autonomous and separatist pursuits that occur in present day Italy. The work was inspired by the consultative referendums of 2017 in the regions of Veneto and Lombardia. Their aim was to give t...
Polish Jews in Africa in the interwar period
The article presents the emigration of Polish Jewish community to the individual regions in Africa in the years 1918-1939. It is stated in it that Africa was not really popular among Polish immigrants. Before 1939 only a...
Initiated into Subordination. On Joyce Carol Oates’s I’ll Take You There
The article proposes a sociological reading of the novel I’ll Take You There by Joyce Carol Oates. Though the book can be classified as an initiation novel, it also constitutes an accusation of the very procedure of init...