Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Society is the picnic certain individuals leave early, the party they fail to enjoy, the musical comedy they find not worth the price of admission.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on how some individuals disconnect from society, missing out on shared experiences and joys.
Joyce Carol Oates highlights the alienation felt by some individuals within society. By comparing society to a picnic, a party, and a musical comedy, she suggests that these individuals choose to leave early or find them unworthy, indicating a deeper commentary on the human experience of connection, enjoyment, and the subjective valuation of communal activities.
Themes
SocietyAlienationExperienceHuman ConnectionEnjoyment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about social anxiety and the choice to withdraw from social situations.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes βI never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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