Top
In this comprehensive and accessible study, Gavin Cologne-Brookes traces in Joyce Carol Oates's novels evidence of an evolving consciousness that ultimately forgoes abstract introspection and the philosophical pursuit of certainty in favor of a more practical approach to art as a tool for understanding personal and social problems and possibilities.
Drawing on the intellectual tradition of American Pragmatism, Cologne-Brookes emphasizes the social value of Oates's later work in particular. He shows how Oates's willingness to enter the minds of a vast array of protagonists points to her belief in the possibility of understanding diverse American realities. At the same time, her work recognizes an often mutually incomprehensible diversity as the actual state of affairs in American society.
Cologne-Brookes undertook extensive research for his study, including interviewing and corresponding with Oates.
