In the beginning of the prose, the first person voice comes
off as trying to convey affection for a lover. Oates masterfully creates the
impression of tenderness and intimacy through his choice of words “caress,
comfort, embrace, kiss.” The longer sentences also helps to slow down the piece
and give it a sense of calm. For me, the first abrupt and powerful pause was
when he goes “I just want to hold you tight!- like this.” I immediately get a
strong sense of desire and dominance. The use of punctuations to dramatize and
then pause helps to vividly capture the act as it is happening. I can hear the
words and see the actions unfold.
Following this, the tone changes from calm to authoritative.
The feel of dominance continues. I especially feel it when he goes “These are
strong arms, aren’t they.” There is no question mark. It is a statement. Hereafter,
he almost sounds psychotic to me. By this point, I am sure he is not a lover
but a rapist, because he threatens to hurt the person if he or she keeps
straining. The choice of word also changes drastically to “hurt, poke,” and the
voice is threatening. The
sentences also get shorter and that conveys a sense of urgency and menace.
Towards the end I could also see struggle between desire
and conscience. When his desire takes over, to justify his act he starts to
blame her.
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