The story depicts life as a period, full of torment and fierceness, whereas death is the nonappearance of it, nearly peaceful. Death is energized and claimed in history because of the challenges in life. The depiction of Rhea and Rhonda proves of Oates’ message portraying them as lovely as dolls. The “Heat” draws on the theme of violence, revenge, power, and the menacing presence of death, forcing a reader to explore personal perception and beliefs of the universe.
The most thrust of “Heat” is the reality of viciousness within the world. As with numerous of stories, Oates explores mysterious and more terrifying perspectives of life (“Heat – Themes and Meanings”). What happened to the small young ladies is uncovered by the inductions and the negligible portrayal of the scene. They were sexually ambushed and carnage by Roger Whipple, a character who speaks to humanity’s destructive components in conventional and American society (Boylan, “Oates Story Collection Explores Theme of Violence”). It represents a stable, oversimplified manly quality that’s considered more dependable than blamelessness, chuckling, or kindness. The savagery in this story overpowers the reader since it is not graphically portrayed. Readers can envision a frightening reality based on their encounters.
The subject of retribution plays a critical part in the Heat. Revenge plays a significant role in how the companion (storyteller) and Roger Whipple respond to young ladies who have much control. The story ends with the narrator saying, “I wasn’t there, but some things you know” (Oates 9). A friend explains how she was not there due to the girls’ deaths, but somehow, she knew a wealth of information and details about how the young ladies were slaughtered. Roger Whipple takes revenge by completely deceiving the ladies and needs to show them something in his room, but he said it to kill them. There is also a vindicate form for the girls’ execution (Roger Whipple) being buried in the same place as the girls.
Throughout the story, Ray and Rhonda Kunkel are compelling characters. From the outset, the storyteller tells perusers that the two young ladies “basked in their power.” The twins were forceful over their companions and Roger Whipple. The narrator tells the story of how the three of them continuously slithered beneath the veranda to play, and one day the twins forced her to take off all her dress and would not let her friend out if she did not. The twins said, “This is to show our power over you” (Oates 4). Another case of control in this story is how Rhea and Rhonda dealt with Roger Whipple. The two little girls always laughed and harassed the boy. They would encompass him with their bikes and play a diversion of how near they seem to get to him some time recently hitting him. Although Roger was several years older than the two girls, they had much power over him until he took control of them by murdering them.
Another topic that runs through the “”Heat” is the eternal address of destiny or God in people’s lives. The children’s storyteller asks if the children have been punished for stealing from their grandmother, although she ponders death’s reality (“Heat – Themes and Meanings”). The murders are exciting – even funny – innocent eyes read about something. However, death’s finality is a hard lesson: the narrator notes with sadness that the twin’s friends missed them.
There have been two moments in history when death was a big part of an omen. The line “death was coming for them, but they didn’t know” was said immediately after the girls were described in their boxes (Oates 1). The second death was caused after Rhea and Rhonda rode their bicycles to the Whipples ice. The line says, “When death comes for you, you sometimes know and sometimes don’t” (Oates 3). For the third and final time, death was caused after Rhea and Rhonda’s father was taken into custody over the murder of the girls. He kept telling the police that he would kill anyone he could get his hands on in the Whipple family because his little girls were dead.
Finally, the title of the story is one of the fundamental ideas. Oates called this story “Heat” since there are particular connotations of the word. The viciousness against Rhea and Rhonda Kunkel was severely blamed and took place within the summer, amid the warm and sweat (“Heat by Joyce Carol Oates”). Moreover, the title infers the sexual nature of the crime. There are also many references to the ice where characters suck on ice cubes and an ice room where bodies are finally revealed. Their death becomes the opposite of the Heat. The Heat describes the madness and horror of the violent attack and the love that the narrator experiences. It is utilized to unpretentiously summarize the topics of climate, assault, and cherish.
In conclusion, Oates’ story blends well with past and present situations. The chronology all converges but is not presented, which makes the story more interesting. More importantly, she takes a straightforward account of two girls murdered by someone who may not even have understood what he did and uses it to explore adolescence, friendships, adult-child relationships, and communities, all intertwined in some fantastic lines. The title “Heat” reinforces the theme and allows the reader to understand the main ideas.
Works Cited
Boylan, Michael. “Oates Story Collection Explores Theme of Violence”. The Baltimore Sun. 1991.
“Heat by Joyce Carol Oates”, Short Story Magic Tricks. 2019. Web.
“Heat – Themes and Meanings”. Comprehensive Guide to Short Stories, Critical Edition Ed. Charles E. May. eNotes.com, Inc. 2004 eNotes.com. 2020. Web.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “Heat.” By Oates. New York: Plume, 1991.