Heat | Heat

At a glance:

Author: Joyce Carol Oates
First Published: 1989
Type of Plot: Psychological
Time of Work: The 1930's
Setting: A small town in the United States
Principal Characters: Rhea Kunkel, Rhoda Kunkel, The narrator, Roger Whipple
Genres: Short fiction
Subjects: Girls, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, Guilt, 1930’s, Child abuse, Violence, Death or dying, Small-town life, Fate or fatalism, Life and death, Twins or multiple-birth siblings, Summer, Heat
Locales: United States

The Story

“Heat” tells the story of the murder of eleven-year-old identical twins, Rhea and Rhoda Kunkel, through the eyes of a childhood friend who is now an adult. Joyce Carol Oates weaves the story together like bursts of heat on a sultry day. The story begins with a reference to the “rippling” heat of the summer day as the girls ride their bicycles toward Whipple's Ice.

In the next scene, the twins are in matching white caskets in a funeral parlor. Again, reference is made to the heat. In a narrative that boarders on stream of consciousness, Oates introduces...

Heat | Heat

At a glance:

The Story

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