How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Prisoners, Teenagers, Crime or criminals, Middle classes, Prostitution or prostitutes, Alienation, Theft, Materialism
- Locales: Detroit, MI
Like a number of Joyce Carol Oates's titles, both short stories such as “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and novels such as Foxfire, “How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again” describes a troubled teenage girl. Subtitled “Notes for an Essay for an English Class at Baldwin Country Day School; Poking Around in Debris; Disgust and Curiosity; A Revelation of the Meaning of Life; A Happy Ending . . . ,” the story nervously straddles this double focus: On one hand, an outline for a composition any teenager...
[The entire page is 668 words long]
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