Dec 19, 2009

Unmailed, Unwritten Letters | Unmailed, Unwritten Letters

At a glance:

Author: Joyce Carol Oates
First Published: 1969
Type of Plot: Epistolary
Time of Work: 1969
Setting: Detroit
Principal Characters: An unnamed woman, Greg, Mr. Katz, Mrs. Katz, Marsha Katz
Genres: Short fiction
Subjects: Psychology or psychologists, Emotions, Thought or thinking, Neuroses
Locales: Detroit, MI

The Story

Unmailed letters exist in the everyday world, in some sort of objective reality, yet unwritten letters exist only in the mind. The title of the story is strategic; it forces the reader into the uncomfortable role of voyeur. As the reader looks over the shoulder of the writer of these “letters,” the reader is actually looking into her mind, reading her fears and desires. Because of this, the action of the story is not sequential but psychological.

In the first letter, addressed to her parents, the narrator discusses a change of doctors and dentists. The...

[The entire page is 1286 words long]

Unmailed, Unwritten Letters | Unmailed, Unwritten Letters

At a glance:

The Story

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