Waiting (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The 1960's
- Setting: The United States
- Principal Characters: Katherine Alexander, Her mother, Bob Mott
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction, Sketch
- Subjects: Suffering, Mothers, Parents and children, Love or romance
- Locales: United States
The Story
As the story begins, the reader is caught in the middle of miscommunication. Bob Mott is trying to explain to Katherine Alexander why he has lost his job. She is distracted; he is embarrassed. She is suspicious, slightly disgusted by Mr. Mott. The narrator abruptly shifts attention to Katherine's life story. She has grown up barely admiring her retired father, frightened of becoming her struggling, unattractive mother. Her older sisters have married; her older brother, returned from the navy, works in a parts factory. Katherine supports her mother, yet she has saved...
[The entire page is 1437 words long]
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