Wonderland (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1971
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: 1939-1971
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s
- Locales: New York, NY
Places Discussed
Yewville. Town in New York’s upstate Niagara County where Jesse Harte, one of six children, grows up in a small and crowded house built by his father, Willard, next to a gas station that he owned until it failed. The novel opens when Jesse is fourteen years old and his father turns the family house into a place of horror by shooting his pregnant wife and children, wounding Jesse, who escapes, and then shooting himself. When Jesse later returns to the house, which has a for-sale sign on it, he has no feelings about the murders, only the realization that he is...
[The entire page is 1003 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
Related Topics
