J. C. Oates - ,,Black Water"
J.C. Oates` "Black Water" is based on a well known historic event; the very first chapter of the novel already imparts to the reader nearly all that is actually happening during the quick moment of the accident - so why does one read all the following 31 chapters with undiminished curiosity and interest when there is nothing really new, nothing "substantial" told? "Black Water" is not a typical novel where suspension is gradually built up to a surprising climax, it benefits solely from J.C. Oates intense and skilled writing style.
The most striking stylistic device is the use of numerous and sudden changes between several narrative levels. Sometimes devoting a full chapter or page on a single scene (ch. 11, when Kelly gets to know the Senator), then again, especially towards the end, quickly skipping from one subject to the other, sometimes in a single sentence: Memories from Kelly's childhood and her time at college, her political background and her family, the evening of the 4th of July at her friend Buffy's, where she gets to know the Senator, their ride in the car, finally the accident and her thoughts while drowning in the vehicle. In the course of the accident it seems to Kelly that "time accelerates to the speed of light". The quick skips between all the different levels of time and place make the reader feel exactly what is going on in Kelly's mind during these "patches of amnesia" that seem to be "spilling into her brain"(all ch. 4, p.10). Her thoughts are all mixed up by the accident, her perception is totally confused. The reader is forced to share her thoughts and feelings.
This is the more surprising as the novel is not written in the 1st, but mainly in the 3rd person, which usually conveys a certain distance between the literary character and the reader. On the other hand it very clearly shows Kelly's detachment from the happenings, her shock caused by the accident. There are, however, repeated "breaks" in this 3rd person narration from the very beginning (ch1, p.3 "Am I going to die? Like this?", repeated on p. 48, or on p. 69 "I'm here. I'm here."), which seem to be moments of awful consciousness between long seconds of flashback-memories and unconscious thoughts.
Those little ellipses, mostly in italics, reoccur throughout the book and give the reader direct insight into Kelly's mind. They are key-words or key-sentences like her wondering "Am I ready?" (e.g. p.59, p.132), or her perception of time; her disbelief ("This can't be happening!" (p.33, p.64) which in the course of the accident is turned into denial ("This isn't happening!" p.47) and later is confused by her mind into "It had not happened yet." (p.143).
Other keywords are thoughts which come into her mind involuntarily. They are quotations from some moments in her life, like the "little angel-bee" (p.119, p.143), a pet name of hers, the assurance "you know you`re someone's little girl" (p.16, 45, 58 ... ), the "white anklet socks" (p.119, 143, 154) which figure in her flashbacks from the past, or the "American girl" (e.g. p.18) who "loves life" (e.g. 149), slogans that show her identification as a young American with a positive attitude to life, who can have an affair if she wants to and controls her life.
A very effective motif is Kelly's forlorn feeling of dying next to a total stranger (p.27 "Virtual strangers", "Kelly had no name to call the driver", p.28 "You would not choose to (...) die (...) in a sinking car, with a stranger."), later on even sometimes forgetting his name (p.75).
Another stilistic element which helps creating the intense atmosphere of Kelly's thoughts are the long, unstructured sentences, which go on for nearly a whole page sometimes. They consist of numerous short sentences linked toghether, sometimes separated by commas (p.135 "Buffy said..."), sometimes not (p.143 "She saw herself defiantly running...)". A good example is on pages 149-150 ("And there was his anxious face...)", where there are first commas between the single sentences, which disappear later, as if Kelly's thoughts would speed up with panic. During those last seconds, her mind is in such a confusion, that in one instant she is still fighting against the rising water and in the next, without a full stop or even a comma, her thoughts are in the past again and she is "hugging (...) Buffy" (p.148)
The last few chapters are indeed the most interesting. In chapter 25 already, there is twice the key-sentence of the "black water" which ,,filled her lungs, and she died.". This gives the reader, and perhaps also Kelly herself, the certainty that she is going to die. But still she won't believe it, with a "No: (...)" her thoughts return to the past, until the key-motif occurs again, in chapter 31, on p.138. This time, too, she can escape the truth with a "No"; in her mind, "It had not happened yet" (p.143).
In chapter 32 she has flashbacks from her childhood (p.143 "in her little white anklet socks", "Who's this! Who's this! Little angel-bee `Lizabeth") and she still denies to herself that she is lost (p.143-144 "That was so. (...) She saw that. There was no mistake. Yet at the same time she was explaining (...) he had not abandoned her to die in the black water."), desperately repeating to herself, like a prayer, that "he had not kicked her, he had not fled from her. He had not forgotten her.", trying to believe herself. She looks at her "absurd pink-polished nails, now broken, torn", determined to fight death, though deep inside she probably knows it is in vain.
At this critical situation there is a break in the narration and it changes to the Senator's point of view. There were actually some lines in a preceding chapter (ch.29, p.125 + 126) which were written from his point of view, but then the reader could not quite identify them as his thoughts. This caesura fulfills several important tasks: It does not only tell the reader that the Senator has survived the accident (which was known already as the novel is based on facts) and leaves Kelly at the beginning of her last seconds, it also gives the reader some insight Kelly will never have (p.148 "But none of this Kelly Kelleher knew or could know"). The Senator's cynical reaction on escaping the car is denying every responsability, towards himself (p.144 "...had not abandoned her") as well as towards others ("she grabbed at the wheel and the car swerved off the road"). He is afraid of possible consequences for himself and his career (p.144 "in terror of being discovered", p.145 "if anyone saw him?", "and if never elected president of the United States after all? And if cast down in shame and mockery of his enemies?"). His only being afraid of ,,shame" and ,,mockery" after having caused the death of a girl clearly shows his real character. His reaction lets all hopes the reader has cherished of Kelly being rescued, how irrational they may have been, come to an end.
At this point, the narration changes back to Kelly and her fight. Again there is the motif of the black water filling her lungs, but she escapes by a mere physical reaction of "coughing and choking" out the water. She is in a state of utter confusion, her mind torn between flashbacks of the past (p.149 "And, yet, had it happened?") and consciousness (p.149 "She was drowning, but (...) she meant to put up a damned good fight."). She has visions of the Senator coming back to rescue her (p.149 "And there was his anxious face...") and has yet more flashbacks (p.150 "I want to live, I want to live forever!" while jogging).
Preguntas frecuentes - J. C. Oates - ,,Black Water"
¿De qué trata "Black Water" de J.C. Oates?
"Black Water" de J.C. Oates está basado en un conocido suceso histórico. La novela explora los pensamientos y sentimientos de Kelly Kelleher mientras se ahoga en un coche después de un accidente, utilizando un estilo de escritura intenso y cambios constantes entre diferentes niveles narrativos.
¿Cuál es el estilo narrativo principal de la novela?
La novela está escrita principalmente en tercera persona, pero incluye "interrupciones" en primera persona que revelan los pensamientos más íntimos de Kelly. También se caracteriza por cambios rápidos entre recuerdos, pensamientos conscientes y la experiencia del accidente.
¿Cuáles son algunos de los recursos estilísticos clave utilizados por J.C. Oates?
Oates utiliza varios recursos estilísticos, incluyendo: cambios rápidos entre niveles narrativos, el uso de elipsis en cursiva para revelar pensamientos clave, frases y motivos recurrentes (como "pequeña abeja ángel"), largas oraciones desestructuradas que reflejan la confusión mental de Kelly, y un cambio repentino a la perspectiva del Senador hacia el final de la novela.
¿Qué papel juegan los recuerdos y los flashbacks en la novela?
Los recuerdos y los flashbacks son fundamentales para comprender el estado mental de Kelly durante el accidente. Estos flashbacks mezclan momentos de su infancia, su vida universitaria, su relación con el Senador y sus aspiraciones. Los flashbacks se mezclan con los momentos presentes de la ahogo, creando una sensación de confusión y desesperación.
¿Qué importancia tiene el motivo del "agua negra"?
El "agua negra" es un motivo central que simboliza la muerte inminente de Kelly. La frase "agua negra" se repite a lo largo de la novela, especialmente hacia el final, reforzando la idea de que ella se está ahogando y perdiendo la batalla por sobrevivir.
¿Por qué es importante el cambio a la perspectiva del Senador hacia el final de la novela?
El cambio a la perspectiva del Senador proporciona una visión cínica y contrastante de los acontecimientos. Revela su egoísmo, su preocupación por su propia reputación y su falta de remordimiento por la muerte de Kelly. Esto intensifica la tragedia de la situación y elimina cualquier esperanza persistente de un posible rescate.
¿Cómo evoluciona el estado mental de Kelly a medida que se ahoga?
Inicialmente, Kelly experimenta incredulidad y negación. A medida que se ahoga, su mente se vuelve cada vez más confusa y sus pensamientos se mezclan con recuerdos y visiones. Finalmente, acepta su destino y se desliza en un estado de inconsciencia final, donde sus últimos momentos se mezclan con imágenes de su pasado y una reunión imaginaria con su familia.
- Quote paper
- Ursula Meyer (Author), 2001, Oates, J. C. - Black Water - Stylistic Devices, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/102391
