Research Paper on:
Joyce Carol Oates' Short Story 'Shopping'

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The literature can open many windows of insight into our own experiences. Sometimes a passage is relevant only to the moment in which you  read it but sometimes that same passage can bring to mind memories which have been buried deeply in the readers past. Such is the case, in my experiences in  reading the short story "Shopping" by the noted American fiction writer Joyce Carol Oates. On the outside, this is a story of a joyous outing between mother and daughter  during the holiday. This outside veneer, however, covers many inner dilemmas, dilemmas which are shared by mothers and daughters in all cultures and all time periods. I certainly  have experienced many of the same problems which are touched on in this story with my own mother and, undoubtedly, so have most readers. To grow up we must  also grow away to a certain extent and this direction is one which neither our mothers or we always relish taking. Although Oates  titles her short story "Shopping", and indeed the story unfolds in a shopping mall, the intent of the story is considerably broader than relating the events of a shopping trip.  "Shopping is really the story of a mothers (Mrs. Dietrichs) relationship with her teenage daughter Nola. It is a relationship which has been complicated by the fact  that the mother and the girls father have divorced. Although the mother and daughter are still obviously close, there is also obvious undercurrent of friction.  The friction between Mrs. Dietrich and Nola manifests in a number of behaviors which the mother feels are undesirable. The daughter seems intent on