Literary Devices in Oates' We Were the Mulvaneys

Introduction

The narrator of Joyce Carol Oates' novel We Were the Mulvaneys is the youngest son, Judd. In a particular passage near the end of the novel, Judd Mulvaney contemplates his life, human nature, and the truth of human existence. In order to convey the importance of Judd's discovery, Oates employs certain literary devices intended to inform the reader and to shape how that reader perceives the narrative. The most important literary techniques used in this passage are first-person narration, epiphany, and bildungsroman, all working together to tell the story of how Judd Mulvaney changed from an innocent young boy into a jaded and unfortunately knowledgeable young man.

First-Person Narration and Narrative Immediacy

A first-person narrator is a literary technique that authors use to add veracity and honesty to the events they write about. Using the first person places the reader in a position where they witness events through the eyes of the chosen character. In this scene, Judd is watching nature — the falling leaves and the water below him. He describes his surroundings for the reader by saying, "Fast-flowing clear water, shallow, shale beneath, and lots of leaves. Sky the color of lead and the light mostly drained so I couldn't see my face only the dark shape of a head that could be anybody's head" (Oates lines 3–6).

The moment is intensely present, and the narrator himself is completely centered within it. Slowly, the weather changes and his internal temperature drops. Everything he observes is intricately described, from the nature surrounding him to the sound and sensation of his own heartbeat. All these details help the reader to remain centered with the character and to experience everything he is viewing, hearing, and smelling. A first-person narrator allows the reader to get inside the mind of one character and to perceive events through a single perspective, which provides a clear and sustained focus for the story.

Epiphany and the Recognition of Mortality

An epiphany is a moment of insight in which a character realizes something he was never aware of before. For Judd, the epiphany is the realization that he is, in fact, mortal. He tells the reader that at this point he is eleven or twelve years old and that it has never truly occurred to him that he will die one day. Everything around him dies — the animals, the trees, the plants — but it had never dawned on him that if everything can die, then he must also pass away. He says, "Every heartbeat is past and gone! In a trance that was like a trance of fury, raging hurt — Am I going to die? — because I did not believe that Judd Mulvaney could die" (Oates lines 31–34). Although he knew intellectually that he must also die, Judd had never truly allowed himself to understand what that meant.

Conclusion

Joyce Carol Oates introduces the reader to the Mulvaney family through youngest brother Judd. In this passage, a perfectly normal day is turned into a form of tragedy. Watching the beauty of nature suddenly inspires in Judd the understanding that life is fleeting. All people are mortal and so all must die, including himself. By using a first-person narrator, an epiphany, and a bildungsroman, Oates allows the reader to grow alongside Judd — for better or for worse.