The Source of Terror, Essay Example

In many short works of fiction, certain characters find themselves cast into terrifying situations. Among these characters are: Ann Weiss in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing,” Connie, in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and Cleofilas in Sandra Cisneros’s “Woman Hollering Creek”. Although in each story the source of terror is different, each of these characters responds in a similar fashion.

In “A Small Good Thing,” the source of Ann Weiss’s fear is the ill health of her son Scotty. Scotty is in a coma, having been struck by a hit and run driver.  Mrs. Weiss responds to her terror first by voicing worry and questioning the doctor. Next, she begins to neglect her own needs to watch over her son. When she goes home to try to relax, she becomes somewhat paranoid.  A man calls, asking her if she has forgotten about her son and frightens her. Later, when Scotty eventually dies, the man calls again and fear, coupled with grief causes Mrs. Weiss to become angry. When she remembers that the man calling is the cake maker she paid to make Scotty’s birthday cake, she and her husband become incensed with the man, and Mrs. Weiss goes to the bakery to confront him and, she says, that she wants to kill him. But Weiss’s fear also gives her a sense of solidarity with others.  She feels it with another family, waiting to hear the fate of their son who has been stabbed, and later, she feels it with the baker, who turns out to be as lonely as she is (Perkins and Perkins).

The source of Connie’s terror in “Where are you going, Where have you been?” is her abductor, Arnold friend. She is afraid of his car arriving, Arnold Friend’s fake traits, including his make-up, wig, stuffed boots and phrases, and she is afraid of his age – as she realizes he is around thirty, while she is less than eighteen. Her fear increases as Friend changes from enticing to threatening. He eventually threatens to burn her house down and to hurt her family if she calls for help. Connie’s first reaction, much like Mrs. Weiss’s, is to question. She continues to question Friend until the end. Also like Weiss, Connie becomes paranoid, afraid to even pick up her phone. Eventually she reacts by screaming and then becoming numb and paralyzed, and Friend whisks her away (Perkins and Perkins).

Finally, in “Woman Hollering Creek,” the source of Cleofilas’s terror is her abusive husband. She does not believe she can survive without him, but surviving with him means putting up with physical abuse and being deprived of any freedom. She is also afraid of her husband’s friends, and the rumors of the deaths of his friend’s wives. Like Connie, Cleofilas becomes, at first, numb when her husband strikes her. She does not ask questions as the others do, because questions lead to more abuse. Instead, she pleads for her husband to let her help her baby. She promises to remain silent about the abuse, but can’t help but react to her fear and suffering by crying at the doctor’s office. This breakdown eventually leads to her salvation when the doctor enlists his single female friend to drive her to San Antonio. Cleofilas, like the others, becomes paranoid, expecting her husband to turn up before she makes her escape, but he does not and she finds herself free and laughing (Perkins and Perkins).

Recurring themes in these works include the problem of human suffering, the failure of human knowledge, problems in family life, problems with modern culture, and the victimization of women. All three works also deal with the intricacies of parental love.

Works Cited

Perkins, George and Barabara Perkins, The American Tradition in Literature. 12th Edition. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.