Video Component

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJ809QKmas

CLICK ON LINK MR. KENT! Tested should definitely work.

This video features an interview with the author of The Falls, Joyce Carol Oates. She is discussing how she goes about developing characters that are realistic and believable in her writing. Oates uses many examples ffrom her famous novels, like the Grave Digger's Daughter. The techniques that Oates discusses are evident in her novel, The Falls, because real, raw emotion is displayed in each character. Ariah, Dirk, Gilbert, and her children feel fear, jealousy, sadness, and guilt and that is felt by the reader when Oates shows us their innermost thoughts. When I read The Falls the characters felt unbelievably real to me because of their genuinity and innocence, but mostly because I could relate so well to each of them. I relate to Ariah through her insecurity and her unsureness and lack of confidence she feels at times. I relate to Chandler because of the protectiveness and love he feels for his family no matter what the circumstance.
This video was insightful because it explained to me Oates' thought process when she was creating the characters' in The Falls.