Upon the Sweeping Flood by Joyce Carol Oates
"Upon the Sweeping Flood" by Joyce Carol Oates is a compelling narrative that unfolds in the context of a looming hurricane in Eden County. The story follows Walter Stuart, a successful district vice president, who is urgently trying to return home to his family after handling his father's funeral arrangements. His journey intersects with a brother and sister who are desperately seeking safety from the impending storm.
As the hurricane wreaks havoc, the characters are forced to confront their fears and vulnerabilities, leading to escalating tensions between them. Stuart attempts to assist the siblings, but chaos ensues as the storm intensifies, culminating in their desperate retreat to the attic of a farmhouse. The story poignantly captures their struggle for survival amidst the flooding and the breakdown of social order, highlighting themes of fear, loss, and the primal instincts that surface in dire situations. Ultimately, the narrative explores the fragility of human connections in the face of overwhelming natural disasters, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of human behavior under pressure.
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Upon the Sweeping Flood by Joyce Carol Oates
First published: 1963
Type of plot: Naturalistic
Time of work: Probably the early 1960's
Locale: Eden County, in an unspecified state
Principal Characters:
Walter Stuart , a thirty-nine-year-old man who is on his way home after his father's funeralThe girl , who is about eighteenThe boy , her brother, who is about thirteen
The Story
In Eden County, a sheriff's deputy stops Walter Stuart, warns him about a hurricane that is developing, and continues on down the road. Stuart is in a hurry to get home to his wife and two daughters, having spent a week at his father's farm, making arrangements for his father's funeral. Stuart is a district vice president of a gypsum mining plant, a thirty-nine-year-old man who has achieved, quite naturally, success in both finance and love.
A girl of about eighteen and a boy of about thirteen jump into the road by their farmhouse and try to stop another car going back to town. It passes them, and Stuart offers to give them a ride to safety. The car gets mired in mud, however, and the boy sees that his frightened horse has gotten loose. Although the girl frantically protests and slaps at her brother, Stuart tries to help the boy round up the horse, but it gets away. Unable to flee the storm, they take refuge in the kitchen of the farmhouse, pushing furniture up against the door. The girl and the boy scream at each other and at Stuart, inexplicably angry at each other. When the water seeps up through the floorboards, they climb into the attic.
When the windows downstairs explode, Stuart makes a hole in the roof with an ax, and they climb out onto the roof and hold on as the wind and the rain assail them. Then the house collapses, and they float free on the roof. They cling to it, huddled together in the dark, terrified. The boy has "gone loony."
The dawn reveals a small hill and some trees, and they wade toward it. Stuart stirs up some snakes. In a frenzy, he and the boy try to kill them. For no reason, Stuart suddenly starts hitting the boy with a stick. Then he confronts the girl, who prepares to defend herself with a board. As Stuart lunges at her, she points toward a rescue boat. Wading out to meet it, Stuart cries, "Save me! Save me!"
Bibliography
Bender, Eileen Teper. Joyce Carol Oates: Artist in Residence. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views: Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
Cologne-Brookes, Gavin. Dark Eyes on America: The Novels of Joyce Carol Oates. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005.
Creighton, Joanne V. Joyce Carol Oates: Novels of the Middle Years. New York: Twayne, 1992.
Daly, Brenda O. Lavish Self-Divisions: The Novels of Joyce Carol Oates. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996.
Johnson, Greg. Invisible Writer: A Biography of Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Dutton, 1998.
Johnson, Greg. Understanding Joyce Carol Oates. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1987.
Wagner-Martin, Linda, ed. Critical Essays on Joyce Carol Oates. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1979.