Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

ISBN: 9780064473477
Publisher: Harper Teen (2002)
p. 288

Reading Level: 8^th grade and up.

 Summary:

Matt Donaghy is a playwright at his high school who has many friends and is always joking and playing around. Unfortunately, one day the police come into the school and escort him to the local precinct where they mercilessly grill Matt about his mentioning something about blowing up the school. One of many who truly knows what is happening is Ursula Riggs, who is the only person brave enough to stand up for justice, not be intimidated by what her parents want, and learn that the voice of truth must be raised amidst the rallying cries of Matt’s dismissal from the high school. A fierce loner who calls herself Ugly Girl, Ursula can’t stand Matt’s being shunned for nothing. Matthew and Ursula finally band together through all the media coverage and the school and community rumors. Realizing how strong they are and that united they can solve almost everything, they are able to break through the shells they live in, find love, and grow up.

Critical Evaluation:

This novel uses alternating points of view in each chapter, those of Matt and Ursula.

The reader gains insight into why Ursula chooses to do the right thing and come forward with information that will declare Matt wholly innocent. As she says, “It just disgusted me how people who knew Matt Donaghy, or should’ve known him and trusted him, were willing to believe such things. Worse, they were almost gloating about it. Like a lynch mob” (p. 28). Strong in her convictions from the beginning, she helps Matt realize his own strength, which he now needs to use in order to get through his ordeal. As Oates writes, “At the police station Matt came to understand why a person in custody, though innocent, suddenly ‘confesses’” (p. 58). The tone of the book alternates between tension and joy. The budding relationship between the two main characters comes at the result of agitation because of outside forces, but the love and joy that emerge are because of two opposites colliding, reaching out, and finally finding love and acceptance.

Reader’s Annotation:

What happens when all your friends turn on you and you end up with the police?

What happens when you know the truth, do you help a stranger?

Find out what happens when these two worlds collide.

Author Biography:

This is Joyce Carol Oates’s first young-adult novel out of five thus far. This highly prolific writer has written over 100 books, poems, and essays. Raised in New York in a tightly-knit, working-class family along with a brother and a sister, she was the first in her family to complete high school. She attended Syracuse University and then went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she met Raymond J. Smith, whom she married in 1961. They spent 47 wonderful years together before Raymond died of complications from pneumonia.

Writing first in longhand, this author’s publication rate is something of marvel. Winning numerous awards, which can be found at http://www.usfca.edu/jco/awards/, she does indeed have critics who say her stories are not “high literature.” One critic spoke back by saying that her criticism, "derives from reviewer's angst: How does one judge a new book by Oates when one is not familiar with most of the backlist? Where does one start?" (Retrieved at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates). Her enormous output should not daunt readers. Instead, they need to think of it of a long list yet to be explored and enjoyed. Although many of the books deal with controversial issues such as murder, domestic violence, gender prejudice, and incest, her books are written with great craftsmanship and are always a pleasure to read.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

This novel could be used in an English class or Social Studies. Topics could include
the media’s role in a event such as this. Did the media exacerbate the situation?

Booktalking Ideas:

- Why did Ursula stand up for Matt and then ignore him during school?

- What similarities and differences do Ursula and Matt
have with respect to friends and family?

- How do you think the school administration and police handle Matt’s situation?

Read-Alikes:

-Freaky Green-Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates.

-Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher.

-Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters.

Challenge Issue:

The depiction of violence in school and those who ends up harassing the main character might lead some parents to believe that this book does not belong in a public institution on the basis of religious prejudice. Oates’s numerous awards and critical praise should be looked at, as well as the freedom that all teens have to read what they choose.

Reason to include in blog:

Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite authors. I have heard her speak and read from her books, and I find that only a few authors—Matheson, Bradbury, Cormier, and Oates—can construct sentence structures that teem with beauty and meaning. Although this novel is not the height of lyricism, she truly captures the voices of teenagers in pain. It is to be hoped that her young-adult novels will prove to be a gateway to her numerous adult books and short stories.

 

References

Joyce Carol Oates. (2011). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates

Oates, J. C. (2002). Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. New York: HarperTempest.

Souther, R. (2011) The University of San Francisco: Celestial Timepiece the Joyce Carol

Oates Home Page. Retrieved at http://www.usfca.edu/jco/images/