"Slow" by Joyce Carol Oates

Note: This post was written by a student at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in the spring of 2018.

Slow is a comforting short story that gives the reader the sense that they are not alone. I believe that everyone fears that there will be a day that they find out their significant other has done something to betray them, and this story proves that. It is therapeutic for someone who is going through something similar to this to read Slow so that they can realize that they aren’t actually alone. The story shows a woman who is surprised to see her husband home at a different time than normal. He parks his car in an odd place and as the story goes on, there are so many things happening out of the ordinary that the woman is overcome by the feeling that something is wrong.

The story gave me the feeling that the husband may have possibly cheated on is wife and he has returned home ashamed at what he had done. I hear about couples breaking up or getting a divorce fairly often. And in thinking about that, I realized that in those difficult times, many people probably feel extremely alone. They may feel as if they are the only ones going through something like that, or that they have no one to turn to because there isn’t anyone who would understand how they are feeling. This story can be therapeutic for someone going through those difficult times because they could feel a connection through the descriptive words the author uses and the emotions that radiate throughout the story. “.. and the next wrong thing of course is that he’s leaning forward with his arms around the wheel and his head on his arms, his shoulders are shaking and she sees that he is crying… he is in fact sobbing… and in that instant she know that their life will be split in two..”. I believe this piece from the story shows the emotion that the woman was feeling, the unknown answers to the questions that were racing through her mind, and the feeling of fright and loneliness; all emotions that another individual in a similar situation could be experiencing.

“Slow” projects the suspenseful emotions behind finding out you’ve been cheated on or betrayed in some type of way. It’s very difficult for someone to imagine those feelings if they have never been through something similar before, therefore, making it difficult for some people to show support to their loved ones that are in need of it most. This story is a great turn-to for someone looking to be comforted by the fact that they aren’t alone in the madness they are experiencing. When faced with such an emotional heartbreak, you need to know that it is okay to be afraid, to be scared, and to feel as though everything is crashing down all at once. But what this simple story does is that it gives those individuals the comfort that they may need to process their own emotions, and to realize that they aren’t the only ones experiencing their pain.