Lit Me With Music

Joyce Carol Oates wrote a short story with a title that borrows from a musical: “Getting to Know All About You”. In this story, we follow the fates of four family members as they move from Schenectady to Utica to Rome (New York State). The narrator, a teenage girl named Judith, lives with her older brother Wesley and their two parents, Darrell and Trix. The adults who used to be dancers had to give up their dreams of show biz fame. The themes here are blasted ambitions, social decay, but also love and sexuality. Mentioned in the story are singer Nina Simone, dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, actresses Doris Day, Dorothy Collins and Grace Kelly. Apart from its title, the text contains no song references. Trix, whose real name is Trish, refuses to be called “mom” or “mommy”. We learn that her stage name used to be Roxanne, which, according to the narrator, seemed “to best suit her.” Right from the start, this ubiquity creates much unease. The daughter's confusion i