An Interview with John Updike

Witchcraft and Women’s Spaces; A cultural Materialism Study of John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick

“…He regards fiction works to be charmingly presenting "life in something like its true colors, it"s true, bright colors." Life would look like fiction When habits and dullness are removed from it, he continues; life is "a strange territory, but a splendid one" (Reilly, 2002). It is the way Updike felt life and sensed the world around him which can be grasped through analysing The Witches of Eastwick thoroughly.…”

The Education of Harry Angstrom: Rabbit Redux and the Charge of the Kerner Commission

“…That's one of my Goddam precious American rights, not to think about politics" (38). In this scene the author describes Harry as "frantic" and loud (39), an obvious recreation of Updike's own arguments over Vietnam, which led to his face getting hot, his voice high and tense, his heart racing in a panic. The Stavros With the arrival of Skeeter, who seeks sanctuary with Jill and Harry after escaping a drug bust, the focus of the novel shifts from current events to history.…”

“…70 I agree that Jill serves as a sacrifice, but only insofar as the author uses her death to act as a counterpoint to Rebecca June's drowning in Rabbit, Run. 71 And Updike certainly plays with (unsubtle) Christ imagery when depicting Skeeter. Nevertheless, the act of self-sacrifice or martyrdom, defines a character as a Christ figure.…”