The world is a living oxymoron. In order to have happiness, there must be sadness. In order to have wealth, there must be poverty. In order to have security, there must be distopia. Without an opposing side, the world in entirety will collapse. Such as the case of the food chain: without predators, the prey will never feel true security; likewise without prey, predators will never realize true fulfillment. This contrast is explored heavily in Oates’ short story “The Girl with the Blackened Eye” in a cruel lesson between captor and the captive- analogous to the predator and the prey. Her anecdote recounts a nameless female protagonist who reminisces her cruel abduction when she was 15. From a third person perspective, the readers get sucked …show more content…
In terms of cases that promote Stockholm Syndrome, both the victim and the suspect need to develop a positive emotional bond. Also, the victim needs to display a resentment towards the police after the captor gets arrested. However, in “The Girl with the Blackened Eye”, the protagonist presents no symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. In fact, she harbors a disconnected relationship with the captor because of her broken state, she conceals her past and has no interest bringing up her event as well as being relieved when the police came. In actuality, she is experiencing cognitive dissonance, a state of denial phase, in order for her to cope during her captivity. This reflects a message that not everyone in an abusive relationship possesses Stockholm Syndrome. They adapt other mechanisms, such as Cognitive Dissonance, or Denial in order to get through a traumatic event. Everyone reacts differently towards a stressful and barbaric event, just like how the perpetrators plan a myriad of misdeeds based on a variety of motivations. These colorful responses and deeds counteract with one another, much like the oxymorons and paradoxes that are prevalent in the