“them“ By Joyce Carol Oates

“Them“ by Joyce Carol Oates is a novel that explores the lives of the Wendall family, who live in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit during the 1950s. The novel follows the family as they navigate the challenges and struggles of living in a predominantly African American neighborhood and the racism they face from both the white community and their own story begins with the Wendall family’s move to Detroit from a small town in upstate New York. The patriarch of the family, Ben, has taken a job as a factory worker in the city, and the family is excited about the opportunities that await them. However, they soon discover that their new neighborhood is not the idyllic place they had imagined. The houses are rundown, the streets are dirty, and the neighbors are the family struggles to adjust to their new surroundings, they are faced with a series of racist incidents. Ben is harassed at work, and the family’s home is vandalized. They also experience discrimination fro