Recovering latent parts of a story: The Buck

In the short story entitled "The Buck" written by Joyce Carol Oates, we are introduced to two quite interesting characters, namely Melanie Snyder and Wayne "Woody" Kunz. These two characters both struggle with different aspects of their personal lives; in Wayne Kunz's case, he is in constant battle with his manhood, whereas Melanie Snyder has somewhat renounced her femininity. Her very appearance when we first see her in the story is quite strange, because she …

…life. Oates uses both of these characters in her story to show their different responses to their sexuality. She shows Wayne who is struggling with his manhood, and Melanie who is in constant battle with her femininity. Oates reveals in the end however, that, like Melanie, sometimes people are never able to recover the latent side of their sexuality; on the other hand many like Wayne simply need a boost to reclaim their stifled sexuality.