Ethics of Oates' Landfill

1049 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on landslide

An Ethical Origin

Writers have always drawn inspiration from real events for their stories. Joyce Carol Oates is now being criticized as unethical for just that. The critics claim that it was not ethical for Oates to use the events that befell John Fiocco Jr. in her story "Landfill", and also for including many similarities between Fiocco and her main character Hector Campos Jr.. Though there are some similarities between the two, the differences were great enough that only some who knew of the Fiocco case. Because of this, Joyce Carol Oates' decision to use Fioccos' death as a fictional basis was ethical.

The sad story is still mostly a mystery because of the ongoing investigation, and both the police and autopsy report were withheld from the public. What is known, is that a nineteen-year-old freshman at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) named John Fiocco Jr. was reported missing from his dormitory on March 25th 2006 after drinking. Police reported finding blood (that was later identified as belonging to Fiocco) around a dumpster outside of his dormitory. It was never made clear if it had any connection to the trash chute above, but his body was recovered at the Bucks County landfill in Pennsylvania. (Landfill Isn't About Fiocco)

"Landfill" is loosely based on what happened to John Fiocco Jr.. It is a story of a nineteen year old college freshman at Michigan State University at Grand Rapids. He is a struggling student that tries extremely hard to fit in with the fraternity he joined. He is hazed and bullied, and on the night of march twenty-fifth, while heavily intoxicated, he falls down a trash chute at his fraternity house. A few weeks later, his body is discovered at the Tioga County landfill. (Oates)

The family of John Fiocco Jr., classmates, and other critics called Oates unethical for publishing her story in the New Yorker. Though the family has good reason to be upset because they were still grieving their loss when the story was published, using the event as an idea for "Landfill" was in no way unethical. In comparison, September 11th was felt by the entire nation and while all their families were still mourning, books and even movies were made about it. Even if they are not similar events, it shows that no matter what happens, writers will always draw ideas for their stories from real life and in this case, Oates acknowledged that she had read newspaper articles regarding the John Fiocco Jr.

Show More
Related

  • Summary: The Case Of Elizabeth Bain

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    On June 19th of 1990, Robert Baltovich’s girlfriend Elizabeth Bain went missing. Elizabeth told her family that she was going to check the tennis schedules at her school, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. She never returned, but her car was eventually recovered. It was found with blood on the backseat, with forensic tests showing that it was Elizabeth’s. With no clear evidence, the “solving” of the case was completely based on eyewitness testimonies, which eventually had Robert arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.

    Read More

  • Kendrick Johnson Case Study

    83 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another case is that of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson whose death was initially ruled the result of accidental suffocation. A second autopsy produced a different conclusion, but when the second autopsy was performed, his body had been stuffed with newspaper, and his organs were missing ("Organ Trafficking, Melanin Theory & the Fountain of Youth -," n.d.). The brain, heart, lungs and liver were missing. He also discovered Johnson's death was due to blunt force trauma to the right side of his neck (Archer,

    Read More

  • The Lowry Landfill Superfund Site

    2979 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Lowry Landfill Superfund Site is located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, approximately 2 miles east of Aurora. It consists of approximately 507 acres of waste disposal area and is operated by Waste Management of Colorado, Inc. The land surrounding the site consists of native prairie grass and a wetland located along a local creek. Sections around the site are zoned for agricultural use including cattle grazing and non-irrigated wheat farms. 1 The area is home to numerous endangered species including the bald eagle and peregrine falcon. Due to the large amounts of wastes disposed on the site between 1965 and 1980, it became extremely contaminated with a variety of inorganic and organic contaminants. From 1984 to 1993, the EPA oversaw remedial investigation and feasibility studies that were performed by all responsible parties. Since its listing as a superfund site in 1984, multiple remedial actions have been performed in order to rehabilitate the site. These include clay barrier walls around the site, a groundwater collection system, a soil cover for the main landfill, as well as a landfill gas collection system. Groundwater that is collected on the site is treated at an onsite water treatment facility. In 2007, construction began on an onsite gas to energy plant that utilizes the methane produced by the landfill site. The electricity produced by the plant is enough to power 3000 households. 1 Today, use of land and groundwater on and near the site is still restricted by the state of Colorado.1

    Read More

  • Los Lobos Landfill

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Stewarts moved into a neighborhood near the previously established Los Lobos Landfill (“Landfill”). However, the Stewarts noticed an increasingly offensive odor from Landfill supported by the filing of over a thousand odor complaints in 1992. These complaints resulted in City ordering a halt to Landfill’s composting activities in March 1993. This order resulted in Landfill’s composting permits to be withheld until the California Waste Board resolved the issue. Citizens United for Responsible Environmentalism (CURE), begun by the Stewarts, conducted a study that correlated health issues, composting, and Aspergillus fumigatus (fungus) concentration increases. City convened an Advisory Panel (Panel) that determined that Landfill’s composting

    Read More

  • Brandy Hall

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    The following day, a fisherman was at the Treeland Blvd. pond when he spotted some stuff floating in the water. Upon closer inspection he noticed it was firefighters gear and figured something must be wrong since firefighters do not just leave their equipment. The police had the pond drained and found a green Chevy truck at the bottom. Inside the truck was a substantial amount of blood; when the blood was tested it was that of Brandy Hall. The amount of blood in the cab of the truck makes it unlikely she will be found alive. The woods around the pond were also searched but nothing more was found.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Short - The Black Dahlia

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    Two detectives were assigned to the case: Harry Hanson and Finis Brown. [2] When they and the police arrived at the crime scene, it was already swarming with people, gawkers and reporters. The entire situation was out of hand and crowded, everyone trampling all over any hopes for good evidence. [2] One thing they did report finding was a nearby cement block with watery blood on it, tire tracks and a heel print on the ground. There was dew under the body so they knew it had been set there just after 2 a.m. when temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Ill-Gotten Gains, By Tom Regan

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    The fictional story at the beginning of the article is an extremely effective technique to engage the reader. I instantly felt outraged

    Read More

  • The Assassination Of Tony Frescaz

    325 Words  | 1 Pages

    Tony Frescaz was found dead in his Nissan GTR last night around 7 p.m. His neighbor became suspicious when he wasn’t blaring his favorite country music like he does after soccer practice, every single day. His mouth was covered in some mac and cheeto dust, which he was eating before he died. He had bruises all over his neck, so it is most likely he died, due to strangulation. Police searched his room to see if there was anything to suggest why he was murdered, but all they could find was several posters of cheetahs , ripped up in a garbage sack, and an opened acceptance letter to Texas A&M. AFter searching his vehicle, they found many nike shoe boxes, and a musty cowboys jersey. They were able to find an unfamiliar set of fingerprints on his

    Read More

  • Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried Essay

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    O’Brien explicitly asserts that “A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth” (139). O’Brien, as demonstrated here, is not interested in the physical reality of what happens, rather he is writing from an emotional standpoint. He also directly states “I feel guilty sometimes. Forty-three years old and I’m still writing war stories” (61). Writing war stories and guilt are clearly related things in his mind and he writes in order to cope with this guilt. This entire work, every little story, every random detail, and every character is a direct reflection of O’Brien working through his guilt in the only way he knows how:

    Read More

  • Dewey Loeffel Landfill Case Study

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Dewey Loeffel Landfill, located in Rensselaer County of Upstate New York, was used and filled in between the years of 1952 and 1968. The site was used by companies in the area such as General Electric (GE), Bendix Corporation (now Honeywell International, Inc. [Honeywell]) and Schenectady Chemicals (now SI Group, Inc. [SI]). Around 46,000 tons of waste materials were put into this site for disposal. The waste includes everything from sludge and solids to industrial solvents and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Because of this landfill, the surrounding areas have been contaminated. Ground water has been infiltrated with volatile organic compounds and hazardous waste materials. The more serious issue is the contamination of nearby lakes.

    Read More

  • Exploring the Art of Storytelling

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many times in order to make the story seem right there has to be something filled in with a little lie or two. For example in O’Brien’s story rat is the one who writes to the friends’ sister but there was also some other guys who say what happened. One of the other guys tells his version of how the guy died, but he explained more what happened before the death and after. He explains how Rat and his buddy named Curt Lemon where enjoying time together playing with some smoke grenades and how one of them loses their life was pretty descriptive to us. Just that when he describes how Curt’s’ death occurs is a little hard to believe. The reason why I say that is because he describes the guy’s death in a more like romanticized moment for him. He be describes how it was a terrible moment but seamed very different in his words “when he died it was almost beautiful” He was saying how they were in the darkness and Curt stepping on a mine which made him lifted in the air seamed beautiful when the sunlight hit him at the moment of his death. At that moment he basically glorified the way Lemon died. Since he claims he saw the whole thing the part where he describes Lemons death is very skeptical. For me I think he made it up because it’s hard to believe you would see a death in that

    Read More

  • Comparing Life to Fiction

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    In an article featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer on January 30, 1987, titled " A Woman's Wintry Death Leads to a Long Dead Friend ", the body of Frances Dawson Hamilton, 70, was discovered by police after she had frozen to death in her home. Even more shocking was the discovery of a second body, that of Bernard J. Kelly, 84, in an upstairs bedroom. Kelly had apparently been dead for about two years, based on the last sighting by neighbors. The body was found in a twin bed, clothed in long johns and socks and draped with rosary beads and palm fronds. There were also two boxes of Valentine's Day candy beside the body. Hamilton had apparently been sleeping beside Kelly as a second bed had been pushed up alongside his deathbed. (1. Kirsner, 119) (2. Pothier)

    Read More

  • Johnny and Ponyboy are Innocent of Murder

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    This morning October 8th 1965 at about 5:13 am the body of Bob Sheldon was found lying next to the park fountain he was seen to be in a pool of blood. His body had a single stab wound in his back which had pierced his heart, killing him instantly. Supposed eye witnesses say that a small boy who was a member of the "Greaser Gang" attacked and killed Bob and intended to kill the rest of them. Cherry Valance claims that she was walking with Johnny and Ponyboy after the movies when Bob approached them in his car and threatened the two them. Be on the lookout for the two boys with the description of one that has long light-brown hair, green eyes, and is about five feet tall and another has long jet-black hair, large black eyes, and is about four feet six inches. The first one is considered to be Ponyboy and the second one is considered to be Johnny. The two are now on the run they were last seen at a party with Dally. Investigators report that Dally says he has no idea where these two are but he thinks that they are going to Mexico. A woman was taking a walk through the park and discovered the bloody corpse she said “I was hesitant at first because I thought they were watching me, but I gained some courage and called 911” the friends that were their helping Bob bully the 2 said they were there during the homicide, but decided not to call the police because they were drunk and they were scared after seeing him dead. They said, the murderer was a 16 year old boy named Johnny Cade.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Landfills

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine yourself in the middle of a rainforest, listen to the sounds around you, smell the fresh air, hear the wildlife; take that image and get rid of the trees around you, the sounds of wildlife, and the smell of fresh air. Instead of a rainforest you are now in the middle of a seemingly endless sea of trash and waste. The fresh scent in the air gone, the sprawling land of greenery and trees gone, and the sounds of the forest is reduced to the sound of heavy machinery trying vainly to reduce trash into smaller more compact waste.

    Read More

  • Landfill Essay

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    The question is: what exactly is a landfill? Ironically, landfills are much more complicated than the useless piles of garbage that they appear to be. This isolation is accomplished with the use of a bottom liner and daily covering of soil” (Advanced Disposal).

    Read More

More about Ethics of Oates' Landfill

Open Document