‘He had a big mouth sometimes, but … how was that a crime? In the United States we have a Bill of Rights guaranteeing us freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Don’t we?’
This is what the American novelist Joyce Carol Oates writes the very end of her novel taking her point of departure in Matt Donaghy who goes to Rocky River High School. The above quote from the novel includes a discourse on the issues of being a big mouth and most importantly the freedom of speech which according to the protagonist Matt Donaghy does not exist?
In the story we are inside Matt’s head and therefore we follow and see all of his thoughts on the situation going on and his way of behaving towards the people questioning him in the office about what he actually said. Bear in mind that even though he firmly denies the accusations, he is almost continuously being mistrusted. This is probably caused by his very sarcastic behavior because he keeps saying inappropriate things even when he’s interrogated in the office: ‘I can tell you: I never threatened anybody or anything…And if I had, I wouldn’t tell you, about it, would I?’
Matt is maybe not aware of the possibility that he did actually say something to his friends that could be misinterpreted and have a deleterious effect. He starts realizing that the sarcastic jokes won’t help him out and can only hurt him even more – only by choosing the right arguments with care can he avoid the mistrust laid upon him. His speech is therefore restricted which is perhaps intentionally done by the author because it somehow can reflect that freedom of speech is not all that free after all. Also, all of his actions in the office maybe contribute to the distortion of the situation which, in the end, limits his freedom of speech.
However, this only seems to be in effect when he’s among the Head of School and the police which might represent the