Born and raised in a small, five-house town of Millersport, along the Erie canal does not allow much of a social life. Joyce Carol Oates is a product of her own environment, living a life of obscurity. "When you are a writer you locate yourself behind a wall of silence," explains Oates. In such a small town, Oates dreams up a society that is challenged with the trials of human nature. She conjures up stories while keeping a careful distance from the world.