This is a book report on Joyce Carol Oates' 1992 novel, "Black Water", that contributes to the message of the book as a whole. There is the theme that life is fleeting, and that one moment we can be cruising along smooth roads, and the next we may find ourselves sinking into an abyss of black water. Oates makes it a point to hammer home the idea that Kelly is an "American girl", thus suggesting that the events described in the book could happen to the reader, or the girl next door. They could happen to anyone, at anytime. Next, is the theme of trust. Everyday we put our lives in the hands of other people, whether they are the pilot of a plane, a bus-driver, or a friend or family member in whose car we are riding, the same way that Kelly put her life in the hands of the Senator.
