The Children And Where Are You Going

Is there a different attitude toward children in both books versus the children of today? Discuss the role that youth play in each.

Connie is like the average American girl who has just hit adolescence. She can't seem to walk past a mirror without examining herself in it first, she is at war with her mother, and thinks about boys round-the-clock. It is a hot summer in the sixties and many teens have little to do so they spend their time out and about at the local shops. The high temperatures send Connie and her friends to do the same. One night while in the street a random man makes a comment towards Connie and she thinks nothing of it. Days later, while alone in her family home the same man shows up at her door. He asks her to join him but she refuses. After a few brash threats she complies and joins the strange man for a ride in his gold car. In the short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by author Joyce Carol Oates the protagonist Connie is conflicted by her desires, adolescent females from all decades can relate to the desires synonymous with adulthood. In the present day many adolescence fall victim when experiencing adolescent desires for attention, some excitement, and the ideas of freedom.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates has a constant theme of reality and fantasy running parallel for 15 year old Connie. This short story begins with a description of Connie’s vain personality. The narrator describes her as pretty and self-centered (Oates 421). To emphasize her selfishness, Connie is contrasted with her sister, June, who is chubby, plain, and well-behaved. Connie’s mother always praises June for her work ethic and help around the house, but says Connie can’t do anything due to “trashy daydreams”. There isn’t much of a father figure in Connie’s life due to her father being away for work most of the time and detached when

The friends of the narrator, however, do not hide in the imaginary world of childhood and are maturing into adolescents. Sally, “ screamed if she got her stockings muddy,” felt they were too old to “ the games” (paragraph 9). Sally stayed by the curb and talked to the boys (paragraph 10).

This happen because it was believed that the native children could be successful if they were trained into Contemporary Society by adopting Christianity and speaking English or French. They were discouraged from speaking their first language even practising their native

Joyce Carol Oates intrigues readers in her fictional piece “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by examining the life of a fifteen year old girl. She is beautiful, and her name is Connie. Oates lets the reader know that “everything about her [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere but home (27). When Connie goes out, she acts and dresses more mature than she probably should. However, when she is at home, she spends the majority of her time absorbed with daydreams “about the boys she met”(28). This daydreaming behavior is observable to the reader throughout the story. From theories about dreams, theories about

Throughout many cultures, age has been seen as a determinate factor of maturity. And with this maturity, comes power. This belief is clearly defined in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. In this story, the main character, Connie, struggles to reach maturity. Wielding her sexuality in hand, Connie charges into the battle for power, leaving her vulnerable to Arnold Friend’s temptation. Through the use of a symbolic figure, Arnold Friend, who represents the devil, Oates is able to manifest the power struggle between youth and maturity and how Connie strives to obtain the power that comes with maturity.

Once the family has been evacuated and are on a train to an internment camp, the daughter takes over as narrator and represents a different impression of the Japanese Americans. The

The way she manages to jump from herself to her grandmother back to herself and to her mother without losing focus or tension is commendable. Chinese Take Away travels along the river which flows from one generation to the next. Anna personifies her grandmother’s stories of survival throughout the 1930’s in China and Hong Kong. Then through her mother’s dislocation and grief in the 1960’s suburban Sydney and then through her own grief, confusion and amity making with her family’s histories and stories. Use of voice, movement and spacing separates the generations effectively. By having the generations intertwined Yen can effectively show how each links to one another in different situations, experiences and times of life. By using disjointed time sequencing, the viewer may be thrown off if it’s not correctly planned, but displays an insightful story and connection. Yen usually mentions the other generation and then smoothly transitions or sometimes abruptly jumps into

Validation, the feeling of being important and giving into anyone and anything that makes a person feel of value is so intriguing when insecure. There is not a better stereotypical model of insecurity than a young and naive teenage girl—leaving the door open for someone to pry on the innocent. Every potent piece of imagery made in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates showcases the human pitfall of giving into the fall of insecurities.

Despite this, many of their stories and the lessons are still very relevant in today's time. With many more ways to travel in our era, families have a much deeper culture and history. Some of these strong ancestries may fade over time, but the bond between a family should not. The Chinese culture of many of the women in this story sometimes make it difficult to be raised in or simply live in America. The bond between a mother and daughter is a very prevalent theme in this story, and the way culture influences and shapes a person goes along with this.

As the world turns, people come and go. Beginning life as a small child and eventually adopting the ways of the older people around us and thus complete the cycle of life. In the story of Miss and Me Mandible Bartholomew merges the mind of an adult with the body of a child who takes on a controversial role. While the child possessed the knowledge and the sense of a full grown man he was looked upon as a mere child who could not make wholesome decisions. This unique opportunity to delve into what it means to be an adult and child is the crucial question being asked. Would people rather be naïve children with no responsibilities or knowledgeable adults with worldly burdens?

The children also had difficulties adapting to this new country and a new culture. The language barrier was for them a very big problem, in fact, in their new school the greater part of the children did not speak their language. Children themselves could not speak Japanese, and it was difficult for them to adapt.

In the year 1945, the houses weren't the best houses because they weren’t made out of insulation and special things to make the houses warmer or safer(6). My house is well insulated and it is safer than they were in Japan. The houses weren’t that strong and they had to support a heavy tiled roof(6). My house has concrete walls so it can hold a lot of weight on the roof and it is very strong. In the book she had to make the clothes for her children with a sewing machine(10). In my house my mom doesn’t have to make clothes for me because we go shopping and buy clothes.

Kids, who 'd have 'em? He sighed and leered at the mousy waitress who paused at his table to refill his cup. Her drab outward appearance belying the delightfully twisted and varied fantasies that saturated her conscious mind. He thought briefly about entertaining her in her mundane deviancy but he was starting to get a headache. Where was he? Oh, yes, kids. His were out there, somewhere, faithfully doing his bidding. They were born not long after he had arrived in the new world, eager to exploit the endless possibilities of the harsh existence of naive immigrants. He had been terribly disappointed to find that the original inhabitants of the land were impervious to his talents. He could not mark them, most annoying as many were born with such talented minds, possess, or unduly influence them in any way, although that had changed as many had lost their connection to the earth. He had left them to the devices of