In the stories The Children and Where are You Going, Where Have You Been, both authors captivates their audience through similar contexts. Both authors intrigued the audiences of juveniles because their characters consist of ages between 13 to 18. They reached out to the younger generations to teach a lesson of how quickly one could become lost within society. Society makes a person lose value in their culture and family virtue.
The Children of Julie Otsuka, took place from the fields of Japan to the wide open range of North America. Japanese mothers wanted a better life for their offspring so they took their belongings and left their spouse. Mothers not only packed their personal items, but their cultural traditions as well. As time
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They forget the names of the flowers in Japanese. They forgot the names of the fox god and the thunder god..." (Otsuka 1072). The children were bewildered by their mother 's speech that they began to act as if they did not understand the language spoken. The children did not speak their native tongue because it was not the language spoken in America. They wanted to adapt so quickly to a common culture since the children are tired of being an outcast.
Consequently, Japanese children did not want to be a Japanese native anymore when they observed the life of an American child. They compared their horrific lifestyle to the luxury of an American. Otsuka illustrates an American house as "... fancy white houses with gold-framed mirrors and crystal doorknobs and porcelain toilets that flushed with the yank of a chain...there were mattresses stuffed with hard metal springs that were somehow as soft as a cloud" (Otsuka 1069). She did not illustrate a Japanese home to her readers because they are rarely at home. The mothers work in the fields as she watches her children play quietly outside. They did not sleep on plush mattresses, but "wooden boards covered with hay" (Otsuka 1067). One character traveled to the city to work as a maid and agreed that the beds were soft. They children did not enjoy the differences in cultures. As they work countless hours with their mothers, others do not even observe the sun rising because they stay at home
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).
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
Is there a different attitude toward children in both books versus the children of today? Discuss the role that youth play in each.
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
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
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
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.
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.
As the trip progresses, the children reveal themselves as funny, spoiled brats. O'Connor's desire to illustrate the lost respect for the family and elders among the young is quite apparent in her illustrations of the children. One evidently notices another foreshadowing image when the family
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.
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.
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
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?
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
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.