Compare and Contrast Joyce Carol Oates’s ‘Where are you going, where have you been and John Updike’s ‘A&P.’
Where are you going, Where have you been
“Where are you going, Where have you been” authored by Joyce Carol Oates is a masterpiece that tells the story and plight of a young woman’s loss of innocence during a time of social change and civil strife. Connie the protagonist in the story is in her adolescence and struggles to strike a balance between her family expectations and the conservative values imposed on her by society.
As any typical adolescent, Connie loves to flirt with boys in the evenings and picking up boys at the local diner in a bid to explore her sexuality and assert her independence and individuality. Neither are her parents aware of this habit nor would they approve of it. One evening Connie catches the attention of a strange, creepy boy driving a gold convertible. This boy happens to be a serial killer who preys on girls and convinces them to help him keep his secrets(Oates 1). Oates inspiration of writing this story came from, “ The Pied Piper Tucson” after she was disturbed by the number of teenagers that had been preyed on by the killer.
The setting of the story is during a time where the youth in America had begun to question the fabric of morality and values of society. During this time the youth openly rebelled against their parents ideal in a bid to assert their own cultural beliefs and practices.
A &P John Updike
In John Updike’s “A &P” the antagonist in the story is a young man named Sammy. Sammy works as a cashier, and on one occasion encounters three young ladies who come in the supermarket wearing swim suits. The sight of these girls shocks and intrigues everyone in the supermarket. This intriguing view catches Sammy’s attention to the extent that he watches every move that the girls make. Through out the story Sammy describes the three girls in thorough detail. “The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece, she was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad, soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun has never seems to hit at the top of the back of her legs.(John 496)”
Basically, the John Updike’s ‘A &P’ provides readers a chance to view society through the eyes of a young man. It portrays the thought process of a young man and what circumstances or issues inspire them to make a stand.
Similarities in ‘Where are you going, Where have you been and A&P
There exist many similarities in the short stories ‘ A&P’ and ‘where are you going where have you been.’. The most notable of these similarities are the characters in each story. Both stories are founded upon a female protagonist in ‘where are you going, where have you been’ and a male antagonist in ‘A &P’; whose adolescent and youth confrontations and rebellious nature begin as is characteristic of all teenagers but slowly progress to more serious and harmful endings.
The Main characters in the story, Connie a 15-year-old girl wishes to be older and more beautiful and Sammy an 18-year-old boy from Boston working at an A&P supermarket. Both stories focus on the susceptibility of young women to fall in the hands of preying men. These men use the desire for instant gratification of these young ladies to lure them under their wing. However, these delights are short-lived and the girls only prove themselves naïve for being rebellious.
Girls in both stories represent rather superficial teenaged girls who have discovered their sexuality. In an attempt to assert their discovery the girls exhibit rebelliousness and egotism. The desire to attract the attention of men drives the female characters in both books to defy decency in dressing. In ‘A&P’ Queenie is goes to a grocery store in a swimsuit with the straps falling off her shoulders. An attempt to scold these girls for their lack of decency prompts them to retort and ignore the disapproval of adults.
In both stories, the ladies are innocent; random bystander preyed on by older men. The desire to achieve immediate gratification of being an adult pushes the girls to defy all the values they have learned from childhood.
Differences in Where are you going and where have you been
The main difference in both stories is the dramatization of the lengths that adolescent girls go as compared to that of boys. While girls will dress in skimpy clothes to catch the attention of men, boys, on the other hand, have a bigger price to pay. They have to dress well, and take drastic actions to impress their female counterparts.
Conclusion
Both stories focus on addressing the dilemma faced by adolescent females and males with regards to societal imposed expectations. The inherent competitive nature of human beings and the desire to fit in or to belong pushes adolescents to lengths that attract serious consequences. The moral of the story in both ‘where are you going and where have you been’ and in A&p places an obligation on society and parents to counsel our youths in a manner that does not push them to rebel.
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