Essay on "Adult Different Views of Adulthood"
Essay 4 pages (1138 words) Sources: 0
[EXCERPT] . . . .
AdultDifferent Views of Adulthood in the American Short Story
The American short story is a genre in and of itself, standing distinct from short stories produced by other nations due to the country's revolutionary direction and continued expansion in the nineteenth century, and its increasing dominance and lack of fallout from World War Two (not to mention its position in the Cold War) during the twentieth century. Coming-of-age stories are especially affected by this, though in very different ways. In John Updike's "A&P," a teenage boy discovers his independence through his sexuality, and demonstrates it through defiance. In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," a teenage girl also discovers her sexuality, though it takes a much darker turn and leads to her destruction. Both of these characters discover a sort of power that marks their entrance to the adult world, yet their outcomes are almost polar opposites.
Libidos and Apron Strings
The central conflict that occurs in Updike's "A&P" is between the teenage narrator of the story, who is working at the grocery store during the summer months, and his boss, who disapproves of the swim-suit clad girls that enter the store in their bare feet. The sexual attraction that the narrator feels for these girls is not detailed explicitly by today's standards, but is more than evident in his description of the girls' flesh as it spills out around their clothes in adolescent yet decidedly feminine curves. This attraction turns to an indignation that is almost equally powerful when the narrator's tells the girls that they need to dress appropriately in order t
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The story's action takes up no more than a few minutes, yet in this time span the narrator goes from basically liking his job and his boss to being unable to tolerate the environment once his boss has caused the girls to feel ashamed for what he considers to be no reason. He quits his job on the spot, storming out in a show of defiance that the boss know he will eventually regret -- a fact the narrator vaguely seems to realize, as well. Though he does not really hesitate in his actions, he realizes as he is making his stand that the girls are not even present anymore to witness his heroics, having already fled the store amidst their shame and the owner's comments. He is unable to stop himself, however, or perhaps he simply does not want to, but overcome with a sense of duty towards the girls to whom he was so attracted the narrator give up the job that had made his father proud and strikes out into the world independently.
Screen Doors, Cars, and Deserts
The protagonist in Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is not especially active, at least externally. The entire story, based off of the true story of the kidnapping and murder of a high school girl, takes place with the girl standing inside her home and an older -- though not much older -- man standing outside, tempting her to come with him for a ride out to the desert. The story is full of heavy symbolism, especially in the characters themselves, and the specifics of the story's meanings are widely open to interpretation. There is a definite transition occurring in the girl, however, as she begins to admit the… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Adult Different Views of Adulthood" Assignment:
“Read and analyze the following two short stories: *****A & P***** by John Updike and *****Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?***** by Joyce Carol Oates. The protagonists in *****A & P***** and *****Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?***** are both young people finding their way into adulthood. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the way these two characters move into adulthood. The essay needs to have an introductory paragraph that contains a clear thesis sentence. In addition, each paragraph needs a clear topic sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph and is supported with specific textual evidence using the short stories. Do not just summarize the stories; instead, make specific claims that relate to the thesis and support them with textual evidence. The essay needs a logical and pleasing closing paragraph.
These short stories can be found by using Google or on the following websites.
*****A & P***** by John Updike
http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/
*****Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?***** by Joyce Carol Oates
http://jco.usfca.edu/works/wgoing/text.html
How to Reference "Adult Different Views of Adulthood" Essay in a Bibliography
“Adult Different Views of Adulthood.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/adult-different-views-adulthood/6048805. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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