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Sexuality in litersture
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Sexuality in litersture
Feminist perspective sex in literature
Female sexual roles in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Sexuality in litersture
“She was fifteen and she had a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates, 259). Connie didn’t like being compared to her sister June by her mother and felt as if her mother only thought that she sat around all day daydreaming about boys. The only good thing that June did in Connie’s eyes was go out with her friends, which justified Connie being able to go out with hers. Connie would lie about going to the movie with her friend and they would end up going to hang out with older boys at restaurants and in allies until her friends dad would pick them up. One night Connie spent 3 hours with a boy she had met eating at a restaurant and then down an alley to hang out with
She becomes rebellious day by day. She ignores her mother’s criticisms and starts exploring her sexuality by flirting with boys. Because of her oblivious ways, she fails to recognize trouble when Arnold Friend shows up outside her house. Parents are the ones who should warn their child about the dangers in society and protect them from harm. Connie’s fate proves that her mother has terribly failed as a parent.
Through these interactions, Oates illustrates how societal norms shape women's perceptions of themselves and their roles within society, ultimately influencing their interactions with men like Arnold. Oates shows how Connie and Arnold's interactions reflect the influence of society, highlighting how cultural values shape their behavior and relationships. Connie's obsession with physical appearance, a trait ingrained in her by societal expectations, is evident throughout the story. Connie’s characterization “stems from a rigid belief in physical beauty” as she’s characterized as a teenager who is looking to look her best and impress everyone around her (Korb). This fixation on appearance is echoed in Connie's thoughts as “she knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 1016).
Carol Joyce Oates’ “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents how falling into temptation leads to giving up control and innocence. Though her mother is unapproving of her actions, Connie spends her time seeking attention from male strangers. Home alone, Connie is approached by a compelling creature who convinces her to leave her life and join him on his unknown journey. Through disapproving her family, having multiple appearances, listening to music, and her desperation to receive attention from boys, Connie gives up control of herself losing the purity of adolescents and contributing to her detrimental fate. It is imperative that one should not be controlled because of a desire to impress others.
She sort of flaunts he sexual persona in order to draw attention to herself. She’s constantly making fun of other girls including her sister, June. She doesn’t have any concerns that would be seen as mature. Her main priorities are her looks, hanging out with her friends, listening to music, and flirting with boys despite what he parents think. When Connie is home she acts differently then she would out in public, the biggest reason she does this is probably due to her not having anyone to impress at her
Connie's choice of life style and attitude shows her lack of morals. Connie constantly has conflicts with her family. She is beginning to break away from them. Because the mother is jealous, she likes to put Connie's self esteem down: " Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you?
know of the Black Plague and the rats that are associated with it. What they don’t know is that the plague originated in a different part of the world than they may expect. It actually began in parts of Asia where uncleanliness was as common as drinking water. A bacteria known as Y. Pestis took hold of rats. " Yersinia pestis (Y.Pestis) is a gram-negative, rod-shaped coccobacillus, a facultative anaerobic bacterium.
In the story, Connie hangs out with her friends and goes to a diner where she can flirt with boys without parental supervision. Connie’s reaction to the freedom at the diner is depicted as “Her face gleaming with joy had nothing to do with Eddie or this place: it might have been the music” (Oates 339). This being said, while at the diner, it’s not even the place that brings her joy, it’s the freedom she feels when she is on her own, it’s the “music.” When Connie is leaving the diner, which was essentially her way of living out her freedom, where she was able to flirt with boys and show that second side to her “She couldn’t hear the music” (Oates 339). Now that Connie is going back home where she no longer has that mock adult life, she can’t hear the music meaning she is giving up that freedom to go back to the life of adolescence at
Sexuality in adolescence Sexuality is the most notorious and common sign of development in adolescence. “The House on Mango street”, by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel, where Esperanza transitions from a girl into a young teen. In her journey, Esperanza comes across many challenges, she is forced to grow up by life’s adversities. In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother advises her daughter and scolds her into becoming a decent woman. In her guidance, the mother is worried about her daughter’s sexual activity and warns her about the consequences of improper behavior.
The story states that, “She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates). This statement foreshadows the character's vanity and gives some insight into the character's behavior. The young girl goes by the name of Connie and her older sister June was everything that she wasn't. Her mother admired June, and her only wish was that Connie would turn into her sister. Not only was Connie vain, but she also had a rebellious attitude and behavior.
“But now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.” (Oates ). Also, there is another opportunity for friendship within the family, between Connie and her sister, however, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility. “Her sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters.” ( ).
That also made her become more vulnerable to the real dangers and the evilness that exists in the world. That danger was represented by an old man who pretends to be an eighteen year old boy that seduced and kidnaped Connie. The end of the story Joyce Carol Oates leaves it open to the readers, because that way it makes the reader think of what might have happened, whether she got raped or whether she is killed, after the main character leaves with the antagonist of the story. Oates shows that ignorance, narcissism and the lack of
In this story, Oates describes Connie character as a pretty young girl with “long dark blond hair that drew anyone’s eye to it.” (86) Because Connie led two different lives, she would dress and look different at home, then she would with
Connie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).
Connie does this because she needs to be reassured that she is in fact pretty. On top of this, Connie acknowledges that her beauty is “everything”(1). This statement implies that if perhaps Connie was not beautiful, she would have nothing. Furthermore, when Arnold Friend pulls up at Connie’s house, her heart begins to pound not because there is a stranger at her door, but because she is “wondering how bad she looked”(2). Even when faced with possible danger,