Similarities Between Where Are You Going Where Have You Been And To Kill A Mockingbird

Coming of age is the theme in most novels that deal with the transition from childhood to adulthood. In fact, this is the actual growing up and realization of their position in life by the central characters in Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” While the two stories differ in context and setting, the stories are overwhelmingly similar in their coming-of-age experience and with evil. Both novels have young central characters who are suddenly and unwillingly thrust into the center of the learning about the complexities of the adult world: Scout Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” learns about the racial tension and the moral ambiguity of her Southern town while

Moreover, both texts see a visit from the evil or the evil visitor. The Finch family in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is confronted with the violent racism of Bob Ewell, a character in the novel, while Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is visited by Arnold Friend, a weird character. These characters personify the larger issues in the community, such as racism and the loss of innocence. The protagonists deal with the evil in different ways, but ultimately their visits deal with the moral decadence of the surroundings and they finally arrive at a better understanding of human nature. Both texts use symbolism and allegory to bolster the stories’ thematic issues. A mockingbird in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is an allegory of innocence and the unjust persecution of innocents, while in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” there are elements like the car that Arnold Friend drives and his menacing look that is an allegory of danger and loss of innocence. These symbols and allegorical confections enrich the overall themes of the texts and dares the readers to think about the textss deeper