Loving, Superficial, Intimate Teens
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates catapults its reader into a seductive, fifteen-year-old mindset, embodied by the main character, the rebellious Connie. Connie, much like Sammy, the main character from "A & P" by John Updike, is on the prowl for companionship and sex. Their unsuccessful search for intimacy, appreciation for family life, and superficial attitudes are what bring them together as similar characters but also what makes them different and unique to the part that they play in their own stories.
In both short stories the main characters are of the opposite sex, which changes the viewpoint of both stories. Connie, at fifteen years old, is sexually active and very sexually intense. At her adolescent age she is unable to understand what is real and fake in love and intimacy. She is constantly daydreaming about sexual "trashy" situations and love, "dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if......
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Approximate Word Count: 1276
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |