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More handpicked essays just for you.
Five uses of children's literature
Five uses of children's literature
Childhood memories -effect in personal development
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The short-story Checkouts written by Cynthia Rylant, is a story about a girl who moves to Cincinnati. This girl young with thick red hair and in it a huge orange bow who still is in high school and would much rather stay at her old house. She had got on her knees and begged them to please let her finish school in the house of her childhood. Obviously the girl would much rather of stayed at her old house even though her parents said she would love the new home. That is why when she moves to the new house she goes sifting through photographs of the life that she had once had. She finally decides to move on and goes to the supermarket. The theme of this short-story is we miss the chances that we don’t take. In the short story readers feel bad for this girl who just had to move into a new house just as she was finishing her childhood and was about to move into adulthood. Then as the setting changes she goes to the supermarket because she decided she can’t mope around forever. She shopped then got to the checkout while she was checking out the bag boy dropped a mayonnaise jar that instant she fell in love. Then he did not say anything only looked at her as he was packing bags and admired her confidence and everyone's around him. He went into a brown depression for the rest of …show more content…
The bag boy had become bored of his job so he moved on and looked for new jobs he found one at a bookstore where girls were always coming in somewhere in between him getting his new job he had asked a girl to the movies as well. They both saw each other again with their dates at the movie theaters they again said nothing to each other only looked at each other and smiled didn’t say one word yet again. They didn’t take the time to even say hi or try to meet one another become friends. They missed the chance yet again to meet one another because they did not take any
As the writer gave freedom to her son, he tore a binder paper from the notebook, and he started writing about any story he wanted. Moreover, she was startled when she saw his story about The Boy In The Red Sox Shirt and Baggy Jeans. It was about a fourteen-year old girl, who
what happened. Suddenly, it was time for her to go; they say their goodbyes and she goes to
we are told that this story is about a girl or a woman and perhaps her
There is this teenage girl name Leah who lived in New York, she was ending her first year of high school as a freshman at Flushing High School. On the last month of classes around June she was hanging around with her best friend Henry. After class, they would hang out together and go to the city to explore and waste time, but there was one thing Leah had to tell Henry, her family had to move to Mexico because her parents thought that they will have a better life. So Leah had to leave with them. She told Henry about her moving with her family to Mexico, so they decided to go out to places before she left. They went out to the theatres, walked around the city, and get something to eat like Burger Kings or McDonalds. It was soon Leah had to leave,
In Joyce Carol Oates "where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" the reader is left with a chilling feeling as they read it 's haunting content. In this short story, the theme of fantasy vs. reality is explored through the protagonist Connie 's journey of self-realization as she leaves behind her naive self. Though the story follows Connie closely the third person omniscient point of view allows for developed story as Oates writes a warning to young girls everywhere.
The decisions that you make throughout life can make or break you; you just have to make the right ones. In Joyce Carol Oates story “Where Are Your Going Where Have You Been?”, the main character is Connie. Connie had an older sister but she was nothing like her. Her older sister always pleased her mom, and Connie did not care. Connie and her friend hang out and go to the shopping center or the movies. One day they decided that instead of going to the mall they would go to the diner across the street. She met a boy named Arnold. After that night everything started to spiral down. “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” demonstrates a teenager who decided to cross the road and become a woman.
The town this girl is from has many traditions and holidays they celebrate. The grandpa of the girl is not familiar with her. Leaving the town doesn't make the girl think about the traditions she is going to be leaving. Not knowing returning will be the hard part the girl leaves for the borrowed country.
Joyce Carol Oates's “Where are you going, Where have you been?” tells the story of a young girl's journey to find her own identity. Along the way she uses her beauty and sexuality to create, in her mind, a feeling of maturity which ultimately becomes her downfall. She believes that by spending her summer days in the mall, dressing in a way that is different than what she would wear at home, and flirting with older boys, while finding pleasure in ignoring boys she knows, she is being her own person and is creating her own identity—one that is different from that of her mother's or sister's. It is not until the end of the story, when Arnold Friend comes into her house, that she begins to realize what is truly important. The title of the story comes into play at the end when she is leaving with Arnold. She does not recognize the town outside; she does not know where she is going. She realizes that all of the time she spent worrying about appearances was meaningless; she could not say where she had been, because her journey was only just beginning.
During the teenage years they no longer want to be labeled the “child; matter of fact, they have a strong desire to rebel against the family norms and move quickly into adulthood. This transition and want for freedom can be a very powerful and frightening thing as there are evils in this world that cannot be explained. Most parents try to understand and give their teens certain freedoms, but at what expense? Joyce Oates gives us a chilly story about a teenager that wanted and craved this freedom of adulthood called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. This is a haunting story of a young girl by the name of Connie who gives us a glimpse of teenager transitioning from childhood with the need for freedom and the consequences of her actions. Connie is described as a very attractive girl who did not like her role in the family unit. She was the daughter who could not compare to her older sister and she felt her Mom showed favoritism towards her sister. Connie is your average teen who loves music, going out with friends, and she likes the attention she receives from boys. During this time, Connie is also growing into her sexuality and is obsessing with her looks as she wants and likes to be noticed by the opposite sex. Her sexual persona and need to be free will be what is fatal to her character’s life and well-being.
In the story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character, Connie, experiences life not having an actively participating mother or father. Most adolescents struggle with the transition from teen-age years to adulthood. For many, this is where the parents step in. Parents are meant to support and help an adolescent when needed, especially during this difficult transition; however, this is not always true. In Connie’s case, her parents allowed her to make the change alone and endure hard times. As a result, she lacked the values needed to survive. Such values are used to equip a young person for the real world and the tragedies that come with it. As seen in “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Connie was a victim of poor guidance and empty judgment. The dysfunctional family’s behavior was reflected in Connie. Her mother envied her, and her father was not an active figure in her life. Connie 's
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
This short story is about a girl trying to be an adult while still being a child. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie tries to grow up too soon. Through setting Connie’s true self is revealed by characterization and figurative language through the house as a metaphor.
In this world, many people are nice, kind, and good, but not many people are truly kind-hearted, like Doris from the short story “Stray” by Cynthia Rylant. Doris is an only child from a family with a financial problem. Even in this family, Doris is a kind-hearted character, and keeps on being so throughout the story. She is kind-hearted because she took care of the puppy, she cried when the dog was taken away, and she saw the puppy and immediately took it inside.
As I began reading “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates I found myself relating the experiences of Connie, the girl in the story, to my own personal experiences. She spoke of going to a friend’s house and having her friend’s father drive them to the shopping mall so that they could walk around and socialize or go see a movie. I found that this related very closely with my own experiences of being fifteen years old because it was always someone else’s parents driving my friends and I to the movies or to the mall.
On the way home, tears of frustration again stung my eyes. There was no stopping them. Another "being stood up" mark was added to the ever growing list. This one had pierced my heart and the resolve of my soul was to never date again. Thus, the book of dating was slammed shut and the key sank to the bottom of the pool.