In the book High Lonesome by Jocye Carol Oates, there are an abundance of stories that echo each other in different ways. In spite of the fact that each narrative is different, you can grasp the same recurring idea of transformation in each storyline. The stories I chose, though completely different, have similar dynamics, such as the protagonist’s troubled journeys. There were many connecting themes and characters while also having different narratives. In this essay, discussions surrounding the life cycle of humans are discussed and represented through parallels from the stories, “Where are you going, where have you been?” and “High Lonesome”. This essay will explore the narrative structures, character dynamics, and themes focusing on elements targeting the harsh realities of …show more content…
The quote also suggests a deeper conflict within Connie herself. In spite of her mother's criticism, Connie remains preoccupied with her appearance and uses it throughout the story with boys she meets from the mall. Connie's internal struggle to navigate her sense of self amidst familial expectations and societal pressures. It shows how being a teenager is tough because you're trying to figure out who you are while dealing with pressure from others and battling your own doubts and fears. Similarly, "High Lonesome'' unfolds through a series of struggling family dynamics as we are introduced to the main character Daryl. The story often emphasizes the complicated family dynamics. “Fuck you Pop, ain’t a grandpa of mine, he’s what you call in-law” although different circumstances, the family dynamic for both protagonists are complicated. In the story, Daryl frequently shows resentment towards Pop and rejects their family connection. Daryl repeatedly emphasizes in the story that he doesn't see Pop as a genuine family member but rather sees him as an
I read the book Lonesome Howl, which is a drama book and a love story. The book was about two main character whose names are Jake and Lucy. They lived with their family in two different farms, but in the same community besides a mountain covered in a big wicked forest where many rumors took place. The farmers around the place lost many sheep’s since a feral beast. It was a quite small community and a lot of tales was told about it to make it even more interesting. Lucy was 16 years old and lived with her strict father and a coward of mom who didn’t dare to stand up for her daughter when she were being mistreated and slapped around by her father. Lucy was a retired and quite teenager because of that. She had a younger brother whose name was Peter. Peter was being bullied in school and couldn’t read since the education of Peter was different compare too Lucy’s. She helped him in school and stood up for the mean bullies, although all she got in return was him talking bullshit about her with their cruel dad which resulted with her getting thrash.
Summary and Response to Barbara Kingsolver’s “Called Home” In “Called Home”, the first chapter of the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver presents her concerns about America's lack of food knowledge, sustainable practices, and food culture. Kingsolver introduces her argument for the benefits of adopting a local food culture by using statistics, witty anecdotal evidence, and logic to appeal to a wide casual reading audience. Her friendly tone and trenchant criticism of America's current food practices combine to deliver a convincing argument that a food culture would improve conditions concerning health and sustainability.
Homesick is a novel that exposes many different relationships, the strength of relationships, and how they can endure tremendous pain. The various relationships between Alec and Vera, Alec and Daniel, and Vera and Daniel are considerably different because of the variation in generation represented by each character. Each relationship in this family has its strengths and weaknesses depending on the past of the relationships. The relationships in the novel Homesick are seen through all of the character's eyes, so we can see how each character felt about the other characters. These characters do not tend to say what they think, we can see this many times throughout the novel. These relationships can be observed by seeing how they act, speak, and treat one another.
Although, Chris McCandless may be seen as stupid and his ideals uncanny, he gave up everything to follow his heart he escaped the world that would have changed him, he wrote his own tale to feel free, and he left a conformist world to indulge in true happiness. How many people would just give up their lives, family, material goods, to escape into a world of perfect solitude and peace; not many and Chris was one of those that could and he became and inspiration. “The idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice” (187).
Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. Comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development. The short story Where are you going, Where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed to the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it, and has no plans for the future.
In many short stories, characters face binding situations in their lives that make them realize more about themselves when they finally overcome such factors. These lively binding factors can result based on the instructions imposed by culture, custom, or society. They are able to over come these situations be realizing a greater potential for themselves outside of the normality of their lives. Characters find such realizations through certain hardships such as tragedy and insanity.
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.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
The characters in short stories, ‘Where are you going, Where have you been?’ by Joyce Carol Oates and ‘The man who was almost a man’ by Richard Wright, have lot of similarities between them even though the stories themselves take place in different setting in different time periods, but using symbolism, context clues, and our own experiences we as students of literature can better understand both characters and get an insight into their inner workings beyond what the text tells us on the surface.
Coming-of-age stories commonly record the transitions—sometimes abrupt, or even violent—from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience of its protagonist, whether male or female. Greasy Lake by T.Coraghessan Boyle and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates are great examples of traditional coming-of-age stories. The roots of the coming-of-age narrative theme are tracked in the male protagonist’s perspective for Boyle’s short story, while the Oates’ story captures the coming-of-age theme from Connie; a female protagonist’s perspective. In both short stories, the authors fulfill the expectations of a coming-of-age genre when they take us through the journey of rebellion and self realization, as the
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
Afflicted by his father’s familial neglect due to his dual marriages, Chris opted to “express his rage obliquely, in silence and sullen withdrawal” (Krakauer 123). Ostensibly, Chris’ decision to turn to a life of adventurous isolationism was stimulated by the periodic absence of his father as he divided his love, loyalty, and charity between two households. Thus, being never regarded as a priority and being exposed to a perplexing hierarchy of siblings, half-siblings, parents, and parental lovers, Chris’ taciturn retreat to the remote Alaskan wilderness substituted the confusion, tension, and neglect of home with simplicity, independence, and pacifism. Coincidingly, after Montag’s exodus from the authorities and a brief reminisce of his past life and lover, Mildred, Montag “[doesn’t] miss her” and “[doesn’t] feel much of anything” regarding his wife (Bradbury 148). Always unsatisfied after his enlightenment, Montag has countlessly tried to fill his deepening void with philosophy, poems, and literature. Looking to the past, Montag can accredit that his cleft of deprivation can be credited to his inert, robotic wife who failed to support him through his metamorphosis. Additively, Bradbury, through the portrayal of Mildred, exemplifies how mass mechanization and globalization can enslave the creativity of a human mind and stultify the primitive human functions of conversing,
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.