The adolescent years can be the best and worse times of somebody’s life. It’s a time when young boys and girls are discovering who they are and where they fit within society. Some want to fit in with the rest of the crowd, but others want to stand out from their peers. However, it’s during these moments that can bring out the worse in somebody. I think as a teenager, we all want similar things in life, and that is to be noticed. In the short, story Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates, a young fifteen-year-old girl named Connie does all that she can to get noticed by the boys in her town. However, the one thing she’s yearning for may bemaybebe maybewere were the one thing that leads her to trouble. On the contrary, the female characters of A&P want to be noticed as well, but end up with a very different result than Connie. How exactly do these two short stories differ and relate in regards to their thematic trajectory? In the short story, Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? Oates does a beautiful job describing what a rebellious teenage girl may want out of life. The author introduces Connie, who is often oftentimes compared to her older sister, June. Because of this comparison, she gets from her parents, Connie often rebels and would rather do anything but hang out with her family. She sneaks off to the diner across from the shopping plaza with her friends to talk to boys without her parents knowing. In this instance, we can see Connie does as she pleases to get her peers to notice her.
One night at the diner, she meets a boy named Eddie. The two drive off to a different restaurant to hang out, but Connie also catches the eye of another boy named Arnold Friend, who drives an ostentatious gold car. Without ever meeting, Arnold tells Connie “I’m gonna get you, baby” and although a bit startled, Connie still drives off with Eddie. Arnold and Connie eventually meet up again but this time at Connie’s house. Before Arnold shows up at her home, Connie refuses to go to a family barbecue with her mother and June. Again, she’s going against what her parents want and doing what she finds more interesting. By this time in the story, encounters with Arnold begin to get ominous. From the tone of Arnold’s dialogue to the plot revealing more and more about the characters, Oates manages to get the readers on the edge of their seats wanting to know what’s going to happen next. As Arnold pulls up to Connie’s house in his gold car, he is accompanied by a friend named Ellie. The two begin talking, but, oddly enough, KaplanArnold knows more about Connie than she would have expected. The two look much older as well but claim to be the same age as Connie. Connie begins to be frightened by the fact that Arnold knew that the rest of her family is at Aunt Tillie’s for a family barbecue. He knew details like what kind of dress June was wearing and the relationship they have with each other. This starts to make Connie uneasy and lightheaded. She threatens to call the police, but Arnold continues to call her pet names like “honey” and tells her if she tries calling the police that something terrible would happen to the rest of her family when they come home. Connie runs inside, and Arnold says he will go inside if she calls the police. Perhaps even hurt her family when they come back. Connie is stunned about what is happening and eventually gives in and joins Arnold in his gold car. It’s unclear what exactly happened after she took a ride with Arnold. The short story shows a girl who wants to be noticed by boys but when she does it’s everything that she would have not expected or even wanted.
Moving forward, in the short story A&P by John Updike, three girls enter the local A&P market in bathing suits. Sammy, a young boy who works at the A&P, notices them and names the “leader of the pack” Queenie. Sammy and his co-worker Stokesie both lusts over the sight of the girls. The girls at this point notice and have established superiority over the male employees at the store. Lengel, the store manager, is upset and says that the girls are breaking store policy. However, when the girls are ready to check out and choose Sammy’s lane, Lengel chastises the girls for their inappropriate behavior. Because of this, Sammy quits on the spot because of how his manager treated them. Lengel says he’s going to regret what he’s done. Sammy then runs outside in hopes that the girls were watching his somewhat heroic act. However, Sammy soon discovers that the girls are gone, and his future is now uncertain. In this short story, we can see thatatfemaleluststhe characters were using their looks and their mere presence to be noticed by the male employees of A&P. What makes this different from Where Are You Going Where Have You Been is the result. Ironically, two very similar girls can end up with two very different results. One ends in terror and the other ending in mystery. Although both short stories end in different ways, each shares a common thematic trajectory and symbolism throughout each respective plot. Connie and Queenie both want similar things in the sense that each wants to be noticed by the boys around them. Queenie will go as far as wearing a bathing suit inside a public grocery store with no regard for how she may appear while Connie puts her own family second to hang out with guys. Both are seeking very similar outcomes and one of the short stories doesn’t end as the character had planned.
For example, Connie and her hunt to find a guy to be with. Connie’s intentions throughout the story appear to be selfish. She would rather be alone at home than send sends with her family but Connie finds out that that’s the thing that would lead her to trouble. With the scary events leading up to Connie taking off with Arnold, it’s safe to say that this was not precisely what Connie was looking for when she sendsends, hanging out with other guys. Queenie on the other hand is throwing herself out there as well but ends up having a guy infatuated with her appearance. She’s even able to get Sammy to quit his job. So in essence, both Queenie and Connie seek the attention of the guys around them but each endsevery day very differently. In regards to the symbolism, of each short story, every day it’s apparent that each Arnold Friend and Queenie have a possession that acts as a symbol of their identity. For Arnold Friend, it’s his gold car that symbolizes his character. Since the story is revolved around people seeking the attention of others, it was only appropriate that the car was gold. Since gold is pretty tough to miss it symbolized how both Connie and Arnold were so focused on getting to know each other. On the other hand, Queenie from A&P uses her bathing suit as a symbol of her identity. Especially in a local grocery store, it’s not everyday you casually see three girls wearing bathing suits walking around going shopping. The bathingwereeveryday suits was veryday were day werewere wanting not only as a symbol but anas obvious cry for attention. Bot short stories, the symbols of their own but with very similar meanings. In the end, it’s apparent what both female characters’ motives were and why they decide to do the things they do. However, depending on the situation will determine what those outcomes will be. For Connie, her hunt for boys led her to an unwanted situation where Queenie is left in a position where she is in power. Both short stories were different in their way. I enjoyed the ominous and disturbing tone from Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? whilewereend everye werewanting to know more about what happened with Sammy.
