Short Response 1 English

“She began to scream into the phone, into the roaring. She cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness. A noisy sorrowful wailing rose all about her and she was locked inside it the way she was locked inside this house,” (Oates 13).

The above quote from “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates describes the strong emotions and inner turmoil young Connie is experiencing when a mysterious Arnold Friend shows up one day to try to take her away to live with him forever. In the beginning, Connie is introduced as a highly self-aware girl where appearance is her most important aspect of life so she can attract the opposite sex. She is naïve, confident, and “knew she was pretty and that was everything,” (Oates 1). Based on the quote, Connie clearly wasn’t ready to be an adult yet, nor does she have the ability to perform adult actions or roles, such as, being Arnold’s “lover.” This is the moment fear and realization hits Connie about what it’s like to be an adult and she obviously isn’t ready for what she has desired for years. Arnold’s last name is Friend, almost like he is her imagination or someone in a dream that is attempting to warn her or show her what adulthood is like and the responsibilities that come along with it, such as, learning to live without your family and leave home. In this quote Connie calls out for her mother in distress, despite saying she hated her earlier on in the story, meaning she is still an inexperienced young person who still needs the protection and help from her family. The last sentence containing, “she was locked inside it the way she was locked inside this house,” encompasses the way Connie felt about her life, as if she was trapped as a child, working to reach independence but never being successful, until when she finally has a chance to be an adult, she cowers and tries to stop it from happening. Connie’s sister, June, was in her twenties, but dresses, and acts like a teenager, and she still relies on her parents, and Connie laughed at her for it. From the quote, it is made apparent that Connie doesn’t yet understand what it means to be an adult, even though she wished to be one for years.

From the moment children begin to understand words, meanings, and ideas, we start to learn what is expected from us. How to behave, dress, walk, speak, what to like, and when to grow up. Children are easily influenced by adults and the world around them, and almost immediately we’re forced to become adults as soon as possible. Teens, specifically, face a lot of pressures and challenges to fit a certain image that their peers and family approve of, girls even more so. The quote demonstrates just how far young people will go to gain independence and to be accepted by other people, but once the world begins to treat us like actual adults, it shuts us down because we were never prepared. We haven’t had time to be children yet because society, friends, family, and ourselves are tricked into thinking the privileges that follow adulthood are worth all the responsibilities, but in actuality, everyone wishes they could go back to being a teenager.

Source:

1. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol. 1966.