Teens Need Parental Guidance
Kelly Richardson
Professor Howe
ENGWR 301
5 March 2015
Teens Need Parental Guidance
“You can’t tell any kind of story without some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines” – Robert Wise. The theme of any story is not what the author writes about but shy the author writes. It is a generalization about life the author is trying to convey to the reader. In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the plot is about a young teenage girl, named Connie, who does not get along with her parents and spends most of her time at the mall unsupervised. The young girl is being watched by an older man who is pretending to be young. The man shows up at Connie’s house when she is left at home alone and manipulates her into leaving with him. The theme on the other hand is what the plot reveals about life. In this story it is that teenage girls who do not receive proper attention and guidance from home can become targets for men who prey on them. The parent/child relationship often contributes to the direction teenage girls will take. Oates writes, “Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed” (505). Fathers play an important role in guiding teenage girls. Their interactions with their daughter will show her how she should be treated by men. When a father is so distant from his daughter that he doesn’t even talk to her, as is the case with Connie and her father, the daughter will eventually look to other men for that attention and guidance. Oates also writes, “Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn’t much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it” (505). Teenage girls require some kind of positive feedback to know that how they are behaving is ok. Connie, who receives no attention from her father and only negative attention from her mother, is forced to look to her
Professor Howe
ENGWR 301
5 March 2015
Teens Need Parental Guidance
“You can’t tell any kind of story without some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines” – Robert Wise. The theme of any story is not what the author writes about but shy the author writes. It is a generalization about life the author is trying to convey to the reader. In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the plot is about a young teenage girl, named Connie, who does not get along with her parents and spends most of her time at the mall unsupervised. The young girl is being watched by an older man who is pretending to be young. The man shows up at Connie’s house when she is left at home alone and manipulates her into leaving with him. The theme on the other hand is what the plot reveals about life. In this story it is that teenage girls who do not receive proper attention and guidance from home can become targets for men who prey on them. The parent/child relationship often contributes to the direction teenage girls will take. Oates writes, “Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed” (505). Fathers play an important role in guiding teenage girls. Their interactions with their daughter will show her how she should be treated by men. When a father is so distant from his daughter that he doesn’t even talk to her, as is the case with Connie and her father, the daughter will eventually look to other men for that attention and guidance. Oates also writes, “Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn’t much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it” (505). Teenage girls require some kind of positive feedback to know that how they are behaving is ok. Connie, who receives no attention from her father and only negative attention from her mother, is forced to look to her