Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

In Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, a mother simultaneously berates her daughter with instructions and teaches her what society expects from her. Kincaid uses repetitive details frequently throughout the story. For example, the mother tells her daughter “how to hem a dress” and “behave in the presence of men” so that the daughter can avoid “looking” and being “recognize[d]” as the “slut” she is “bent on becoming” (437-8). Her mother’s message of avoiding acting ‘slutty’ exposes modern gender stereotypes. The repetitive details suggest that a girl must dress and behave a certain way to avoid being branded a slut.

“Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” Essay Interpretations regarding the short story “ Where Are You Going ? Where have you been ?” by Joyce Oates have been widely voiced in various critical articles. For instance, Clifford J. Kurowski's claim that Connie had come of age and “.. was certain she knew how to handle the choices Friend was making available to her”( Kurkowski np ). Or Mike Tierce and John Craftin, who insist that young Connie has been rescued by a mysterious savior, Arnold Friend, who “ frees her from the limitations of a 15-year-old, assisting her maturation by stripping her of her childlike version,” ( Tierce and Crafton np).

Mister’s sister named Kate felt sorry for Celie’s fate and encouraged her to fight Mister. Mister’s had a son named Harpo (not Celie’s son) who married a brave girl named Sofia and also encouraged Celie to fight back. Mister wanted Sofia to be inferior to his son by trying to beat her, but Sofia as strong woman manage to fight back and even to Harpo. Sofia moved out with her children due to the rudeness of Mister and Harpo, while Harpo had another girlfriend named Squeak. Sofia was lead to meet Miss Millie, the mayor’s wife who put Sofia to jail due to her insubordination.

When she is old and dying, she runs away again to struggle against being sent to a nursing home. Hagar shows woman’s sheer will-power and self-identity. Marian Mcalpin,in Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman(1969),who has the engagement with a young lawyer, feels that she is losing herself. Marian is coerced into a more feminine role, which she takes pains to resist so that she keeps running away from her fiancé and the future

“I wish you could persuade Mary not to be always fancying herself ill” (Austen 42). These are Charles Musgrove’s exasperated words to Anne Elliot concerning his valetudinarian wife. Throughout her novel Persuasion, Jane Austen writes much about Mary Musgrove’s grievances against unsuitable conditions, ranging from supposed illness to mistreatment by others. By infusing the caricature of Mary with an unwavering obsession and discontent with her health, reputation and situation, Austen shows that victim mentality leads only to childish and self-serving behavior. Mary is inordinately self-absorbed, especially regarding her own health.

Such a statement to the person that has allowed her to stay long after Juliet finished breastfeeding is one that could cost her the loss of a second child. The Nurse continuously claims that Juliet is like her daughter, and defying Lord Capulet could lead her too far worse consequences than what Juliet gets for defying him. The fact that the Nurse is the one to call out Capulet for his misbehavior clearly shows

Connie is a fifteen-year-old who is trying to make the best of her life by seeking attention from others. Having the attention, she wants makes her feel superior, and make her feel like no one can tear down her ego. The only one trying to tear down her ego is her mother who wants her to be like her older sister June who is the opposite of Connie. She is mature and even helps the family out. For Connie to be taught a lesson of her conceded qualities, she encounters meet Arnold.

It starts off amiable, as the author introduces the characters, properly depicting different voices and personalities. These characters lead to a thick plot, narrated by Scout Finch. Because Scout is a mere 8-year-old girl, the reader doesn’t have much insight as to what’s going on. Harper Lee uses innocence in Scout and the other characters in the book to introduce racism, hatred, love, family, unity, and other ideas into the minds of readers. Scout’s family is made up of three people: Calpurnia, Atticus Finch, and Jem Finch.

For example, Serena Joy, the Commander’s Wife who lives in vain hope for traditional womanhood, is the true traitor against women. However, she is unhappily trapped in this new society she advocated for, where her hands have to endlessly knit for wool scarves and also touch flowers that mock her sterility. She has no choice but to support Offred’s and the Commander’s Ceremony for the future of the household. Through illustrating women who do not show solidarity to their gender, Atwood wants the reader to realize how they are also a product of their society, caught in their gender

In Cinderella, Cinderella is responsible for cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry for her step mother and step sisters. These images show young girls that cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry are “female” tasks. In almost every Disney fairy tale, the princess, with minimal effort, manages to capture the heart and affection of a handsome and wealthy prince so they will never have to obtain such duties as cleaning and cooking. In her book, The Sexualization of Childhood, Sharna Olfman explains the various images Disney princesses convey to children. She argues, “The female ideal is a rich white girl who lives in a big house with servants who do the work” (Olfman).