Sexuality and independence in Updike's "A&P" and Oates' short story

¶ … Adult

Different Views of Adulthood in the American Short Story

The American short story is a genre in and of itself, standing distinct from short stories produced by other nations due to the country's revolutionary direction and continued expansion in the nineteenth century, and its increasing dominance and lack of fallout from World War Two (not to mention its position in the Cold War) during the twentieth century. Coming-of-age stories are especially affected by this, though in very different ways. In John Updike's "A&P," a teenage boy discovers his independence through his sexuality, and demonstrates it through defiance. In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," a teenage girl also discovers her sexuality, though it takes a much darker turn and leads to her destruction. Both of these characters discover a sort of power that marks their entrance to the adult world, yet their outcomes are almost polar opposites.

Libidos and Apron Strings

The central conflict that occurs in Updike's "A&P" is between the teenage narrator of the story, who is working at the grocery store during the summer months, and his boss, who disapproves of the swim-suit clad girls that enter the store in their bare feet. The sexual attraction that the narrator feels for these girls is not detailed explicitly by today's standards, but is more than evident in his description of the girls' flesh as it spills out around their clothes in adolescent yet decidedly feminine curves. This attraction turns to an indignation that is almost equally powerful when the narrator's tells the girls that they need to dress appropriately in order to shop at the A&

The story's action takes up no more than a few minutes, yet in this time span the narrator goes from basically liking his job and his boss to being unable to tolerate the environment once his boss has caused the girls to feel ashamed for what he considers to be no reason. He quits his job on the spot, storming out in a show of defiance that the boss know he will eventually regret -- a fact the narrator vaguely seems to realize, as well. Though he does not really hesitate in his actions, he realizes as he is making his stand that the girls are not even present anymore to witness his heroics, having already fled the store amidst their shame and the owner's comments. He is unable to stop himself, however, or perhaps he simply does not want to, but overcome with a sense of duty towards the girls to whom he was so attracted the narrator give up the job that had made his father proud and strikes out into the world independently.

Parallel Paths, Different Directions

There are some significant similarities as well as some important differences in the approach towards adulthood that the two main characters' experiences in "A&P" and "Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been?." The endings of the stories are especially telling in terms of the similarities of these two characters' journeys; both exit through a literal doorway into a world of daylight, suddenly and probably permanently leaving behind the environments in which they exist throughout the action of the story. Their transition into adulthood is sharp, happening almost in an instant, and each is aware of the irrevocability of their final exit. Each is also largely controlled by their sexuality in their determination as to whether or not to make this exit, ultimately stepping through that doorway despite other feelings that inform them of the regret or outright danger that this will put them in.

Though their ultimate decisions may be similar in these regards, their journeys to these decisions and even the subtle motives behind them are quite different. The boy in Updike's story feels compelled by his sexuality to act in a way that he sees as being protective of the objects of his desire; though somewhat slavish to his sexuality he is active in making decisions regarding how this sexuality will be demonstrated. The girl in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," on the other hand, does not rally make active decisions utilizing her realized sexual power, but instead this sexuality has true power over her, and is used by the man at her doorstep to control her. She is acted upon because of her sexuality, rather than acting in the manner of the boy. This could be used to argue that there is simply a gender difference in the way that sexuality is perceived, at least in American society, placing the male automatically in the position of dominance, or it could simply be a difference inherent to these two individual (and fictional) characters regardless of gender. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but the differences that exist are quite plain.

Conclusion

The story of American history is one of rebellion and revolution, and a continual rejection of simple tradition and the finding of one's own path. In keeping with this, these two characters rather ironically assist in keeping this tradition strong. They are also testaments to the vibrancy and variety of the talent that exists among American short story writers.