Introduction
Society has been overly focused on outer attractiveness and physical appearance instead of acknowledging people’s true virtues. This paper will analyze the themes of Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and John Updike’s “A&P.”
The implicit idea that both authors portray is the effect that physical appearance has both on the individual and others. Sammy has decided to resign as a way of supporting the three young girls who entered a shop wearing bikinis. Connie is overly focused on the attention she receives from boys due to her appearance as a result of her parent’s negligence. Both Updike and Oates disclose the misconceptions of physical attractiveness that still exist in our society and show the consequences of the hyperfocus on beauty, which in one case causes Sammy to quit his job and in the other leads to Connie feeling miserable.
Similarities
In “A&P” by John Updike, the theme of the attraction is explored through the characters of young girls entering the supermarket. As Updike narrates, three young women enter the shop wearing bathing suits only. They immediately attract the attention of the people who work in this shop, including the main character Sammy. He becomes so focused on these girls that he even comes up with a name for one of them—Quennie (Updike). Notably, in the first part of this short story, there is no interaction between the girls and Sammy. The latter’s obsession is based solely on the girls’ appearance. While there is nothing wrong with being attracted to someone, the way Updike portrays Sammy admiring these girls is alarming.
The power of attraction is strong in “A&P,” and it even prompts Sammy to resign from his job. While the girls were choosing their snacks, Sammy, similarly to others in the store, watched them (Updike). Moreover, when the manager of the supermarket scolded the girls for wearing inappropriate clothes, Sammy decided to quit his job as a way of showing his disagreement. Sammy thinks that the manager was rude and should not have approached the girls in this manner (Updike). Furthermore, he wishes that the girls see his actions, perhaps hoping that they would notice him supporting their actions. After Sammy leaves the shop, he looks “for my girls,” as he describes the women (Updike). However, Sammy does not know these three women, despite his gesture of support for them. Hence, this episode in Updike’s story shows Sammy’s unhealthy obsession with beauty and physical attractiveness that prompted him to risk his future career.
Despite the attraction and Sammy’s choices caused by it, when he leaves the supermarket, he cannot find the girls. Moreover, he becomes fearful of the future since he had just quit his job (Updike). This fear is most likely connected to the fact that Sammy made a choice not because he did not like the job or disagreed with the manager. Instead, he did it because he expected the girls to appreciate his actions.
Similarly, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the theme of attraction and sexuality is exposed through Connie’s behavior. Connie is a teenager, but she is obsessed with how she looks, which the authors show through the girl’s obsession with looking in the mirrors (Oates). Even though Connie is attractive, her feelings do not correspond with her outer beauty. For example, she wishes that her mother and she would be dead (Oates). Eventually, Connie’s beauty attracts an older man who tries to convince her to sit in his car, which she recognizes as a warning sign. Although Oates does not state explicitly what happened to Connie after she went with the man, it is clear that this story had a tragic end, based on the interactions between the two characters.
In both short stories, the focus on physical appearance and attraction is portrayed as negative. Connie desires to be beautiful, but she feels depressed and miserable (Oates). Sammy leaves his job at the supermarket in an attempt to impress beautiful girls (Updike). Both works explore the theme of attraction and beauty, although in a different manner. In the work by Oates, Connie is only fifteen years old, but she is already overly focused on her physical appearance.
Although both works show the misconceptions about physical beauty and how it affects attitudes towards people, the authors choose different scenarios to show this. For example, Connie’s focus on her physical appearance is linked to her desire to attract boys (Oates). The only reason why she liked her sister June was that the latter once went out with friends, which allowed Connie to ask permission from their parents to go out as well. She used this opportunity to meet and spend time with boys (Oates). However, this story shows how parental neglect can result in hyperfocus on physical attractiveness.
Connie’s parents pay little attention to her, which may be the underlying cause of her feeling miserable. For example, her mother constantly compares Connie to June, who is older, already has a job, and helps their parents financially (Oates). Moreover, her father is always busy at work and never takes time to communicate with Connie. When Connie and her friend went to a shopping mall, and the former’s father came to pick them up, he never asked how they spent time (Oates). While this story does not directly reference this issue, there are underlying clues that link Connie’s obsession with her appearance to the neglect she experiences from her parents. Moreover, because Connie dressed as an adult, did her makeup, and acted like an adult woman, she attracted the attention of Arnold (Oates). In the end, Arnold’s obsession with Connie caused her harm. Hence, this short story by Oates prompts the readers to rethink the way they perceive focus on beauty and reconsider the causes that lead to a person’s obsession with physical appearance.
Updike focuses on showing how beauty attracts attention from others. When the three girls enter the supermarket, their attention is immediately drawn to them. Not only Sammy but also his coworker Stokesie and their manager noticed the girls and chatted about them (Updike). Notably, Sammy’s description of the girls and the lady that complained about him ringing her groceries twice are vividly different. He stood up to his manager, claiming that the latter should not have embarrassed the girls when telling them that they are inappropriately dressed (Updike). However, Sammy described the lady from the beginning of the story as a witch, arguing that if she were born earlier, she would be burned at Salem (Updike). Sammy’s attitudes toward people and decisions are influenced by their physical attractiveness of the latter.
Common Theme
In the 2012 film adaptation of Frantz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the role of physical appearance that affects the perception and attitudes towards an individual is also disclosed. After Gregor becomes an insect, his family tries to get rid of him. Notably, insects are generally not attractive to humans, and they cause feelings such as disgust. Gregor’s transformation into an insect changed not only his appearance but also the way his family perceived him. The film adaptation allows the viewers to see the visual changes of this character and experience his family’s poor treatment after it. The connection between the three works is that physical beauty is the main focus of society. In Metamorphosis, Gregor remained himself, with his memories and personality, but his family was disgusted by him, which led to Gregor’s subsequent death.
Conclusion
In summary, both “A&P” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” have a similar theme of attraction explored by the authors from two different perspectives. In “A&P,” Sammy is attracted to the three girls in bathing suits, which motivates him to stop working at a supermarket.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie attracts young boys with her appearance. Her obsession with beauty is contrasted with the neglect that her father shows towards her. The film adaptation of The Metamorphosis also shows how physical appearance can change the attitudes of family members drastically. Hence these three stories show that obsession with beauty and physical attractiveness leads to adverse consequences.
Works Cited
Metamorphosis. Directed by Chris Swanton, performance by Eirik Bar, Attractive Features Ltd., 2012.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” CUSD. Web.
Updike, John. “A&P.”Mr. Chandler’s Class.