Comparison of the Topic of Youth Immaturity in Literature Works

An initiation story is usually a short story that involves the narrator, or an important character who goes through a life changing experience. For class, I was told to read the story “A&P” written by John Updike also the story “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates. In both of these stories a character has matured or went through what we like to call an epiphany. In the story “A&P”, three girls dressed in bathing suits looking beach ready, walked into a store called A&P when the man who worked there pays attention to every move they make.

In the story “Where are you Going, Where have you Been?”, young Connie was being stalked by an older man named Arnold Friend who she thought was a lot younger. These two stories can both be compared because they are both considered initiation stories are parallel in many ways. Both stories have young girls who go through an epiphany after being stalked or harassed by an older man. In this essay I will be talking about when the moment of epiphany or maturity was achieved. Then I will be comparing the two stories by finding similarities and differences. Because youth immaturity is so common, young people have to go through personal moments of growth or epiphanys to end the childness behavior on their own. By embarking on a journey, being a rebellious youth, and going through a moment of epiphany, these young girls could have potential of growth and maturity.

The story “A&P” by John Updike tells a story that has characters experience growth and maturity. This story starts off with three young girls walking into a store called “A&P”. They are dressed in clothes that are not usually worn out in public. The girls are walking around the store acting like it’s no big deal but it is not so appropriate for shopping; the outfits they were wearing were appropriate for a beach day or sitting by a pool. “We want you decently dressed when you come in here” (Updike 441). This part takes place later on in the story as the store manager, Lengel, tells the girls that the next time they walk into the store they need to be dressed appropriately or just simply do not come back. Rebellious youth is a topic we have learned about in class. In this last scene that takes place in the store, the girls realize that dressing like that upset the workers which helped with their individual growth and maturity. “Looking back in the big windows, over the bags of. . . and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 443). This is the concluding scene of the story when Sammy, the narrator, goes through a moment of epiphany. John Updike creates this moment of epiphany as Sammy quits his job as a cashier. He leaves the store hoping that the girls are still outside.

Once he realizes they already have left he looked back at the store and realized he made the wrong decision of quitting. In that moment when he looked back, Sammy sees that he was replaced in an instant and he is now thinking about how he is not ready to take on the world and should not have quit his job for such a foolish reason. Updike relays the message that youth immaturity can lead you to a whole new world of growth and maturity as shown in his story “A&P”. Youth immaturity can be changed into growth and maturity by embarking on a journey, going through a moment of epiphany, and being a rebellious youth. A similar story to the one written by John Updike is a story written by Joyce carol Oates called “Where are you Going, Where have you Been?” This story conveys the message of youth immaturity coming to an end in an outstanding way. In this story, young Connie is a naive character. She runs into a guy name Arnold friend. This man portrays himself as young as Connie is, 15 years old. One day he shows up at her house when she was home alone. “She pretended to fidget, chasing flies away from the door” (Oates 99). This quote shows the youth immaturity coming from young Connie. This happens when Arnold friend is at her door trying to lure her into his car. At the end of the story, it gets very dark. Friend does everything possible to get connie to leave her house with him, he even threatens her family. “She felt her pounding heart” (Oates 108).

At this point in the story, Connie seems nervous, scared, and unsure of what to do. This is her moment of epiphany. Connie is probably thinking at this point that this is becoming very serious and she should've done something about this older man showing up at her door before it got to this point. Oates ends the story leaving us with a cliffhanger. We do not know what happens to Connie. Many things could have happened to her. The youth immaturity and moment of epiphany in this short story define growth and maturity. If Oates kept going with the story and explaining what happens to Connie, where she goes next, we would find out how she deals with the situation. This encounter is life changing and if it actually happens to someone, they are more cautious and have grown up fast after dealing with something scary like this. Oates’s story is dark and talks about real life situations that happen every day. Young people are encountered with stalkers and this can change your life. John Updike's story called “A&P” and Joyce Carol Oates story called “Where are you Going, Where you have Been” are two similar stories.

There are many similarities and differences of these stories. Both stories show how youth immaturity among young naive girls will lead them to growth and immaturity. The main difference between these two stories is the overall intention of the characters who are stalking these younger girls. In Oates’s story “Where are you going, Where have you Been?” she gives off a dark feeling with huge suspense. She even ends the story leaving the readers unsure of what happens to Connie. She could have been killed, sexually abused, or just taken advantage of in many different ways. In Updike's story “A&P”, these three girls are being stared at by older men because of the inappropriate clothes they are wearing in a public scene. At the end of this story the girls leave without being forced to follow the older man, Sammy (the cashier). Sammy's intention was to leave the store to get the girls attention even though he is a lot older. It could have ended in a dark suspenseful way but the young girls got away before it could get bad. Both stories start off with examples of youth immaturity. They have moments of epiphanys which help them grow and mature and realize that they are being immature youth.