Young Rebels

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25 March 2007

Connie As A Rebel in Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going ? Where Have You Been

One is tempted to define a rebel as someone who is trying to bring an end to a government 's rule : the Americans who fought against the British in the American Revolution were rebels , as were the members of the Confederacy during the American Civil War . However , a rebel need not be involved in a revolutionary activity against a government . A rebel can

br be of either gender or of any age : from the tantrum-throwing toddler to the elderly , eccentric eighty-year-old . A rebel can be a member of a large group of people or can be a single individual . A rebel does not even have to be aware that he or she is rebelling . The notions of "rebellion " and "rebel " are a matter of perspective . In the American Revolutionary War , the British authorities viewed the American colonists as rebels , but they did not think of themselves so much as rebels , but rather as people seeking independence or freedom fighters . In simplest terms , a rebel is someone who rebels . That is , someone who refuses to do what the authorities that hold power over her tell her to do

In Joyce Carol Oates ' story "Where Are You Going ? Where Have You Been Connie does not call herself a rebel there is no evidence that she thinks of herself as a rebel . However , Connie is a rebel . Each time she disobeys or fails to obey her mother she is rebelling . Connie 's rebellious acts are not unusual or evil . It is normal for an adolescent girl to reject her parents ' point of view . Adolescents need to establish themselves as individuals . It is only natural for Connie to do this is to butt up against her parents and anyone else who represent authority over her . Connie believes she deserves to have fun because she is "pretty and that was everything (Oates , 1 . She feels that her mother does not understand because although she "had been pretty once too . but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie (Oates , 14912 . Connie 's mother scolds her about not cleaning her room like her older sister who "saved money and helped clean the house and cooked (Oates , 2 . From Connie 's point of view her mother has picked "at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over " Connie believes her mother is jealous that she is no longer pretty and acts out of anger and frustration . She does not see that her mother is trying to care for her and help her avoid the dangerous activities that seem to be fun for her when in fact they are dangerous . Although Connie thinks she is an adult by the story 's end she learns she is not . She is immature and inexperienced being pretty does...