The transition from childhood to adulthood is a time when a young adult begins to learn about their place in the world, where they belong, who is and observe the society around them. In these moments of self-discovery, many young adults take on new mindsets, ideas, and desires that ultimately cause them to rebel against who they once were, family or even society. Although acts of rebellion are not seen in a positive light, the experience itself helps a young adult grow from what they will experience and learn. In the coming of age experience, rebellion is an important factor during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Rebellion helps develop one's identity, independence and teaches life lessons that must be lived to grow. In the stories “A&P” by John Updike and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the characters go through acts of rebellion that help them discover themselves and the world around them during their coming of age experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In "A&P" by John Updike, the main character Sammy is a nineteen-year-old boy who works at a grocery store called A&P. Throughout the story, Sammy observes customers and colleagues and imagines what their lives are like. He comes to the conclusion that they are all the same; they all live the same boring life and this leads him to call them sheep. Sammy realizes that he is on the same path to living the same high life as everyone in his small town and, like most teenagers, desperately wants to get out of what society thinks is a good life. He wants to develop his own identity but does not know how to realize that desire. However, when three girls wearing bikinis confront his boss, Lengel, Sammy has the opportunity to escape and does so. Sammy states, “‘I said I was leaving.'” While this act of rebellion might seem small compared to today's acts of rebellion, quitting your job in the late 1950s was seen as a big deal considering the fact that many people held small jobs and worked as they pleased. very high up the corporate ladder. This act of rebellion was Sammy's first stepping stone in building his own identity and preventing him from becoming another sheep in a pasture called society. Just like Sammy, a character in the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates named Connie also develops her identity through rebellion. Connie is a typical fifteen-year-old teenager who has a strained relationship with her family and is consumed by appearances. Because of this, she has a superficial view of the world and her family, causing her to have altercations throughout the story. When her mother scolds her for her constant desire to look in the mirror to see herself "Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar complaints and look right through her mother... she knew she was pretty and that was all." In this small act of rebellion against her mother, Connie develops her identity around her beauty. This can be seen displayed throughout the text when she worries about her appearance, when she stays from a family event to wash her hair, and even at the end when Arnold Friend makes a comment about her appearance. She knew she was beautiful and to her that was what mattered most. Her identity in her appearance allows her to break away from becoming like her mother and sister. His mother is a domestic figure and his sister is a working woman. Both live onesocial life and don't live up to Connie's standards of beauty. Connie can't imagine living the life they have, so she focuses on her beauty which her mother hates. Her mother's reaction only validates Connie's desire to be different because she is not the ideal version of her daughter. This validation and desire only makes her rebel again and further develop her own identity in her appearance. Another reason why rebellion is an important process in the transition to adulthood is that it helps develop independence. Towards the end of the story, this is displayed when Sammy leaves. Before that crucial moment, Sammy was very dependent on his family. He wanted to satisfy their desires and please them. He also depended on them for tasks he was able to do on his own, such as asking his mother to iron his white work shirt. When Sammy left, Lengel attempted to instill guilt and doubt in his mind by suggesting that he didn't know what he was doing and then mentioning Sammy's parents. “ 'Sammy, you don't want to do this to your mom and dad. ' he tells me. It's true, not me." In this moment, you can see how Sammy struggled with the decision to stay to please his parents or leave to take the opportunity to build a better life for himself. He decides to quit anyway and rebels against his parents and essentially society's desires allowing Sammy to develop independence and a sense of excitement and hope for his life. When Sammy tells the story he states, "Now comes the sad part of the story, at least my family says it's sad, but I don't think it's that sad." Despite going against her parents' wishes and upsetting them, she still doesn't regret her choices and this says a lot about her growing independence. In the second story, the pursuit of independence through acts of rebellion is shown in Connie's daily life. At first he slowly distances himself from his family, their protection and control and begins to assert his free will. He does this by lying about multiple things and missing a family event. First he lies about going to the movies or shopping and instead goes to the drive-in to hang out with older children, teenagers and his friends. As the story continues, he lies to his mother by pretending to dislike one of his friends who his mother is worried about. It is evident that during this search for independence and the desire to leave childhood behind, he develops two different types of mannerisms. The text states: “Everything about her had two sides, one for home and one for anywhere other than home.” At home, when Connie is out and about with her family, her freedom and independence are limited by her family, whereas, everywhere else, she is able to be herself and assert her independence. In the coming of age experience, rebellion not only helps develop identity or independence, but also teaches life lessons. In “A&P,” Sammy learned several valuable lessons from the beginning to the end of the story. First, he learned to speak up for himself and others. Before quitting work or speaking out, Sammy seems to always avoid conflict and rather let things happen without expressing himself to others. At the beginning of the story, this is shown with his first interaction with a customer who gave him a hard time. Instead of expressing himself, he simply internalizes the situation and keeps his thoughts to himself. Another example of this is when one of Sammy's colleagues mentions his desire to become a manager or even when the girls are approached by Lengel; both times Sammy remained silent rather than speak his mind. However, everything changed once Sammy decided to defend.