In the 1960s, women felt pressured to present themselves attractively; for this reason, the women came to the conclusion that if they did not do so they would be shunned by society. In the article "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" Joyce Carol Oates tells the story of a girl named Connie who was a victim of society and because of this had a life-changing experience. This event is why sexual innocence is such a scary thing. The article is about a 15-year-old teenager who loves going to the square with her friends and meeting boys. This soon becomes a problem when he attracts Arnold Friend's attention. Connie loses her innocence due to the current conditions of society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Connie was fifteen and a cute girl for her age. Based on social premises, he believed that he always needed to look good. Her mother was angry about this, but it didn't affect her. Many things were happening during this time including the civil rights movement, the birth of the hippie counterculture, and the boom in rock bands. Many issues occurred throughout this story, including feminism, sexual freedom, and adolescent sexuality. Back then there was no protection and life was not as severe as it is today. The world in which Connie grew up was dominated by male presence. This made things even more difficult for her because men had authority over her. This article from scienceleaderhsip.org talks about how the innocence of children is very important and the society Connie was born into took that innocence from her. In the article “The loss of Childhood Innocence” by Brandon Jones he talks about how “Parents believe that exposing their children to a wealth of knowledge at a young age will help them in adulthood, however, what they don't know is that this knowledge could at the same time ruin their innocence", this quote refers to how Connie was a normal fifteen year old who had just been introduced to the world the wrong way. She was shown that you will not be accepted until you are mature or have had a sexual encounter. She was so caught up in learning what it means to be mature rather than simply living with the unknown of sex. The article also talks about how it is important to give children a vague reference of right and wrong and provide them with an example black and white.This is what is wrong with society in the story because it showed Connie the greyness.Connie's loss of innocence started when she wanted to mature at such a young age. To demonstrate that she was mature she would involve herself in sexual experiences. This was the main flaw that would take away her innocence. She used her good looks to lure guys into experimenting and trying to learn more about sexual interactions. Her desire for a fast and fast childhood was brought to fruition in a cruel and hostile way when she met the man who took everything, Arnold Friend. Connie is forced into a high-stress situation when Arnold forces himself on her with his sexual knowledge and allegedly rapes her. In the article “The loss of Childhood Innocence” by Brandon Jones he writes “Knowledge is a powerful tool in the hands of man. Knowledge can both help and hurt people, build and destroy relationships, and help distinguish right from wrong,” this can be used to demonstrate how Arnold used his knowledge of sex to terrorize Connie. From what one can interpret before, Connie was a virgin who played with sexual contact with boys. He never has?
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