The last two stories we have read in AP English were “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and “The Drunkard.” Both of the stories’ plots are centered on kids who have been put in danger due to the neglegence of their parents. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the main character, Connie, is left at home while her parents are at her aunt’s barbeque. While they are away, two men pull up to Connie at her house and threaten her to get in their vehicle. In “The Drunkard” Larry is accompanying his father to a funeral. While his father is distracted, Larry drinks his beer and becomes physically ill. Both Connie and Larry were put at risk because of their parents’ carelessness. But how much should the parents really be responsible for? In our class discussion about “The Drunkard,” the father seems to be responsible, because Larry is most likely in elementary school and he was just exercising curiousity in drinking his father’s beer, which is his dad’s fault. I support our discussion, thinking that Larry’s father should take blame. However, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the parent’s responsibility for this is never mentioned and almost the same scenario occured. Connie was also exploring herself as a teenager and opted to stay home by herself. The parents, who left her home alone at night took no blame for the problems that ensued. The only difference between these stories is the age of the kids. Connie was 15, so she was given the responsibility for what happened to her this time. I disagree with this because I think even though she is older, the parents are still at fault for what happened. What do you think? Do you think that the older child, Connie, deserved take the blame when Larry didn’t?
I agree with your opinion about Larry but not about Connie. Connie portrayed herself to the outside world without her parents knowing anything about what she was doing. If it was really the parents fault then she would have left the house dressed inappropriately to begin with. But I can also see where the parents could have possible prevented Connie getting into trouble by actually taking her places, checking up on her, not comparing her to June, and having communication with Connie. I think Connie is still a child in the story but children can take responsibility for their actions when they are the ones who lead themselves into the bad situations like she did.
ReplyDeleteI think most would agree that Connie is old enough to stay home alone, so it's hard to hold the parents responsible for the situation that occurred.
ReplyDeleteMaybe think about why children/adolescents seem to be such a common "tool" for revealing general insights about humanity and life?