Discussion Board #4 - Essay Example

The sources of terror in both “Carver’s A Small, Good Thing” and Oates’s "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” stem, apparently from different sources but can be said to have the same underlying source – a sense of uncertainty, fear of the unknown and the fear of what the future has in store for the two characters. While for Ann Weiss, the terror is caused by the accident of her son, the cause of the terror is not knowing what will happen to her son, to her and to their life in future.

The terror is accentuated by the doctors inability to provide concrete answers or any form of sympathy or comfort to the waiting mother.  Similarly, in the case of Connie, the cause of her terror is Arnold Friend, a man who arrives at her doorstep and wants her to go out with him.  The following snippets of conversation shows how Connie went from feeling initially flattered to doubtful to finally sensing terror.  --“ "You wanta come for a ride?" he (Arnold Friend) said.Connie smirked and let her hair fall loose over one shoulder”--“"Maybe you two better go away," Connie said faintly.

”And later in the conversation, Connie realizes there is something wrong.--“"Im going to call the police—"”Ann’s fears are realized when her son finally dies, but she responds by targeting (and almost attacking) the baker for his rude and insensitive phone calls. Connie realizes that she is helpless and decides to go out and succumb to whatever Arnold Friend has in store for her.  The theme in both the stories is ‘waiting to know’ or ‘not knowing what to expect’. In the case of Ann, she is waiting to know if her son will live or die; in the case of Connie, initially, she is uncertain if the man can be trusted or feared, if she should feel flattered by his seeking her out or feel scared at his behavior.

  References Carver, R. (1989). A Small, Good Thing. In Perkins, G, and Perkins, B, Eds. (2007).  The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II, 12th edition. (pp. 1926 - 1941). New York: McGraw-Hill Oates, J. C. (1967). Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.  In Perkins, G, and Perkins, B, Eds. (2007).  The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II, 12th edition. (pp. 1872-1883) New York: McGraw-Hill