Comparison of Parent-Child Relationship in Two Novels

The Parent-Child relationship in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, written by Joyce Carol Oates and in In the Gloaming, written by Alice Elliott Dark are two different demonstrations of relationships that parents and children have with one another. In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been the Parent-Child Relationship was strained and distant in In the Gloaming, the Parent-Child Relationship was close and open. In Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going? Connie and her mother were always having conflicts with each other.

Connie was a very beautiful girl and Connie thought her mother was jealous of her beauty. Her mother was probably not jealous of Connie but concerned and thought she would attract the wrong attention. Connie’s mom constantly made remarks about Connie’s makeup and how her hairspray smelt. Connie’s mother often ridiculed Connie when Connie looked in the mirror by saying, “Stop gawking at yourself. , who do you think you are? You think you are so pretty. ” Connie would become so angry with her mother, she even wished her mother dead.

Connie never liked to speak to her mother and did not want to be around her mother. In the presence of her mother Connie could not be herself so when she was away from her mother she would act and dress inappropriate for a 15 year old girl. Connie’s motivation for dressing provocatively was to attract attention from boys. Unbeknownst to Connie her mother was right, looking and dressing inappropriate would eventually cause Connie extreme danger. In the story In the Gloaming the Parent-Child Relationship was very different.

Instead of being strained and distant the relationship are strong and loving. Laird’s mother was a compassionate mother who was so determined to make her son happy that it became an obsession. The only thing Laird’s mother cared about and thought about was making Laird happy. Laird and his mother often talked at enormous length about life, love and happiness. Laird’s mother was extremely open with Laird about her life. Laird also enjoyed talking to his mother about life, love and dreams. The dialogue between Laird and his mother would often become very personal.

Laird was always thinking about his mother. Laird always wanted to know what she cared about and always wanted his mother’s opinion. Every night at sunset Laird, his mother and his father would eat dinner together. After dinner Laird’s father would go to his study work while Laird and his mother talked about everything. Laird and his mother would look out of the window and watch the sunset, the sky would turn a heather color, they would refer to this time of night as the “gloaming”. The gloaming became more than a sunset it became a symbol to Laird and his mother.

Laird and his mother looked forward to their special time when nothing else mattered but themselves and their conversation. Laird’s mother treasured this special time because Laird was very ill and would soon die. Laird needed to know everything about his mother before he died and Laird’s mother needed to know everything about Laird before he died. So, every night they would sit and talk for hours. Laird was the love of his mother’s life, he and his mother were inseparable until the day he died. The relationship between Connie and her mother may have been different if one of them was ill.

Furthermore, the relationship between Laird and his mother may have been more strained if Laird had not been ill and needed his mother so much. The Parent-Child relationship can be very different and at times very difficult. Some children see their parent’s in a different point of view than their siblings. The relationship can be a positive experience or a negative experience. Laird and his mother’s conversations became something to look forward to. Connie’s conversations with her mother became something she resented and dreaded.