Treatments of Youthful Sexuality

A detailed Summary of Treatments of Youthful Sexuality

The Treatments of Youthful Sexuality

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us or we find it not.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In exploring the youthful treatments of sexuality I have focused on three stories: "Summer" by David Updike, "Lust" by Susan Minot, and "Carnal Knowledge" by T. Coraghessan Boyle. While these stories have a similar underlying theme-youthful sexuality-they differ significantly in their views of that theme.

In "Summer" we are treated to a blissful view of summer love unfolding on a vacation getaway. A young boy is smitten by a young girl in a stereotypical case of unrequited love.(p.318) In contrast to this, "Carnal Knowledge" rewards the main character, Jim, with affection. Contrasting further, in "Lust" the main character receives physical attention, but the story leaves little doubt that attention and affection are not the same. The uniting theme in all three stories is not that the characters receive or desire love, but that the characte

The central unifying theme of these stories is the youthful sexuality exhibited by the main characters. Not implying that all the characters are youthful, but the idea is that of a stereotype-youthful people exploring newfound lust. The fact that a character may be older only shows the characters immaturity. While the central theme may be the same, the way in which the stories treat youthful sexuality varies widely.

In "Summer", we are introduced to Homer who is infatuated with Fred's sister Sandra. However, in describing Sandra, Homer makes no reference to her character. He makes no reference to her background. In fact, the only way of describing Sandra is physically. (p.318) Homer spends his time trying to impress Sandra with physical feats such as tennis. In fact, the very sight of her in her nightgown, "...pierced him with a regret that had no source or resolution..." (p.318)

rs view the world in a very physical way.

"Summer" portrays youthful sexuality in a manner reminiscent of childhood. A young boy fantasizing about a girl he can't have. It's a fairy

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Approximate Word count = 729
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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