Perspectives

This part of the study guide is designed to help you engage in a broader discussion about “Are We Nearly There?” by Kate Smalley Ellis, to help you look at it from different perspectives such as current issues, literary period, and similar works:

Current issues

The story illustrates current issues related to parental attitudes and teenage sexuality. Parents usually take on different roles and attitudes towards their children. More often than not, children and teenagers perceive one of the parents to be stricter than the other.

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Literary period

Published in 2015, the short story is a postmodernist, contemporary text. “Are We Nearly There?” is postmodernist in its themes and context (the story deals with how contemporary, average teenagers deal with sexuality and growing up), as well as through the use of the first-person narration, fragmentation, and irony and black humour.

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Works with the same theme

To see how other authors explore the theme of rites of passage we recommend that you also read short stories like “Araby” by James Joyce, “The Death of Tommy Grimes” by R.J. Meaddough, III and “I’m Having Fun!” by an anonymous author (1985).

“Araby” follows a young teenage boy as he tries to impress a girl he likes by going to a bazaar at the other end of Dublin all by himself, to buy her something.

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