Going Places Study Guide

A. R. Barton is a writer living in Zurich, whose work is modern and often explores themes of adolescence.

This story explores Ireland in the 20th century, in a time where gender roles were starting to change due to economic shifts from an agrarian society to an industrialized one. The rise of factory work, as well as the often-times militant protests by Irish suffragettes in the early 1900s, contributed to these shifting expectations for women. Women gained increased autonomy and political power during this time, gaining the right to vote in 1928. However, they quickly faced a sharp backlash of legislation limiting their freedoms, such as the “marriage bar” implemented from 1932 to 1973, which prevented any married woman from employment in the public sector, and a ban on contraceptives from 1935 to 1974. Ireland (and the United Kingdom more broadly) also has an entrenched class hierarchy, making it nearly impossible for individuals of a working or middle-class background to achieve a better life for themselves or their families, which led to waves of emigration.

“Going Places” explores hero-worship and rich inner fantasy life from the perspective of a teenage girl. Other works exploring similar themes are: Steven King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, another coming of age story in which a young girl uses her imagination and idealization of an athlete to survive a harrowing ordeal. Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is another work which explores a young woman using imagination to cope with the difficulties of working class life. Kathrine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia also shows readers the importance of imagination and creating alternate worlds to make sense of the one characters actually reside in. Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle is a fanciful exploration of another young woman expected to lead a life of unhappiness and lack of success who sees something greater for herself.