The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates shows the reader the self-created illusion that the main character Connie has created in order to better understand herself. Connie’s reality is altered as she has this dream that has manifested due to her desire for attention from others. Throughout the story there are many occurrences that support the idea that the entire story is a dream that was made up by Connie’s subconscious. Throughout the story, Arnold mentions many things that there is no way he could have known. Arnold knows what her family is doing.…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. This popular short story made its debut in 1966. Dependent upon the interpreter, this short story may seem to be based upon many different themes, although my goal is to focus on analyzing the author’s use of stylistic devices such as a recognizable setting, and symbolism that Oates has effectively implemented in this story to convey the most important theme, which is maturity and coming of age. Oates uses many symbolic devices such as; words/thoughts, relationships amongst characters, and even objects to effectively symbolize Connie’s coming of age adventure.…
Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is the haunting saga of a fifteen year old girl’s moral struggles that has resonated with readers since the story’s initial publication. Arnold Friend is a mystery of a character; his origins and nature have been debated time and time again. The real answer is that there is no real answer, and Arnold Friend is a character with a nature entirely up to the individual interpretation of any one reader. It can certainly be agreed that Arnold’s intentions for Connie, his would-be victim, are not good. Arnold promises to show Connie the meaning of love, but he makes little effort to hide his vicious nature.…
In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and Estrella Alfon's "Servant Girl, firm actions brought by male characters caused women to reveal their true nature. Rosa, from Estrella Alfon's Servant girl is a very humble lady who is consciously aware of two men having interest in her. First is the cochero, whom he calls Angel, is the man who lived in her fantasies after their encounter and second is Sancho, the other guy, is her admirer who seems to possess the the opposite trait of his ideal guy. Joyce Carol Oates' story describes a girl named Connie, who, in her acts, is obviously at the stage of adolescence. She is the type of girl who views only one side of her nature. She would prove her maturity through seeking…
The short story by Joyce Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” leaves many readers uncomfortable with the actions of “Connie” the main character who is in the midst of adolescent rebellion. Connie is a character who argues with her mother and sister, neglects family life in favor of scoping out boys at the local restaurant, does everything she can to appear older and wiser than she is, and has a mind filled with daydreams and popular music that feed her unrealistic ideas of love and romance. When the stranger, Arnold Friend, arrives at Connie’s house, she must confront the harsh realities of adulthood, which bear little resemblance to her fantasies.…
Vijay Dorasami English 1102-002 Professor Bruce 09/30/2014 Joyce Carol Oates wrote a short story called “where are you going, where have you been?” One of the main character in the short story is a fifteen year old girl whose name is Connie. Connie was self-absorbed by her beauty, and would not listen when her mom try to council her. She rejects the role of daughter to develop her sexual persona, which increase when she is away from her family and home.…
Joyce Carol Oates creates an inquisitive plot that causes the reader to question events in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” She develops this story featuring a girl named Connie, who has an encounter with a boy at a restaurant that she doesn’t know. “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, “Gonna get you, baby,” and Connie turned away…” (Oates 210). Startled Connie only saw this boy once that night, but the story goes on, and a few days later he comes to her house where she learns that the boy’s name is “Arnold Friend.” She is unaware how the boy knows anything about her, where she lives, and the fact that he knows all about her family and friends. In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates creates significant details that some readers might miss, revealing that Connie is actually having a nightmare where Arnold Friend is an imaginary character.…
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about a 15 year old girl named Connie. Connie is the dark blond haired girl who catches all the attention and knows she looks good. The story is somewhat journalistic in the sense that there are few extreme stylistic flourishes or complicated sentence structures. Oates's spare style allows the images in the story to stand out in realistic coherence, in a way that makes one feel they have some unexplainable importance. “There’s your sister in a blue dress, huh?…
Arnold is warning Connie of his coming when he wags his finger at her and says "Gonna…
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” focuses on the seemingly typical life of a teenage girl, Connie. The character irony is found in the fact that a teenage girl in the 1960’s struggled with the same issues teenagers battle with in present society. Connie, the main character, fights with her parents, does not want to be like her older sister, and thinks very highly of herself. As a teenage girl typically believes, Connie imagines she is the center of attention and everything revolves around her, including everyone else’s problems. But, in contrast to most teenage girls, she conceals her sexual personality while she is at home.…
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?” readers are introduced to a young female, Connie, who wants to do be herself. She wants to experience a lot of things and her experiencing got her in a stage where she cannot get out. Oates portray in the story that you should not want to be an adult before your time. Connie had not realize that she is not ready to be an adult because there is a lot of things that she do not understand yet. In Oates’ story she has several themes in which she uses them to get her point. Themes such as Connie’s search for independence, Connie’s fantasy, Connie’s freedom, Connie’s identity disclose that she wants to have her own way and not let others tell her what to…
In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Oates, the audience explores the story of Connie, a normal teenage girl, who meets Arnold Friend, a seemingly harmless character at first, but we later come to find out that he has been stalking her and Arnold…
Humans are allowed the ability to exert free will and be able to make decisions for themselves that reflect their own persona. With this liberty, the identity of an individual isn't limited to one set of characteristics as many external and internal situations either influence the cognitive decision making complex of humans. In the short story, "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, reveals through the characterization of Connie and her settings the duality of human beings. Also, using symbols and patterns to strongly put emphasis on how the underdeveloped mind of adolescents make way for impressions and influences by the factors that surround them when trying to cope with developing their own identity. To begin with, the protagonist Connie is a mirrored version of many adolescent teenagers that experience problems such as a duplex…
Some say he is the devil, others claim he portrays the godly image of Bob Dylan, or that he is just the mere imagination of a salacious daydream in a young girl's mind. In Joyce Carol Oates acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a 15-year-old girl named Connie, with ever growing feelings of attraction toward the opposite sex, has a vexing encounter with a middle-aged man who goes by the name Arnold Friend. You can’t talk about Arnold Friend, his train of thought, and intentions without talking about and understanding Connie’s character. In the story, Connie is vain, self-centered, and fabricates the truth of her whereabouts to her parents. She and her friend both tell their parents that they are going to the mall…
This paragraph in the short-story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, is a look into how the author Joyce Carol Oates views adolescent values. She parallels religion and religious practices with the main character’s Saturday nights. Oates carefully designed this paragraph to illustrate a social gathering that is on par with a religious gathering.…