“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is the suspenseful tale of fifteen year old Connie and her situation with a strange man. Connie, who usually enjoys the attention of the older boys, sees the man randomly when she is on a date. Some time later, the man shows up to Connie’s house and asks her if she wants to go for a ride with him and his friend. The man introduces himself as Arnold Friend, claiming to be eighteen years old. Connie soon begins to realize the two men look much older than eighteen, and she becomes frightened. Arnold begins revealing an uncomfortable amount of information he knows about Connie, which surprises her. When Connie threatens to call the police, Arnold assures her that he will not come in the house unless she picks up the phone. Connie picks up the phone at one point, but puts it back after she cries into it and Arnold instructs her to be a “good girl.” A feeling of emptiness takes over Connie after she finishes sobbing, and she finds herself eventually being lured out of her house by Arnold.…
As I read the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, I noticed that there are two stories taking place that would lead me to anticipate different future events. From the beginning of the story, the main character, Connie, shows to be a lazy, stylish girl who is trying, unlike her sister June, to be independent of family life in favor of breaking through sexual maturity and independence. Knowing about Connie’s desire to act as an adult made me believe that Connie will not refuse if Arnold asks her out because she flirted with boys many times and tried to explore her sexuality. When Arnold started seducing and threatening…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teen named Connie who is insecure and is looking for an escape from her household. The main antagonist, Arnold Friends main objective is to lure Connie out and take her on a so called “date”. He does this by trying to make small talk. Some of the things said can be very creepy as he seems to have psychic abilities and know everything. One of the more irrelevant things said was, “Leave me alone,” Connie whispered.…
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.…
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the main character, Connie, is on the brink of adulthood and is experimenting with the sexual freedom that comes with it. On the weekends, Connie and her friend go to the mall or the diner and pursue older boys with which they will slip into dark alleys or cars. One night, when leaving the diner to go hang out with a boy, a man in a gold convertible catches Connie’s eye and says to her, “Gonna get you, baby”. Later in the story, Connie is tanning outside while her family is at a picnic. She hears a car pull up in her drive and she recognizes the gold convertible and the man driving it. This man, who she has never spoken to, immediately tries to get Connie to go for a ride. A little later he is…
“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.…
In a world where the presence of technology can be seen everywhere, it is impossible for teens to stay disconnected from social media for long. Every day teens and adults alike can connect to their accounts instantly by using apps on their cellphones. In addition to the increased use of social media apps, the popularity of dating apps has greatly increased in recent years. These dating apps are sometimes misleading and can lead to potentially dangerous meetings. In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the protagonist, Connie, often meets up with older boys and lies to her mother about her whereabouts.…
Teenagers have always been very rebellious, independent, and felt the need to mature faster than they’re supposed to. These traits were very frequent in Connie from Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been. Connie continued to disobey her mother and go out in town to try and prove to herself that she is mature. She is a typical teenage girl trying to explore her sexuality through her looks, boys, and her friends. Since Connie was very rebellious and trying to become independent, she came to realize that she is not as grown up as she thought she was. She was acting very far out of her maturity level and she was brought into the reality of adulthood harshly when a horrifying event occurred with the first person that treated her as a mature…
Where Are You Going ,Where Have You Been is a story written by Joyce Carol. The story talks about this fifthteen year old girl named Connie. Connie is the young child in her family. Her mother and her does not have a great relationship, because she is always being compared to her old sister June. Connie goes out with her friends to the mall.…
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where are you going, where have you been?”, Oates tells the story of a young girl named Connie, who is vain, self-centered, rude to her parents, and in an incredible hurry to grow up. She has two different personalities, “one for home, and one for anywhere that was not home.” Everything about her including her smile, her laugh, and her walk transforms as soon as she steps out her front door. Connie, the protagonist of the story, wants to be a part of the world of “big kids” until a shiny golden convertible pulls up one day in her driveway and the mysterious Arnold Friend emerges. Oates uses in-depth characterization and symbolism…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story that brings many girl’s nightmares to life. The story is one about a young, naïve girl named Connie, and her deranged abductor, Arnold Friend. Oates uses the setting in Connie’s life to create a very realistic situation. Oates also uses descriptive language to create vivid images of the setting, charters, and the emotions Connie feels. By analyzing Connie’s home setting and the descriptive language Oates uses, we will be able to further understand how Connie’s thoughts and actions were effected by her setting.…
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" is an exceptional example of a coming-of-age story, unlike John Updikes "A & P". Connie from Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" is your typical young teen that lies to her parents in order to do what she…
The HACC online library seems somewhat temperamental to navigate for me at least. Although, I was able to find the articles in question but not without notable time consumed as well as frustration traverse the site. Subsequently, sometimes inquiries are effectively accomplished in person.…
The short story by Joyce Carol Oates "Where are you going, Where have you been?" is one that has had many interpretations over there years, by many literary critics and readers alike, generating a vast list of themes and meanings to the story. Some have declared the story to be a "feminist allegory," while others argue that one of the main characters, Arnold, is a "savior" or "messiah figure," as popular figures during the 1960's were to young girls like Connie, the main character. Though many interpretations have been made, and all of them equally important and worth being discussed, there is one that brings the theme of this story to a new level. It gives the story a meaning while stating that in the story itself, Connie is in a world of meaninglessness: from the absence of God, the lack of love in her home life, to her obsession with prettiness. This interpretation is the one that states that Connie lived in Sartre's very own existential world, where the environment around had no real meaning. Connie is in a spiritual wasteland, forcing her to create a dream world to find some meaning. In this dream world of hers, Connie's attempts at add meaning to her…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, starts off with Connie and her mother. Connie is a typical teenage girl, and acts that way towards her family. Connie is always checking out how she looks in mirrors or through other people. She cares a great amount about her appearance and what people think of her. Connie lives with her mother, father, and older sister June. June is the favorite child as she is very successful and helps out the family financially and mentally. June has the exact opposite personality of Connie, making her the favorite of their mother. Connie struggles with getting along with her family, as many young women or tennagers…