When I finished reading the story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? I couldn't believe the ending. The main character Connie is your average teenage girl, however, she is a little more conceited than others. In the story, the author describes that the setting is in the summer and that's why she is going out with her friends almost every other day. The author also gives a hint by foreshadowing the line "Gonna get you, baby," which shows what's going to happen in the near future. I think the theme of this story is that when Connie goes out with her friends, she is going through adulthood. For example, at the end of the story when she opens the door to go outside with Arnold, she is leaving her childhood and making a jump straight into…
“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.…
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Response The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates was very interesting and appealing. It captures the reader’s attention from the beginning until the end. The main character, Connie, faces many challenges, one of which was temptation.…
The two short stories “Where are you Going, Where Have You Been?” by Oates and “Castle Nowhere” by Woolson offer a strong basis for comparison and contrast in terms of canonical and non-canonical texts through characterization, genre/tone, setting, themes, and symbolism. While many of the obvious differences reside in concrete categories like setting, genre/tone, and characterization, there are alluring similarities in theme and symbolism that can allow the reader to conclude the canonization of “Where are you Going, Where Have You Been?” is due, in majority, purely to structural literary components.…
“Where are you going, Where have you been” is a famous story that was written by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, Connie is fifteen years old girl and the main character. She seems to have always lived in her sister’s shadow, June, who was apparently better all-around. Connie seems to be the more attractive of the two due to which she felt that her attractive personality would succumb to pleasure in the arms of a random boy. One day, she decided to stay home as opposed to going to a barbecue with her family. At that time, Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Oates’ story drives up to Connie’s house. Connie is a character that represents the nature of epiphany in literature. Through Connie, we learn how a character can have a highly significant impact on an important work of literature and the person reading the story. Connie’s naïve understanding of the world and her immaturity led to her downfall in “Where are you Going, Where Have You Been?”…
“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.…
On a bright weekend morning a Girl was relaxing in her house listening to music when an unfamiliar car pulls into the driveway, the girl doesn't seem to think of any danger that might arise from the car. Any aware person would lock the door and have the phone ready to call the police but not this girl. This girl is easily lured into a trap and taken away from everything she loved. This girl is the protagonist, Connie, from Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where are you going, Where have you been.” Rather than heed the gut feeling most readers have at this moment in the story, Connie ignorantly emerges from her house and engages the stranger, Arnold Friend.…
The short story, “Where Are You going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates explains how a young girl was struggling to find herself. Oates writes about a girl named Connie who was 16 years old and was lost in a world of fantasy. Connie had a split personality/image while at home and when she was out with her friends. Living in a world of fantasy, Connie would ignore her family by tuning them out and being distant. Connie would constantly be in front of the mirror admiring herself and seemed self-centered. Her mother always nagged at her and wanted her to be more like her sister June. June was the child that did everything right in her mother’s eyes; Connie was like the black sheep of the family. With these…
This is a horrifying and haunting story that shows a girl who resulted in an awful situation. She rejects the role of being a daughter, sister, and a nice girl to refine her sexual personality. She has an obsession with her looks, loves to hang out with her friends and flirts with boys older than her. This award directly goes to Connie which is the main character of the book called, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol. Connie is a very attractive, inconsistent, and disobedient person.…
Modern society has many standards that people follow and accept: shake hands when meeting someone, do not pick nose in public, and bathe on a regular basis. Norms are just a few of the many different social needs in the world today. Abnormalities throw people through a loophole, cause confusion amongst each other, and contrast uniformity. Psychopaths lead to the death of individuals that conform to the standard and have no remorse for the action. They disrupt the flow of progress and end the life of another with no penalty of law. Psychopaths work to change how society thinks as a norm, such as a psychopath in “Cask of Amontillado,” “The Lottery,” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.”…
“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.…
I believe the theme of the short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" is focused on the imagination versus the reality of the main character, Connie. Connie perceives herself as a functioning mature woman by the way she dresses, styles her hair, and her overall demeanor. Connie convinces herself that she is this mature person who has it all figured out but when she is approached by this character, Arnold, her insecurities begin to emerge. Once Arnold begins to harass Connie, she resorts to childlike behavior and her anxiety increases. The author represents Arnold as a boy but he is quite possibly a figment of Connie's imagination, he represented her actual fear of becoming an adult. "She watched herself push the door slowly open…
Joyce Carol Oates captured more than just the reader when she wrote the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” Oates recreates an event that took place in the mid-1960s, where a grown man, who had shaggy black hair and a boyish charm, would lure teenage girls into his car, rape and murder them, and then bury their bodies in the desert. The fate of the main character in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” lies between Oates’s wavering suspense. From the beginning Oates shows the reader that the story is a flashback. “Her name was Connie.”…
Going through life, adapting to changes as you grow older and transforming from a young and reckless, naïve child into a working, responsible adult could be very fearful. Change itself is one of the biggest fears people encounter each and every day. Having to do things on their own, or figuring out if the decisions they make are right and if their experiences are going to help them or just hurt them more in the long run. In Connie's experience with Arnold Friend, whether it is real or a dream, the theme of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," is ultimately about fear. Likewise, "We didn’t," while its dominant tone is comic, the underlying theme is based on fear. Both stories ultimately deal with the fear of crossing through the passage…
Time passes by in seconds, minutes, and hours. Calendar tears by days months, and years, but something that will stay with us forever is a good parenting responsibilities that we encounter in every family whether they are rich or poor. Good Parenting is the main moral essence of each and every parent’s life because that same essence will pass on through their children as they become parents. This story is about “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is perfect example of a middle class typical family living in small home written in 1970 dedicated To Bob Dylan.…