“You can’t change who you are. No matter how you struggle‚ some things will never change. And maybe they shouldn’t” (Thurman‚ Rob). “Identity is a powerful organizing presence in social life today” putting people into sections concerning likes and dislikes‚ culture and customs‚ separates them via social‚ economic and religious differences‚ identity makes a person‚ a person (Leve‚ Lauren). The character regarding one’s self is shaped by identity‚ how they view themselves‚ and largely how society
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Fiction Analysis Where are you going‚ Where have you been? The story is based in 1960s American suburbs and is told through the eyes of a teenager named Connie. The theme of the story revolves around Connie and her feelings as it is basically told through the eyes of a teenager. The reader is first introduced to the main character Connie and the theme of innocence is established. The first parts of the essay tell us how Connie does not get along with her mother or her sister. It is shown in some
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Commentary on "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been" 10/17/06 Joyce Carol Oates has achieved many things through her writing‚ and is recognized worldly for her short story "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" This story is centered on a young teenage girl as many of her stories are. Oates as a writer is fascinated with adolescence of young females. She chooses to write about the trials and tribulations of growing up in modern society. She pries on the dark aspects of youth often
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“[Connie] had a quick‚ nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” (1) In the story “Where are you going‚ where have you been?” the author Joyce Carol Oates‚ deliberately shows us the level of innocence of the protagonist Connie‚ as well as the similar features an inexperienced young girl who lived in 1966 compares to those of a young girl who is raised in our era. Young teenage girls in 1966 are no different
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Finding Her Identity: An Analysis of “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? Joyce Carol Oates‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie who is searching for her independence from her mother. The exposition is in the month of July at their home‚ where Connie is being scolded by her mother about her being obsessed with her looks. Her mother says‚ “Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty? (171) Her mother wants her to be more
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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. As soon as she leaves the safety of her home‚ she has unknowingly
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Place for the Wicked The real world chooses to hide the wickedness of mankind‚ while the world of fiction chooses to highlight it. In the stories “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol‚ “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez‚ and “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates‚ especially highlight the time the horrible aspects of man. Each one highlighting the corruption of man in their own unique way. The social hierarchy is a key part to the wickedness of
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a different image for women. In both short stories‚ “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ the protagonists are lured by their bad decisions leading to their demise; the victims’ bad decisions along with the criminals’ bad intentions led to death creating the plot of both stories. Although‚ the stories have the same plot‚ the characters differ tremendously. Connie‚ the
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Lurvin Magana-Calles Heidi Kozlowski English 1B September 28‚ 2014 Where Are you Going‚ Where HaveYou Been? Analysis “Where Are you Going‚ Where Have You Been? Is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates about a fifteen year old girl’s that lives a dual life for self-importance‚ an unforgiving desire for irresponsibility‚ yet doubtfulness to leave the security of family and the comfort ‘of sleeping on her bed again’ ( Oates 77) . Connie is a young girl that likes listening to music ‘that made everything
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“Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” should not be read through a fantasy/allegorical lens‚ but through a lens of reality. Reading it through the former limits the potency of the story. Everything that takes place in the story is believable‚ and in fact‚ many details of the story are based on real events. Arnold Friend is based on Charles Schmid‚ a real life serial killer who was responsible for the murder of three young girls. Schmid was arrested in 1965 for the rape and murder of Allen Rowe;
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