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
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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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a hero. Heroism comes in many ways through attitudes and acts of oneself. I believe heroism is the intent of doing something for the benefit of others‚ and not caring about the consequences that might ensue. In Joyce Carol Oates’s "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚" we see the character of Connie in a process of making the hardest decisions of her life as she chooses the heroic path. By having the knowledge of her own fate and life atrisk of her family being hurt‚ she decided to go with the
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Weinberger’s article makes many interesting points about the character of Arnold Friend in “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been”- the main idea being that Arnold represents Connie’s “other self”. According to the article‚ this can be observed in how Connie and Arnold are opposites in both appearance and behavior‚ and Arnold’s purpose is to induct Connie into adulthood. I disagree with the idea that Arnold is Connie. While the article gathered a lot of good evidence to support this claim‚ I
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In “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Connie is trying really hard to be an adult. Part of being an adult for her‚ involves having men be sexually attracted to her. However‚ there is just one problem. Connie is still a teenager‚ therefore she remains dependent on adults and her family. Despite the constraints of still being a child for all intents and purposes‚ Connie does her best to assert her independence and being adult. Connie actually works pretty hard on trying to show that she
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In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” (1966)‚ Connie is an adolescent that faces literal and psychological challenges. Within the conflicts of the story‚ there are two compelling questions that allow you to take a special interest of a deeper meaning. Taken from the title‚ where has Connie been? Where is Connie going? In a surprising twist‚ the story is not only about a naïve girl that gets lured out of her home by an older gentleman‚ but can also be taken
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In her short story‚ “Where are you going where have you been?” Joyce Carol Oates describes the emotional ride of a fifteen year old girl‚ on the verge of becoming an adult and losing her innocence of mind and body along the way. She has a difficult time growing up and developing her own personality as they would have her react to her circumstances.“Everything about her bad two side to it‚ one for Home and one for anywhere that was not Home.” Connie feels that the best attribute that a girl can have
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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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“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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The story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” is essentially about a young woman’s strive for independence‚ which eventually leads to conflict. Girls today appear as mature women and in addition‚ are put into adult situations sometimes unwillingly. Oates portrays a social issue that relates to this current society by using symbolism and characterization while taking the reader on a journey throughout the thoughts and feelings of a teenage girl. There are two main symbols the author uses
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