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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“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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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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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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strengthen the main themes to show the contrast of Connie’s fantasies and reality. “Where are you going‚ where have you been.”‚ leaves us with the question can we handle such a change? Good and evil‚ yin and yang‚ the idea of everything and everyone having two opposite sides has been talked about by humans for centuries and that’s just what Oats is commenting on throughout the story starting with the main character Connie. An average teenage girl living in a limbo of two worlds
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In Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been Joyce Carol Oates uses compelling themes to convey real life issues to the readers. She also exploits many references to well know fairytales through symbols and motifs. This short story shares the theme of good versus evil to the fairytales Cinderella‚ Rapunzel and Snow White. The theme of evil is first expressed through Connie’s and Cinderella’s afflictions with their sisters that shape the essence of sibling rivalry. Like Cinderella‚ Connie’s sister
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in “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” In the story‚ repetition and strands of music take on a role of a character for Connie‚ offering a safe haven for a troubled girl. Throughout the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have you Been?”‚ Oates uses the element of strands and repetition of music to create a safe haven for Connie in which she can escape. The theme from a 1950’s song “It’s all Over Now‚ Baby Blue.” By Bob Dylan connects to the theme of escaping from “Where Are You Going? Where
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The Fantasy of Life In the novels The Great Gatsby and "Where Are You Going and Where Have You Been" authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Joyce Carol Oates show a theme of fantasy versus reality to convey a deeper meaning within their novels. They express this theme using characters such as Gatsby‚ Connie‚ Daisy and Arnold Friend within the stories. Through these characters lives and experiences the theme is created connecting both stories. The theme of fantasy versus reality is used to a great extent
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In “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ by Joyce Carol Oates‚ the setting creates division between innocence and adulthood. In the story‚ the protagonist is a complicated and confrontational young woman named Connie. The narrator explains that “Everything about her had to sides to it” (Oates 1). Connie has two personas‚ the person she is at home and the rebellious and carefree young woman she is away from her home. Throughout the plot‚ the doorway symbolizes a threshold that Connie has to
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Charles Schmid‚ the serial killer that Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? was based on‚ would try to look like Elvis Presley to lure girls to him. Music is a motif that shows up in the story multiple times. Joyce Carol Oates uses music to show Connie’s comfort‚ emotion‚ and the bait that lured Connie to Arnold. First of all‚ Oates uses it to show when Connie feels comfortable. For example‚ “... the music was always in the background‚ like music at a church service‚ it was something to depend
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