Connie in “Where are you going‚ Where have you been”‚ has a lot of underlying mental issues. Joyce Carol Oates created the perfect character to receive psychoanalytic criticism. The relationships Connie forms with her family‚ friends‚ and outsiders are all affected by Connie’s issues which come to consume her future. One of Connie’s biggest faults was the recognition of her beauty. She “knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 1). This constant checking of herself in mirrors to make
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Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates talks about a 15 year old girl‚ Connie. The story tells us about Connie who is a young teenage girl who is always getting compared by her family to her older sister June‚ the perfect one.Her mother said to her “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed-what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk” (Oates 361)Connie lives with her parents and her older sister; although both her parents live
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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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Have You Been‚” Arnold Friend‚ a conniving antagonist‚ charms a naive teenager named Connie into believing he will rescue her from her inattentive family. However‚ at the story’s climax‚ Connie fears for her life yet cannot resist Arnold’s temptations. Although details of Friend’s appearance‚ speech‚ and actions should warn Connie of his evil intentions‚ through Oates’s portrayal of Friend as a devil-figure‚ Connie is easily “conned” foreshadowing her deadly fall. Many times throughout the story‚
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and Smooth Talk: Short Story into Film‚” Oates writes that Connie “An innocent young girl is seduced by way of her own vanity” and that “she confuses death for erotic romance” (419). Oates clearly defines her point when Connie first discovers Arnold Friend at the drive in diner. She catches Friend staring at her with a big smile and Connie “slit her eyes at him and turned away‚ but she couldn’t help looking back” (409). The fact that Connie “slits” her eyes and “couldn’t help looking back” (409)
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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 mysterious man. It is this in which I believe that Connie can be seen as a hero in this story as she portrays an act of nobility and integrity; entering into adulthood and accepting
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chosen was “Where Are You Going Where Have You been.” The character Connie is a 15 year old teenager who doesn’t get along with her mother. She always fussing at her about staying in the mirror so much‚ her mother wants her to be like her sister June but‚ her parents showed her sister more attention than her. Happiness would not come to Connie by spending time with her family‚ or by going out her friends‚ happiness only came to Connie when she heard “the” music. The theme for this
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Oates is an American writer who has published over forty novels. Most of her novels are graphic and many of them depict death. In her short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Oates tells the story of Connie‚ a fifteen year old girl. Like in many of her previous novels Connie dies‚ or the reader is led to believe she does. Oates was inspired by Bob Dylan’s song “ It’s All Over Now‚ Baby Blue”‚ Charles Schmid‚ and from the book of Judges chapter 19 verse 17 in the Bible. While Joyce Carol
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constant theme of reality and fantasy running parallel for 15 year old Connie. This short story begins with a description of Connie’s vain personality. The narrator describes her as pretty and self-centered (Oates 421). To emphasize her selfishness‚ Connie is contrasted with her sister‚ June‚ who is chubby‚ plain‚ and well-behaved. Connie’s mother always praises June for her work ethic and help around the house‚ but says Connie can’t do anything due to “trashy daydreams”. There isn’t much of a
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Carol Oates short story “Where are you going? Where have you been?” featuring the main protagonist‚ Connie. Connie is forced to face the ordeal of becoming an adult at the age of fifteen in a matter of minutes. She spurns her parents in an effort to be rebellious‚ she goes out at night with her friends in search of young
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