Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? “Where are you going‚ where have you been?” is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates about an average fifteen year old girl who is not unlike many other girls her age‚ she is self-absorbed‚ and has a “Nervous giggling habit of craning her neck and glancing into the mirror‚ or checking other people’s face’s to make sure her own was all right.”(Oates‚ 388) The story takes place in Middle America. Oates wrote “Where are you going‚ where have you been?”
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Language of Terror When a person is put in an incredibly horrifying situation where the outcome is unpredictable many physical and emotional changes take place. Joyce Carol Oates’s story "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" places Connie‚ a typical teenager‚ in this situation. Throughout the story‚ occasionally using religious undertones‚ Connie’s language of a typical teenager gradually changes‚ from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified. Early in the story on a
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Innocence “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents many themes and symbols to the reader. One that jumped out at me while reading the story was the overall feeling of innocence. Joyce Carol Oates shows us innocence from the very beginning of the story to the end where Connie loses self-control and power. From the first paragraph of the story we learn that Connie is a young fifteen year old who longs for attention and acceptance. I was able to relate to the story better when I paused
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Connie’s Paradigm In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” we follow the main character Connie as she faces an inner transformation. The author introduces Connie as a vain and inexperienced adolescent who seems to daydream about things she doesn’t quite understand as she has more of a naive idea of what adulthood is all about. She takes pleasure in having control over everyone and everything around her. These ideas as well as her security are shaken when the
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In the 1960s‚ when Oates wrote “Where Are You Going . . . ‚” a social revolution was happening. American women were asserting their rights and independence from men‚ and they were claiming their sexuality in a way they had never done before. One frequently discussed topic was adolescence and the struggles and anxieties that many young girls endured as they lost their sexual innocence and became adult women. Feeling undervalued in their homes and relationships with men‚ women questioned their role
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Matt Merritt Professor Smith English 102 13 September 2012 Arnold Friend’s Identity in Joyce’s “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” In the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as a beautiful young woman that is being coerced by a man‚ whom she doesn’t know‚ to come outside and go for a ride in his car. Who is this man that calls himself Arnold Friend? What does he represent? Looking at the things that Arnold Friend says and does will help to discover
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Connie is a young fifteen year old who cares about her sexual drive that men have toward her. “The 1960s unleashed the so called sexual revolution. It seemed more a source of comic relief and tragic nostalgic recirculation than political inspiration…” This revolution consisted of women demanding their own rights so they could become more and more independent. There were significant shifts in social attitudes‚ behaviors‚ and institutional regulations at the beginning of the 60’s and also lasted through
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Analysis for “Where are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates’ short story is a complete fiction in the sense that it utilizes all its elements without deemphasizing one for the other. Oates uses point of view‚ setting‚ conflict‚ character‚ and symbol equally well to convey her theme. Oates applies these elements of fiction to give readers a better understanding of the American teenager and to show how a girl is psychologically manipulated by predators. It is evident from the first
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The character in “where are you going‚ where have you been?” Connie is affected by the role she plays in modern society. Fifteen year old Connie has the confusing‚ often exterior behavior typical of those girls who are facing the difficult transition from girlhood to womanhood in the 1960s. She is caught between her roles as daughter‚ friend‚ sister‚ and object of sexual desire‚ uncertain of which represents her real self. The sixties were the age of youth‚ young people wanted change. The changes
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adulthood are peaceful; they can violent transitions as seen in Richard Wright’s The Man Who Was Almost a Man and Joyce Carol Oates’ Where are You Going‚ Where Have You Been. These two stories reflect how males and females are represented differently in society through the protagonist violent transition to adulthood. The Man Who Was Almost A Man by Richard Wright is about a young adult named Dave who wishes to own a gun because he believes it will make him a true man. When Dave obtains the gun he makes
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