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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“Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” is the suspenseful tale of fifteen year old Connie and her situation with a strange man. Connie‚ who usually enjoys the attention of the older boys‚ sees the man randomly when she is on a date. Some time later‚ the man shows up to Connie’s house and asks her if she wants to go for a ride with him and his friend. The man introduces himself as Arnold Friend‚ claiming to be eighteen years old. Connie soon begins to realize the two men look much older than
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lack of knowledge of evil. At some point in everyone’s life they will eventually lose there innocence‚ it just depends on the choices they have made. In Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been.” She uses characterization and imagery to show how Connie is dealing with the loss of her innocence Oates characterization of Arnold Friend shows how Connie’s perspective of Arnold and his looks leads to the deception of who he really is. Connie was at home alone one day and a car pulled
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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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society or culture‚ every person living in this world has a social identity and cultural background. I share similar cultural circumstances with the character Victor‚ from ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven‚’ and we see our heritage as something that is getting faded away as society becomes assimilated into modern culture. The society of today and that of the past live extremely different lives. The American lifestyle is more of a materialistic culture‚ while the Native Americans see their
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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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“Where are you Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Oates and “Castle Nowhere” by Woolson offer a strong basis for comparison and contrast in terms of canonical and non-canonical texts through characterization‚ genre/tone‚ setting‚ themes‚ and symbolism. While many of the obvious differences reside in concrete categories like setting‚ genre/tone‚ and characterization‚ there are alluring similarities in theme and symbolism that can allow the reader to conclude the canonization of “Where are you Going‚ Where
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literature paper In the short story “Where are you going and Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates one of the main things that readers find is the suspicion surrounding the character Arnold Friend. Supporting this is Friend’s words which are so impactful on Connie‚ and why she didn’t just pick up the phone and call nine-one-one to end the whole conflict in the first place. Much of the research I found was based off this question pointing out how a person would react to this scenario. From this
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listening to music when an unfamiliar car pulls into the driveway‚ the girl doesn’t seem to think of any danger that might arise from the car. Any aware person 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
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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 mankind. This is a major part of the “The Overcoat” plot. Before obtaining the new overcoat‚ the main character
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