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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passing from one grade to another in school. Other changes are more intense‚ such as the transition from childhood to adulthood. In Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" Oates goes into depth regarding the transition from being a carefree‚ innocent child to adulthood. In the short story "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" two separate worlds are drawn to the reader’s attention. The first is the normal daily life of Connie‚ a fifteen year old girl living in a home with
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In Joyce Carol Oates’ “‘Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?’ 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
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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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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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INTRODUCTION: “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol‚ showcases the inevitable effects of youthful exuberance in a teenage girl. The story is a compelling tale which unveils the vulnerability of Connie‚ a young teenage girl who could barely substantiate fantasy from reality. She prides herself as a pretty girl who understands the basic principles of life. Her encounter with Arnold Friend reveals her as someone who lacks the mental ability to make meaningful decisions and accurate
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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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sides to it‚ one for home and one for anywhere that was not home...." The first quote is from “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ written by Joyce Carol Oates. It is in reference to Connie‚ who is a teenager. She is no longer a girl‚ yet she is not a woman. She would leave home she looking one way and arrive at her destination another way. 2. She would have been a good woman . . . if it had been someone there to shoot her every minute of her life." The second quote is from “A Good Man Is
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significant in a person’s life and it can be different for men and women. Not all transitions to 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
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