parent to watch as their son or daughter make life changing decisions. Decisions like which colleges to go to‚ or to decide to marry their high school sweet heart. A teenager’s loss of innocence is the focal point of Joyce 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
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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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Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? Innocent‚ young‚ naïve; this is how Connie was at her age of fifteen. She liked the attention boys gave her and how it made her feel. A man named Arnold Friend‚ whose much older than her‚ has stalked Connie and wants to convince her to go for a ride in his car. Connie doesn’t notice the man’s older features and this causes her young mind to contemplate going with Arnold in his car. Connie is more conflicted with herself‚ she battles to make the right choices
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Fiction Analysis Where are you going‚ Where have you been? The story is based in 1960s American suburbs and is told through the eyes of a teenager named Connie. The theme of the story revolves around Connie and her feelings as it is basically told through the eyes of a teenager. The reader is first introduced to the main character Connie and the theme of innocence is established. The first parts of the essay tell us how Connie does not get along with her mother or her sister. It is shown in some
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In “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ the main character‚ Connie‚ is on the brink of adulthood and is experimenting with the sexual freedom that comes with it. On the weekends‚ Connie and her friend go to the mall or the diner and pursue older boys with which they will slip into dark alleys or cars. One night‚ when leaving the diner to go hang out with a boy‚ a man in a gold convertible catches Connie’s eye and says to her‚ “Gonna get you‚ baby”. Later in the story‚ Connie is tanning outside
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In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates‚ Connie’s house illustrates irony because of the changes that occur in Connie’s behavior towards her mom throughout the story. At the beginning of the story‚ Connie epitomizes a normal teenager’s feeling towards her parents‚ especially feelings towards her mother when at home. “Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over‚” (492). With
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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 ambiguous resolutions of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been and The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed is a coincidence that I found quite strange. In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been‚ the author doesn’t tell us what happens to Connie after Arnold Friend forces her to go with him. Does she die? Does she Live? Similarly‚ the Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed‚ the answer as to how Casandra will manage to overcome her friend’s sudden death and her life’s struggles remains to be open to
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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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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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