Connie’s transformation. Imagery and symbols throughout the story strengthen the main themes to show the contrast of Connie’s fantasies and reality. “Where are you going‚ where have you been.”‚ leaves us with the question can we handle such a change? Good and evil‚ yin and yang‚ the idea of everything and everyone having two opposite sides has been talked about by humans for centuries and that’s just what Oats is commenting on throughout the story starting with the main character Connie. An average teenage
Premium Family Woman Mother
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
Premium Family Marriage Mother
In the short story Where Are you Going Where Have You been‚the main character Connie is very promiscuous and struggles with finding herself. Joyce Carol Oates takes the reader on a journey of teen rebellion turned tragic and uses Connie to show that becoming independent is not easy. Throughout the story you can interpret that Connie felt vulnerable and neglected by her family and friends. Her mother always talked about how she should be more like her older sister‚ Jane “she was so plain and chunky
Premium Family Short story Mother
was reading “Friends‚ Friends with Benefits‚ and Benefits of the Local Mall”‚ I could only help but to think back to my middle school and high school years. Even though it was not that long ago for me‚ some of the information in the essay was a little dated but nonetheless‚ most of what was said by the students that were interviewed has not really changed. I understood the topics that the students talked about and the issues they faced. I can identify with Melissa; I have a friend that had the
Premium High school Interpersonal relationship
changes as you grow older and transforming from a young and reckless‚ naïve child into a working‚ responsible adult could be very fearful. Change itself is one of the biggest fears people encounter each and every day. Having to do things on their own‚ or figuring out if the decisions they make are right and if their experiences are going to help them or just hurt them more in the long run. In Connie’s experience with Arnold Friend‚ whether it is real or a dream‚ the theme of "Where Are You Going‚ Where
Premium English-language films Life Family
hadn’t grown up and realized he needed to give it his all in order to survive considering he would never have made it out alive otherwise. Finny struggles to accept how things are considering he lives in his own perfect world. Connie put herself in an adult and more mature world when her mentality was still in a young and innocent state. In Night by Elie Wiesel ‚ Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates‚ and A Separate
Premium Family Mother Father
twentieth centuries‚ continued into the 1960s and 1970s‚ then followed by the 1990s to the twentieth century‚ feminism and feminist grown across the nation. From clubs and organizations‚ to readings and speeches‚ feminist all across the nation‚ and world‚ have influenced aspects of our daily lives‚ including our literature. “Feminist criticism examines the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic‚ political.‚ social‚ and psychological oppression of woman” (Tyson 83). In simpler terms
Premium Feminism Gender role Patriarchy
Charles Schmid‚ the serial killer that Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? was based on‚ would try to look like Elvis Presley to lure girls to him. Music is a motif that shows up in the story multiple times. Joyce Carol Oates uses music to show Connie’s comfort‚ emotion‚ and the bait that lured Connie to Arnold. First of all‚ Oates uses it to show when Connie feels comfortable. For example‚ “... the music was always in the background‚ like music at a church service‚ it was something to depend
Premium Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Short story
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
Premium Family Mother Short story
are effectively accomplished in person. Easterly’s article takes the approach in dealing with ‘Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?’ to be somewhat of a mythical with underlying evil tone. The story of an attractive adolescent girl left all alone at home while her family is absent is swayed into forsaking the safety of her home by this eccentric yet fascinating character named Arnold Friend. Easterly appears torn concerning the antagonist’s identity
Premium Family Woman Marriage