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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Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” is about a 15 year old girl named Connie. Connie is the dark blond haired girl who catches all the attention and knows she looks good. The story is somewhat journalistic in the sense that there are few extreme stylistic flourishes or complicated sentence structures. Oates’s spare style allows the images in the story to stand out in realistic coherence‚ in a way that makes one feel they have some unexplainable importance. “There’s your
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Women have built an image for themselves over the years as independent‚ strong‚ and smart. However‚ the women in the following stories represent a different image for women. In both short stories‚ “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ the protagonists are lured by their bad decisions leading to their demise; the victims’ bad decisions along with the criminals’ bad intentions led to death creating the plot of both stories. Although‚ the stories have the same
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Wrong Impressions The short story‚ “Where Are You going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates explains how a young girl was struggling to find herself. Oates writes about a girl named Connie who was 16 years old and was lost in a world of fantasy. Connie had a split personality/image while at home and when she was out with her friends. Living in a world of fantasy‚ Connie would ignore her family by tuning them out and being distant. Connie would constantly be in front of the mirror admiring
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people views in innocence is freedom from sin‚ moral wrong‚ or guilt through 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
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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 in the story‚ Connie ignorantly emerges from her house and engages the stranger‚ Arnold
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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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“[Connie] had a quick‚ nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” (1) In the story “Where are you going‚ where have you been?” the author Joyce Carol Oates‚ deliberately shows us the level of innocence of the protagonist Connie‚ as well as the similar features an inexperienced young girl who lived in 1966 compares to those of a young girl who is raised in our era. Young teenage girls in 1966 are no different
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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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away from his rubber sheet on the bed. When Brother’s obsession with turning Doodle into the "ideal" Brother goes too far‚ his pride pushes Doodle to his early death. “I should have already admitted defeat but my pride wouldn’t let me.”(346) When he takes Doodle to Horsehead Swamp that Saturday before the first day of school‚ he knows it’s too late to meet the goals he set for Doodle. Again we see shame and pride coming together. Brother can’t deal with the shame of ’failing‚’ so he continues trying
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