Finding Her Identity: An Analysis of “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? Joyce Carol Oates‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie who is searching for her independence from her mother. The exposition is in the month of July at their home‚ where Connie is being scolded by her mother about her being obsessed with her looks. Her mother says‚ “Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty? (171) Her mother wants her to be more
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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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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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while saving cats falling from trees? Does one have to be a hero by saving someone from a burning building? What qualifies as a hero? Many people have their own definition and vision of a hero. Heroism comes in many ways through attitudes and acts of oneself. I believe heroism is the intent of doing something for the benefit of others‚ and not caring about the consequences that might ensue. In Joyce Carol Oates’s "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚" we see the character of Connie in a process
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In the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” by Joyce Oates‚ the audience explores the story of Connie‚ a normal teenage girl‚ who meets Arnold Friend‚ a seemingly harmless character at first‚ but we later come to find out that he has been stalking her and Arnold
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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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“Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” should not be read through a fantasy/allegorical lens‚ but through a lens of reality. Reading it through the former limits the potency of the story. Everything that takes place in the story is believable‚ and in fact‚ many details of the story are based on real events. Arnold Friend is based on Charles Schmid‚ a real life serial killer who was responsible for the murder of three young girls. Schmid was arrested in 1965 for the rape and murder of Allen Rowe;
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story‚ “Where are you going where have you been?” Joyce Carol Oates describes the emotional ride of a fifteen year old girl‚ on the verge of becoming an adult and losing her innocence of mind and body along the way. She has a difficult time growing up and developing her own personality as they would have her react to her circumstances.“Everything about her bad two side to it‚ one for Home and one for anywhere that was not Home.” Connie feels that the best attribute that a girl can have is being pretty
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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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music‚ miniskirts‚ sexual freedom and drugs. At that time‚ Joyce Carol Oates created her works‚ in which she talked about ordinary everyday affairs‚ giving them a specific dark climate fueled by the second bottom. A short story "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been" was written in such climate. Oates addressed the problem of growing up in the 1960s. For many people this period seemed to be bliss‚ but for others it was a period full of doubts and dilemmas. The main character of this story‚
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