Analytical Essay About Connie's Connie
Connie was young and beautiful, working hard to show off her maturity and sexuality in spite of her mother’s disapproval. Her vivacity and charisma attracted boys and men alike, which gave her the attention she so desperately craved. Her thirst for attention was quenched by an unlikely and unwanted man who forced her to confront the harsh reality of the world, bearing no resemblance to what she daydreamed love and romance would be. It was no secret that Connie was beautiful. She knew it, her mother knew it, and this realization caused tension between the two. Her mother would catch Connie admiring her beauty, which led to criticizing questions such as “stop gawking at yourself, who are you?” “You think you’re so pretty” (Oates 451). Connie’s …show more content…
In the beginning, she “wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over” (452). This is due to the fact that they bicker constantly and Connie is constantly criticized. Later, she expresses that she thought “her mother preferred her to June because she was prettier” even though whenever her mother talked about the two, “mother’s tone was approving” when June was discussed and “if Connie’s name was mentioned it was disapproving” (Oates 453). At the end of the story, when Connie was scared and in trouble, her feelings toward her mother shift. She “cried for her mother” and proved that she wasn’t as grown up as she thought (Oates 461). As a man coerced her out of her house, she began to think negative and fear based thoughts such as “I’m not going to see my mother again,” “I’m not going to sleep in my bed again” (Oates 461). These feelings are very different than those that were in the beginning. She now sees that the world is not at all similar to what she daydreams about. She felt her heart and felt as though it was not her own, “just a pounding, living thing inside this body that wasn’t really hers either” (Oates 161). As reality hits her, she becomes more and more frightened and fragile until she feels no feelings at all, only involuntary mechanical motions coming from her
Arnold Friend Character Analysis
1432 Words | 6 PagesIn the beginning of the story Connie is described as this conceited self centered girl. Oates described Connie in the story that she had
Character Analysis Of Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
325 Words | 2 PagesIn the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the protagonist Connie’s misperceptions about the adult world results in her rapid jolt from adolescence into the horrific realities of adulthood. Connie romanticizes the idea of romance, leading her to a great shock when her fantasizes of love come true in a perverted way through the character Arnold Friend. Additionally, her misperceptions about physical beauty as her determining factor of a person’s persona leads her to obsess over physical image highlighting her flaw of vanity. Connie’s idealistic views of adult romance and physical beauty blinds her to the wickedness of the character Arnold Friend who bring about her involuntary downfall into the horrific
Arnold Friend Character Analysis
1137 Words | 5 PagesConnie has a conflict with her mother, presented in the story as they continually fight; her mom generally starts the conflict, "Why don 't you keep your room clean like your sister? How 've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don 't see your sister using that junk" (308). Connie has a conflict with June, her sister.
Joyce Carol Oates Smooth Talk
616 Words | 3 PagesIn the story, Joyce Carol Oates introduces the main character, Connie, by giving the reader contextual information on her life. Connie was the typical rebel teenager. She lied to her parents, snuck off with the boys, went out late at night, was mischievous, and had a dysfunctional relationship with her family. The story motivated the production of the film, “Smooth Talk”. Both of these pieces had the same crucial ideas, varied in the family relations, information concerning Arnold Friend and his obsession of Connie, and resolutions to the ambiguous ending.
Gender Roles In Connie's Life
411 Words | 2 PagesConnie has a difficult relationship with the men in her life, and distant because of how she was raised as well as norms of society. Connie’s father is absent in Connie’s life, he minds his business and ignores what the rest of the family is doing, Connie’s mother kind of does both roles. Connie’s mother tells her what she shouldn’t wear, and doesn’t have that father figure in her life. Connie only has learned to respect the man of the house, didn’t interact with her father. Also, when she would go out with her friends she would do what the boys tell her to do, like little commands.
Oates's Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'
840 Words | 4 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1974), the main character, Connie, experiences a number of external and internal conflicts that lead to the conflict in the story, her interaction with the antagonist, Arnold Friend. In the beginning of this short story, Oates details on Connie’s materialistic tendencies and emphasis on her own physical appearance, much to her mother’s dismay. In order to get the attention she deserves, she seeks it from the opposite gender.
The Theme Of Ignorance In Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Been?'
1399 Words | 6 PagesAs the wise philosopher Albert Camus once said: “The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding” ("Albert Camus."). In the captivating short story Where Are You Going, Where Are you Been? Joyce Carol Oates is trying to show the readers that beauty and vanity can be sometimes harmful. Bored and tired of being ordinary, and still being treated as a child, the main character engaged in a rebellion that think will make her look older, more like an adult. The author also shows the readers how Connie’s obsession with her beauty, her dreaminess and carelessness of the world made her more ignorant and lack awareness.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis
1014 Words | 5 PagesSome of the most obvious examples come when her clothing choices are described, “...in their shorts and flat ballerina slippers that always scuffed the sidewalk, with charm bracelets jingling on their thin wrists…”. Connie’s clothing reflects that of which a young girl in the 60s-and even now-may wear, and the diction of ‘thin’ can allude to her not yet developed body. Furthermore, Connie is said to wear a “... pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home”. Oates goes on to list other aspects of Connie that change depending on where she is, or where she is going. This sense of duality and altering actions or decisions based on surroundings is a common thread in the lives of teenagers.
Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'
1235 Words | 5 PagesShe is obsessed with her own physical appearance, while her older sister, June, is the opposite. Connie’s mom always criticizes her for being so egotistical and wants Connie to be more like her sister. Their father is always working and hardly makes any time for them. She likes hanging out with boys, but one night
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
828 Words | 4 PagesShe emotional language at the beginning of the story when Connie has an altercation with her mother , Connie tells herself that she wished her mother was dead and so was she and often whined to her friends that her mother “makes me want to throw up sometimes”(453). Connie’s language takes a turn when she receives an unexpected visit. Oates uses phrases such as, “Who the hell do you think you are?” , “pretended to fidget”, and “Reluctantly” (457). At that point Connie grows suspension and realizes something is fishy.
Where Are You Going Quotes
459 Words | 2 PagesDue to hormones, teenagers are moody and may even lash out at their parents when their parents try to control them. This is the same situation for Connie, even as a girl in the 60s. She wanted to be an
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis
657 Words | 3 PagesThe short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates can be interpreted in a multitude of ways due to its ambiguity. A psychological lens, however, provides the most accurate viewpoint for analyzing the story as it clarifies certain obscure scenes and actions of Connie. One psychological issue of Connie that is easily inferred from the beginning of the story is her insecurity about her looks. Connie constantly worries about the way that she looks and takes any opportunity to do so, “craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (1).
Analysis Of Carol Joyce Oates Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?
1777 Words | 8 PagesCarol Joyce Oates’ “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents how falling into temptation leads to giving up control and innocence. Though her mother is unapproving of her actions, Connie spends her time seeking attention from male strangers. Home alone, Connie is approached by a compelling creature who convinces her to leave her life and join him on his unknown journey. Through disapproving her family, having multiple appearances, listening to music, and her desperation to receive attention from boys, Connie gives up control of herself losing the purity of adolescents and contributing to her detrimental fate. It is imperative that one should not be controlled because of a desire to impress others.
Character Analysis Of Connie In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
1258 Words | 6 PagesHer mother who is described as “being pretty once too.” Often scolds Connie for admiring herself in the mirror. She says such things as, “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you're so pretty?” Along with tearing Connie down any chance she gets, her mother is constantly comparing Connie to her older sister, June, who is twenty four and very plain.
Identity In 'The Woman Who Had Two Navels'
1745 Words | 7 PagesIn The Woman Who Had Two Navels, Nick Joaquin develops certain parallelisms in Connie Escobar’s and Dr. Monson’s characteristics, alluding their relationship to an underlying theme in the novel: the idea of reconnecting to an identity. This essay will discuss how both characters initially deviate from the attainment of their identities because of their escape from reality and how they find their way back through their meeting in Chapter V. The main definition of an identity in the novel is stated by Connie: I must know what I am and how can I know that if I don’t know what I came from? When I was little, I thought I knew [Manolo Vidal]. …
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