In interpreting literature short stories provide an insight of personal opinion and upbringing. Exposure to different stories with ending that do not provide closure leave room for interpretation of results. Though review of the Anton Chekhov’s piece Lady and the Dog and Where are you going, Where have you been by Joyce Carol Oates by we encounter different perspectives of anticipated results and analysis of these short stories. Chevok’s Lady and the dog could be interpreted as a love story or story of infidelity and consequently an unsatisfied ending. When investigating where the story goes we evaluate it based on our own personal moral. A woman goes and lies to her husband resulting in an affair. As the affair builds both parties realize …show more content…
Story of a young girl, Connie , who allegedly stalked by a creepy guy Arnold Friend. With further investigation and through studying of psychological disorder this short story has a different view than expected. Oates does blur the view between fantasy and reality through her description of Arnold yet it appears that that the fight that Connie is internal. As the way the story is told it feels if Connie is delusional and the encounter she has with the young man is all made up in her head. The fact that Arnold knows so much information and somewhat controls her actions makes it appear that she is just being dealing with her subconscious. Connie appears to be dealing with feels related to sexuality and control where delusion is a platform for her evaluate her own though processes. Joyce Carol Oates uses unique literary technique that make you question if Connie really in a threating situation. Connie uses an image of a guy that she has seen in passing to give a face to her delusions. Interpretation of this play has been related to something more eerie yet as a reader I believe he story portrays more of subconscious self-evaluate of the main character
The story presents a rebellious teenager named Connie who is also preoccupied with her appearance. She was approached by Arnold Friend in her house but before this,
6.6 million people in the United States are stalked each year, one in six women and one in nineteen men have experienced stalking victimization during their lives at some point. In the story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates the main character, Connie, becomes a victim herself. Throughout the story, there are two main conflicts that arise for her, one of them having an extreme impact on her and the people around her. The first conflict Connie experiences is one between her and herself, which could’ve been brought on by her mother's attitude and behavior towards her.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is an intriguing short story by Joyce Carol Oates that leaves readers to delve into their own interpretations of what truly happened in the story. As a matter of fact, the last section of Oates’ story is what has caused the most discussion as Connie’s fate is at the mercy of a sinister man known as Arnold Friend. Furthermore, the fact that the story ends without a clear explanation of who Friend was only adds to the mystery as the reader does not know what exactly happened to Connie or if she was only having a dream. This paper will decipher the author’s message, analyze the characters of Arnold Friend and Ellie, and deduce Connie’s fate. Oates’s main message in her short story is exactly pinpointed
Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is the story of a girl named Connie. Connie may be the protagonist, but she is not a symbolic character as much as a typical teen-aged girl in the middle of the twentieth century. On the other hand, there is Arnold Friend, the antagonist, who is so full of symbolism that he is nothing but an allegorical figure. There are different interpretations of what, or who, exactly Arnold Friend symbolizes.
In Joyce Carol Oates’ highly acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates tells the story of a fictional adolescent girl named Connie that has a run in with pure evil itself in the shape of a man named Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend, a man dressed as a boy that she once saw at a drive-in, shows up at Connie’s house one afternoon when her family is away and tells her that if she does not come out of her house and go away and have sex with him then he will kill her whole family. Throughout the story Connie is shown to be an extreme narcissist, constantly staring at herself and basking in her profound beauty. Connie is a typical teenage girl that only seems to care about boys what others think of her
The mysterious and unknown character of Arnold Friend, whom Connie, the protagonist the story, met when she explored to the ‘unknown’ of the drive-in restaurant from the ‘known’ of the
However, this is countered when Connie notes that “he was much older—thirty, maybe more” (315), a fact that frightens her. What Arnold is to Connie is a challenge of her want to be an adult, and a trail of her ability to deal with adult issue. Such as a man who singles her out sexual reason. Her wish to be an adult is something she seeks while passively avoiding it. Her avoidance is marked by day dreams of puppy love romance, like a typical teenager; yet, her attractive flaunt to be mature is presented as if she seeks to be an
In the short story, “where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Arnold Friend tries to get Connie to do bad things to please him, which is revealed through arnold friend him Arnold Friend makes a promise to Connie at the drive-in-dinner In the short story it said “I'm going to get you baby”Oates. This foreshadows what is going to happen later on in the story it foreshadows that arnold will come for Connie and try to get her anyway possible .The
However, this changes when Arnold together with a friend show up at Connie’s home while her parents are away. She realizes there is more to Arnold than meets the eye and that her life and that of her family could be in danger. An article written in an issue of life magazine in 1966
With the help of Arnold Friend and Ellie, Connie matures into an adult by understanding her “religion”, Connie dreams, and Arnold Friend being perceived as a devil. Connie’s “religion”
Connie uses her attitude and appearance to attract boys. But she is not aware of the reality of the society in which she lives. Connie is living in a fantasy world, but when she gets trapped by Arnold Friend she is put into a scary reality. There
CATCHY TITLE HERE Why are women idealized only for their body? WAYG, WHYB, by Joyce Carol Oates is a fictional shorttory. Through Joyce’s display of femisinsm, a pedophile seduces a young female to come with him and use her for her body, which reveals society’s expectations of a woman in this time period.
Reluctantly, her parents allow her to stay home alone. A few hours later, a familiar gold jalopy pulls up to her house. The driver announces to Connie that his name is Arnold Friend. His unusual physical appearance, his tone of voice, and what he may symbolize frighten the Connie.
Oates’s biography explained her fiction writing as a mixture violence and sexual obsession. The writing style definitely fits the plot point of this story with both of her literary ingredients being present in not only Arnold Friend but in Connie as well. The Protagonist Connie is presented in a very self-centered way. She is obsessed with her looks and often fantasizes about all the boys she meets.
The short story “The lady with the Pet Dog” by Anton Chekhov and “The lady with the Pet Dog” by Joyce Carol Oates are written very differently, but in distinct ways. In “The lady with the Pet Dog” wrote by Anton Chekhov is a better read than “The lady with a Pet Dog” by Joyce Carol Oates. It lets us readers stay on track and have a better understanding. It does not jump back and forth. Both “the lady with the Pet Dog” by Anton Chekhov and Joyce Carol Oates can be compared and contrast in different ways.