Where Are You Going Quotes

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In Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?," the main character, Connie, is very concerned about her looks and making sure she always looks like what she would consider "pretty." As a young, fifteen year old girl, looking good and getting the attention of boys was her main priority. Although she is still technically a child, Connie wanted to look older and more mature, assumably to mimic the women she could see in advertisements and magazines. When kids reach their teenage years, they often long for the freedom of adulthood and want to be treated with the same respect adults get. Due 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 …show more content…

This quotes reveals that at home, Connie dresses to her mother's standards, presumably modest, but when she goes to the shopping plaza with her girl friends, she takes the same outfit and makes adjustments to make the outfit trendier and more eye-catching to boys. Another way that Connie attempts to seem mature is by the way she interacts with her family, specifically her mother. When they are planning on attending an aunt's barbecue, Connie rejects her invitation to go, "Connie said no, she wasn't interested, rolling her eyes to let her mother know just what she thought of it" (Oates 565). Firstly, her deciding to stay home can be seen as an attempt to grow up because she has reached the age in life where she can be trusted to stay home alone and also shows that she is is old enough to make or deny plans for herself. Secondly, her reaction of rolling her eyes to being invited makes it seem like she believes she is "to cool" to hang out with her family

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