In Joyce Carol Oates story, “Where are You Going, Where have You Been,” Oates sets up biblical references to the settings to allow the reader to connect the characters to biblical figures. The first major setting for biblical innuendos is the drive-in restaurant. Oates describes the restaurant as “a big bottle, through squatter than a real bottle, and on its cap was a revolving figure of a grinning boy holding a hamburger a loft” (Oates 1) which first establishes the biblical allusions. The revolving figure at top the drive-in restaurant is an allusion to the stepal atop a church. “Their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building that loomed up out of the night to give them what haven and blessing they yearned for”(Oates 1) Oates uses the restaurant as a place of peace and escape for Connie from a demanding mother, much like a church is an escape for sinners. Finally,“ the music that made everything so good: the music was always in the background, like music at a church services;” (Oates 1) Oates gives no …show more content…
Connie had a “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”(Oates 1). This vain behavior has Connie comparing herself to everyone she comes in contact with. The only thing Connie cared for was her looks “she knew she was pretty and that was everything”(Oates 1). Connie constantly compares herself to her sister June. June was “plain and chunky and steady”(Oates 1) unlike Connie who’s beauty, thinness, and unsteady attitude upset her mother. Connie had a side hidden away from her family. When home she had a “childlike and bobbing walk”( Oates 1) but away from home her walk was “languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head”. The moral standards and self interpretation of Oates character Connie stems from how her parents treat
Journal #1 In the story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the main character Connie is a 15-year old teenage girl, who always daydreams and wants to escape from her family, or her life. The author Joyce Carol Oates use music as a key instrument for Connie to transfer between the reality to her fantasy world. When listening to music, she daydreams about boys and romance, trying to take herself into the world that she wants to be. This is what most of us, as teenagers, have been gone through. Growing up in the twentieth century, we either know or accept different kinds of mass media, such as music, television, as well as movies.
In the story Oates shows a young girl who is deceived and drawn in by a man with bad intentions. Joyce Carol Oates in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” depicts that everything that seems good isn’t always good. Where are you going, where have you been is a short story about a 15 year old girl
According to McCabe and Wauchope “The most common type of relationship was that of a stranger, with 55/130 or 42% of rapist selecting a stranger as their victim” (239). While some psychopathic serial rapists may pick someone close to them or someone they know, that is not the case with Arnold Friend. In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates uses Arnold Friend’s stalker tendencies, use of Connie’s weaknesses, and deceiving looks to allow us to view Friend as a psychopathic serial rapist who has committed similar prior crimes. Throughout the story, Connie wants to grow up so quickly and have the attention that she thinks she wants but in reality it is nothing she could ever imagine and by doing this Oates shows
In the beginning of the story Connie is described as this conceited self centered girl. Oates described Connie in the story that she had
Naive Vanity Society puts labels on everyone, and in some cases given based off of one's actions. Most labels are seen in a negative way, for example naive vanity. The word vain is defined as, “proceeding from or showing pride in or concern about one's appearance, qualities, etc” (Dictionary.com). Essentially it is being involved and having pride in your appearance. This is articulated in the short fiction story titled “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.
Towards the end of the short story, the reader can begin to feel sympathy for Connie because she is in such a dangerous and awful position and chooses to make a decision that will hurt her but help her family. Connie seems to be a very ordinary and somewhat vain girl in Oates’ short story. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” , June and her mother serves as Connie’s foil. 2.
In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.
Fantasy V.S. Reality In some cases an individual can perceive something as the complete opposite of what it truly is. People create the illusion or the fantasy on what they believe something to be.
Arnold Friend’s Biblical Allusions In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story of a young, innocent teenage girl, Connie who enjoys listening to music and begins exploring her sexuality and being with boys “the way it was in the movies and promised in songs” (Oates 198). In fact she catches the attention of Arnold Friend one night while at the mall meeting up with a boy. Not knowing he would appear in her life, Arnold strangely shows up at her house assuming they made plans to get together. His character is seen as the devil.
In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.
The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl named Connie who is in the mist of her adolescent rebellion. She wants to prove her maturity to others and herself. In the story, Oates describes that Connie always lets her mind flow freely in between her daydream. She even creates and keeps dreaming about her ideal male figure in her mind to make her happy and satisfied. Oates allows the reader to step into Connie’s “dream world” through the appearance of Arnold Friend.
The 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).
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is about a teenager named Connie who is trying to come to terms with her transformation from childhood to adulthood. Through this process, Connie attempts to act older than she is an tries to gain the attention of boys. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as obsessed with men to symbolize how one’s obsession and narcissistic attitude can cause danger to seem surreal. In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.
Oates reminisces back to when she was a child wandering the fields and abandoned buildings behind her home. As she explores these abandoned structures, she takes notice of the “remnants of a lost household” within this “absolute emptiness of a house whose
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.