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Analysis Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oats the overall theme is maturing as a woman. With this theme comes different experiences that main character Connie has experienced. Connie is a fifteen year old girl who is maturing and trying to step into womanhood as a teenager.Connies confidence is always debunked by her mother, she always scorns Connie insisting that she stops always looking at herself and being overly confident in herself. While Connie sneaks a date an older guy hits on her, this older man named Arnold Friend comes to Connie's home and insists that Connie comes outside for a ride or her family will get hurt. Connie is verbally assaulted and the audience is led to believe that Connie is taking advantage …show more content…

Connie showed that she was uninterested in Alrond Friend and this triggered something in his brain to keep going for her. In the article “It’s over” by Lisa A. Phillips speaks of the effect of rejection, the psychological side of rejection, and how it can affect the mind. “In part, the hurt stems from the same reason that all rejection is painful--because we are fundamentally social creatures whose lives depend on our connections to one another…Social ostracization sends a subconscious signal that our survival is at stake”(Phillips 2015). When a person is rejected a person can not predict how that person will react. A person's want to be loved is sought after even if they may have a family that affirms them or not. Although that may be true if a person is brought up in a healthy environment they may be more open to talk about certain things. This can cause them to be educated on topics so they won’t go into situations clueless. This can also cause them to avoid certain situations in the first place. Connie left her friends to go meet boys, not knowing any of them. This caused her to be around the wrong company, which led to an unfortunate situation. If she would have felt comfortable to talk about her curiosity with boys to her family then this may have been avoided. If she would have felt safe talking to her family then she may not have had to sneak around with boys and unintentionally place herself in danger to an older

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1147 Words | 5 Pages

The short story “Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates brings a dark transition of a child to an adult. Connie, the main character, is a young girl with all the care-free worries of someone her age. She day-dreams about romance and love through the popular songs on the radio, spends evenings with friends at the local shopping mall and dive diner, and flirts with boys. Like many girls her age, Connie seems to sleep-walk through life, dancing to a tune that only she can hear or understand. But this is cut away when she meets a stranger named Arnold Friend.

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1412 Words | 6 Pages

Living “just an ordinary girl’s” life was no longer the lifestyle for a girl named Connie. Once a man told her that she was gonna be his, her life turned. Connie was no longer able to forget about reality instead she was forced into adulthood by a man named Arnold Friend. Connie is the main character in the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates. The story is mainly about how Arnold Friend, a sort of stalker of Connie’s, comes to her house.

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952 Words | 4 Pages

Now she cannot even retreat back into her home that she no longer knows is safe and Arnold has all the control. Connie’s Freedom ceases to exist when Arnold intrudes upon her home and makes her come with

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665 Words | 3 Pages

Approaching Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates through a feminist lens significantly contributes to the development of the themes of female vulnerability and the oppressive nature of a patriarchal society. To begin with, Oates portrays the teenage girl protagonist, Connie, as a victim of societal expectations and male objectification. Connie’s mother constantly criticizes her appearance and behaviour, reinforcing the idea that a woman’s worth lies in her conformity to traditional gender roles. This message is particularly delivered as Connie’s mother says, “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister?

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1777 Words | 8 Pages

Carol 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.

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1181 Words | 5 Pages

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by the author Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. Oates describes her idea for the story after briefly reading an article about the real-life murderer, Charles Schmid, who lured and murdered three teenage girls (Kirszner & Mandell 523). She uses this idea to create the character, Arnold Friend, and his victim, Connie. Connie is a typical teenage girl portrayed as naïve and self-centered. The short story appears realistic, given that the conflict in the story is based off of real events.

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600 Words | 3 Pages

She already knew that her mother loved her other sister, June, more and the only thing that she had that June did not was her beauty. Secondly, her desire to be apart of something or to be important to someone came to her; however, as her desire came so did fear. She struggled with her fear that she would be leaving what was known to her: a family that she didn’t feel apart of. She craved the feeling of being wanted, and Arnold Friend was a “friend” that could give her all the attention she wanted. “‘I know my Connie,’ he said, wagging his finger... ‘

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694 Words | 3 Pages

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie, the protagonist, is a 15-year-old girl living in the suburbs, who conveys the qualities of a typical teenager: she listens to music, goes out with her friends, is obsessed about her looks, likes getting attention from boys and is intrigued with her sexuality. On one typical night out with her friends she notices a mysterious guy making suggestive gestures to her in the parking lot of a drive-in restaurant, but she remains unfazed and leaves with a guy named Eddie. Then one Sunday afternoon, her family leaves to go to an aunt’s barbecue leaving her home alone, but soon after the mysterious guy pulls up in a gold colored car in her driveway with his friend. He proceeds

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1428 Words | 6 Pages

Home is where the heart is, but what if home is no longer safe? Joyce Carol Oates explores this concept in her 1966 short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. On surface level, this story appears to discuss a rebellious young girl named Connie and her confrontation with Arnold Friend, a stalker. The ending leaves the reader to assume that Arnold Friend plans to sexually assault the young girl.

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Where are you going, where have you been? By Joyce Carol Oates. Connie a fifteen years old girl who her life is defined by her relationship to boys or men. She let romance fills her thoughts and her reunions with other girls are simply a pretext for approaching boys. She praises beauty above all, she knew she was pretty and that was everything that she needed to make it out in life.

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441 Words | 2 Pages

The main character in the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates, is a fifteen-year-old girl named Connie. This character appears to be a typical teenager who feels misunderstood by her family. The relationship with her family causes her to live two different lives “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home.” (86) Connie’s dual lifestyle and inability to communicate with her family will eventually lead to her demise.

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984 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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700 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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