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Analyzing The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

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In Joyce Oates story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perinne’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 11th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2012] 492- 506) Connie is a fifteen year old girl who would stereotypically, be considered “the girl next door,” and because of her certain actions, finds herself wishing she had chosen a different path. Connie is a usual teenage girl who is constantly checking herself in the mirror and always looking for whatever trouble she can get herself into. Contrary to Connie’s belief, good looks aren’t always a charm.

Connie is a very self- centered person and knows she has the “looks” in the family. “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (492). She does not get along with her mom or sister whatsoever. Although Connie’s sister is older than she is and still lives at home, Connie’s parents are constantly wishing she would be more like her sister. If there is one thing Connie and her sister have in common, it is that they both are allowed to go out with their friends without any questions …show more content…

Connie is boastful of knowing she can pull any guy which causes her to have a huge ego until she accidentally runs into Arnold Friend one night as he says, “gonna get ya baby” (494). Connie does not think much of Arnold other than the fact he is a creep, until one Sunday afternoon, he shows up at her house. Arnold is begging Connie to come with him for a ride and mysteriously knows her parents are gone, how long they will be, and where they are. Immediately, Connie gets a bad feeling and is quick to long for her mother. Because of how Connie portrayed herself, she gets put into a situation of where us readers are stuck wondering what actually happens. But what we do know is Connie gets taken advantage of which reflects on her earlier

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Not only had Connie given up all the physical things she owned, but also her own free will to Arnold. She gave up everything she had available to her, a feat that could only be accomplished by a passive victim. A noble heroine wouldn’t submit herself to someone as easily as Connie

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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

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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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Connie in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” desperately wants to be independent from her family, while Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” pathetically yearns for inclusion. In this story, Oates pays special attention to the mother-daughter relationship and the lack of meaningful communication between them. Connie's mother is an image of the future Connie doesn't want – the life of a domestic housewife. Connie has a love-hate relationship with her mother, with whom she identifies, but at the same time she has to distance herself from her mother in order to establish her independence. On the other hand, The Metamorphosis, a story by Franz Kafka, is about a man who has been transformed into a giant beetle

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Arnold Friend was there to take Connie away; away from her childhood and home, which never quite felt like home until her fantasy world deteriorated and reality set it. The next moment is pivotal, this is when Connie forgets her hedonism and becomes something of much more substance. Before Connie studies Arnold Friend’s abnormal personality and erratic behavior she is fascinated by him and even worries that she is ill prepared for this

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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.

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In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl, who does not necessarily get along with her family. During the week, she often times goes to a shopping plaza with some of her friends. However, they sneak across the highway to go to a popular diner where the older crowd hangs out at. At home, Connie is often times arguing with her family. One day her family is invited to her aunt's barbecue but Connie refuses to go.

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The story states that, “She was fifteen and she had a quick, 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). This statement foreshadows the character's vanity and gives some insight into the character's behavior. The young girl goes by the name of Connie and her older sister June was everything that she wasn't. Her mother admired June, and her only wish was that Connie would turn into her sister. Not only was Connie vain, but she also had a rebellious attitude and behavior.

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Teenage girl’s desires to be beautiful and desired, feminism, and adolescent sexuality are a few of the issues Connie, along with others, faced during this time period (and some can argue today). Connie was responsible for her actions (obviously) but it only partially to blame for what happened to her. If she had never left her friend to go sit in some random guy’s car, maybe Arnold Friend would’ve never seen her, or had taken a liking to her. I’m not stating that what happened with Arnold Friend was her fault, he’s the pedophile that should’ve known better and not threatened her, but it could have been prevented if she had never ditched her

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Connie is self-centered; preoccupied with her looks to attract boys. She despises her parents and wishes that she could escape from her family. Freedom and men are what she desires most but sadly sometimes people are not careful for what they wish for. Arnold Friend is an evil and physical

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“But now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.” (Oates ). Also, there is another opportunity for friendship within the family, between Connie and her sister, however, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility. “Her sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters.” ( ).

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Connie’s mother keeps picking at her for everything. The mother clearly shows that the older sister June is her favorite. June does everything right and gets praised by her mother all the time. Connie hears almost every day that June saved money, helped clean the house, cooked for the family. When the mother speaks on the phone with her friends, she favors everything that June does, and criticizes Connie.

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Connie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).

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This interpretation of the story explains how Connie simply fell prey to the common theme of men acting as predators in society. Therefore, Connie had no say in her fate, so she just decided to go quietly with him. However, this theory completely disregards the psychological disorders that Connie has. Connie did not go quietly with Arnold because he was a dominating male. Instead, Connie left due to her numerous unconscious mental problems.

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As Jen Cadwallader expresses in her Essay “Plain Jane and the Limits of Female Beauty”: “the homage paid to her appearance is a detriment to the development of her [Georgiana’s] character.” (Cadwallader 239). Thanks to her beauty, others seem to ignore or play down the mistakes Georgiana makes in her life, because of that she develops into “shallow” and “self-centred”

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