Elia Bergquist Juan Espinoza EN102 23 February 2023 Where are You Going, What are Your Intentions? In the short story, “Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going?” Carol Joyce Oates creates a thriller of a story that leaves the reader with an unsettling feeling.
This shows the narrator's desire to be independent and powerful, but also realizing how difficult it can be to do so in a society that doesn't often respect such traits in women. This metaphor highlights the struggle between the narrator's desire to establish her identity and strength and the obligations put on her by her parents and
Finally, Oates uses irony when Connie tells Arnold that he is "crazy"(72) and he responds by saying that she is the one who is "crazy"(72). This is ironic because it is clear to the reader that Arnold is the one who is truly unstable. Overall, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a work of fiction that employs several different rhetorical devices to create a haunting
In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates the outcome and the meaning relies solely on the reader. For some it’s a riveting fight between good and evil and for others it’s a sordid tale of seduction and loss of innocence. Connie and Arnold Friend represent the struggle between good and evil. Oates’s mixture of literal, figurative, psychological and allegorical makes this a great and suspenseful tale. Oates unmasked Arnold Friend as a satyr which is a demi-god from Greek and Roman mythology.
“At its most basic, every story is an attempt to answer the question What happened?” (Norton 85) One of the most significant elements in a short story is plot. Plot is construct by authors and they rearrange the character’s action in a consequential way to shape our response and interpretation (Norton 85). In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, they use similar plot styles that contributes to the process of maturation for characters in the stories.
Both Judy and Connie are described as beautiful, sweet and charming. In both the stories they are drooled upon by many men. In the beginning of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie is approached by a boy that goes to her high school and being the rude person that she is, she ignores him. She even states that she feels good about ignoring him.
Connie is ready to take things beyond just the romantic level with boys, and this desire is transformed into the being that is Arnold Friend. Connie states in her description of Arnold that “she liked the way he was dressed… a belt that pulled in his waist and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders” (Oates n.p.). By Connie stating this, she reveals that she does find Arnold physically attractive, perhaps even on a sexual level. Arnold represents her interest in boys and he allows her to enter into the world of fantasy. When he breaks into the house, however, Connie’s own fantasies begin to betray her because this is what she pictures it to be like if she were forced into a sexual situation.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?”, Connie, is fifteen years old and is just like any other teenage girl. She daydreams, loves music, and likes to flirt. She is one of the main characters and has a personality that sets her apart from others in the story. In her mind she is the center of everything and she the only one that understands anything going on, “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar complaints and look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was right at that moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything. ”(Oates 233)
Life is always moving forward, “like a river, the way it [flows] and [twists] about but [is] always rushing,” constantly changing (Villaneuva 139). Both girls started out naive but over time had to accept the world for all its
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.
Many critics have focused on the familiar element in here are going, where have you been for example, the main character, Connie, is a typical American teen in her psychotically make up and appearance. Even the villain of the story, Arnold friend, is as familiar as the big bad wolf that shows in many masks in literature films. Yet in this paper I want to focus on the strange element in the story mainly about Arnold knew everything about cones family. In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been “Connie realizes that there 's something off about Arnold Friend.
Instead of realizing the danger that she was in, Connie was focused on what Arnold Friend was wearing and how attractive he was. Connie’s obsession with finding her own sexuality overpowered her gut feeling of danger. In an analysis of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Barbara Wiedemann discusses how the antagonist Arnold Friend is based upon serial killer Charles Schmid, who murdered several young girls during the 1960s. In the analysis, Wiedemann
He tries to seduce and persuade her to go with him for a ride similar to how the Devil lured Eve with a shiny and mysterious apple. Oates displays evidence of biblical allusions regarding Arnold Friend’s appearance and persona in the story by depicting his physical characteristics, his supernatural knowledge, and his demeanor as an image of evil. Connie wants to be desired for her sexuality and Arnold possesses this by his tone throughout the story. His appearance comes
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.
A little over a month ago I was watching television with a friend. We were watching the very first episode of Mr. Robot episode one, season one, I guess it 'd technically be episode 0. I had already seen it, while my friend had not. But at some point in the episode my friend said something to me that immediately bothered me and maybe I 'm bothered too easily but we 're not here to talk about that. If you 've never seen Mr. Robot the main character Elliot Alderson has these running internal monologues where he wonders if he 's going crazy, wonders about the messed up society that we live in, what is real what isn 't, and if it even matters or not.
