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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay

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In Joyce Carol Oates’ highly acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates tells the story of a fictional adolescent girl named Connie that has a run in with pure evil itself in the shape of a man named Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend, a man dressed as a boy that she once saw at a drive-in, shows up at Connie’s house one afternoon when her family is away and tells her that if she does not come out of her house and go away and have sex with him then he will kill her whole family. Throughout the story Connie is shown to be an extreme narcissist, constantly staring at herself and basking in her profound beauty. Connie is a typical teenage girl that only seems to care about boys what others think of her but she takes it …show more content…

When Arnold and Ellie first show up at Connie’s house and ask her to take a ride with them it is very much unlike her to be hesitant and even say no. Connie normally feeds off of her interactions with guys and is with a different one every night so for her to reject Arnold’s offer is shocking. At this point in the story Arnold seems to Connie as a normal teenage boy with a flashy car so the reader would think of course Connie would go with him but to the reader’s dismay, she does not. Already in the story the reader has seen a striking change in Connie, she is more apprehensive and aware, contrary to her reckless decisions prior to this encounter. It is inevitable to see that Connie has already begun her transformation into a more aware and mature human being. This change is more than obvious when Arnold confronts her with a decision to save her family’s lives and sacrifice her own and Connie chooses to save the family that she despises. For Connie to save these people that she calls her family and sacrifice her own life that she normally sees as superior to others’ is of utmost importance in perceiving that Connie has undergone a momentous change as a person. Connie goes from wishing her mother dead at the start of the story to exchanging her own life for her’s. Although Connie is perceived as a pretentious brat at the beginning of the story, she undergoes a change in personality, and acts in spite of all her previous beliefs …show more content…

Previous to Connie’s transformation, she despised her family and even wished her own mother dead, but she pushes all her preceding beliefs aside and puts others lives before her own to the absolute dismay of the reader. What would you do if you were in Connie’s

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[g]et up all by yourself”, Connie realizes she truly has no choices (Oates 11). Connie thinks it is best to go with Arnold Friend because she does not want the burden of her family’s death to be in her hands. Connie exhibits

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On the other hand, Connie didn’t think of the consequences that came with experiencing the things she wasn’t ready for, consequences that would

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In the beginning of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, Joyce Carol Oates describes fifteen year old Connie as being self absorbed and narcissistic. This is based of her belief that her looks are everything. At first connie is a very static character, her attitude does not change and she does not take interest in anything that could change her attitude towards her beliefs. As the story goes on, Connie experiences changes that do change her attitude towards her family, and beliefs. “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old 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.”

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Imagine being in a situation where you are constricted, with no means of getting out. Would you want to escape into a world of fantasy and leave the dreadfulness of reality? “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a story that explores this idea through the beautiful teenage girl Connie. Arnold Friend, an older man, wishes to take her out on a “date”, but things quickly become out of hand. As Gillis states in “Connie’s Tambourine Man: A New Reading of Arnold Friend”, Arnold presumably “leads his victim… to a quick and violent sexual assault” (Tierce and Crafton 219).

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An article by Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski, “Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” analyzes this helpless nature of Connie as a result of Arnold’s alluring tactics. However, many readers may indeed question why she reacted in such an incapable and naive manner, resulting ultimately in her abduction. Although her state of shock is sudden, her response is an accurate and natural depiction of the bewildering state she was put in under these tactics. From the start of the story, we get insight into

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In the story it states, “Connies mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead” which shows how women tend to think men will make them feel better when really the man is using that power to his advantage. A women’s insecurities can cause them to seek attention from the wrong people which she does with Arnold Friend by communicating with him when she should’ve walked away when she had the chance. In the story it states,”She drew her shoulders up and sucked in her breath with the pleasure of being alive” which shows how connie is enjoying life for all the right reasons. Pedphiles look for vunerable girls like Connie so it is easier to take advantage of them. Connie looks for attention and when she gets it from the wrong person like Arnold Friend, she realizes she had made a mistake.

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And honey, no matter who you were with last night, today you're with Arnold Friend and don't you forget it! Maybe you better step out here". By writing all of this, the author is able to build a very strong obsessive connection between Connie and

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In what ways would you transform when presented with a life or death situation? In the prevailing and fast-paced short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joan Carol Oates we find out how much a person can change when crucial and demanding situations arise. In this short story the self-indulged protagonist, Connie will have to face her worse nightmares that she believed would be her ultimate fantasy. Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl who, like most young women, are ruled by their hormones and budding sexualities. She is a flighty teen who does not get along with her family and wishes to be an adult.

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After faced with the not-so-magical parts of the real world, Connie wants her mother and the protection of childhood. This double side of Connie shows she is unsure of who she is, constantly switching between two people, and therefore, not ready to grow

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To begin with, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the protagonist Connie, is a young pretty girl who is seen as gentle and innocent. She lives a neglected life with her mother always nagging, saying “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed--- what the hell stinks?

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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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In the short story, Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been,” by Joyce Oates, Arnold Friend, a disgusting pediphile character, tries to seduce a teenager named Connie to come on a car ride with him. Arnold was peculiar he hung around teen spots even though he was years out of high school and he drove around in his gold colored car. Arnold is a walking imposter he was an idol to many teens, but in reality he was pediphile looking for his next victim. Throughout the short story Arnold acted fake by every standard he would fool people into thinking he was a great person, but in reality it was a disguise. People need to realize that some people may use them and disguise themselves to achieve their personal desires.

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When Abuela first came, "I try to walk far behind them in public so that no one will think we’re together" (Ortiz-Cofer para 4). This shows that Connie doesn 't care about Abuela 's feelings to an extent that she doesn 't even want to be seen with her. This can prove that Connie made her choice to not help Abuela when she lost her way in the church since she was too embarrassed to be seen with Abuela. Connie would have spent time with Abuela if she cared about her feelings. After Connie made her choices, Abuela said, "You made me feel like a zero, like a nothing" (Ortiz-Cofer para 16).

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“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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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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