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Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

995 Words4 Pages

Connie never suspected that she was being stalked until it was too late. Maybe she was a bit naive, but she was only fifteen and she acted just like any other girl her age would. She could trick her parents into believing what she wanted them to believe, she was obsessed about her looks, and she loved listening to music, fantasizing about the lyrics and dreaming about boys. Connie was just like many other girls her age, except for the fact that she was being stalked, and never suspected it until it was too late. Connie was enjoying her summer vacation going out with her friends, hanging around her house listening to music, and dreaming about the boys she met. She never suspected that she was being stalked until it was too late. In Joyce Oates story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Connie unknowingly meets the man who had been stalking her, Arnold Friend, and her carefree summer comes to an end.(or is taken away by the devil himself.)
One beautiful warm Sunday afternoon, …show more content…

He even knew that her family was gone for the day. He smirked, “He ain’t coming. He’s at a barbecue.” He continued, “Aunt Tillie's...There’s your sister in a blue dress, huh? And high heels, the poor sad bitch - nothing like you sweetheart!” (Oates, 4). The only way he could have known how her sister was dressed, or that her family was at a BBQ for the day, was if he had been spying on her and her family. Connie had never talked to this man before, or encouraged him in any way, yet here he was claiming, “Yes, I’m your lover. You don't know what that is but you will. I know that too. I know all about you” (Oates, 4). He is not a young boy wanting to take Connie on a simple date; he is a grown man that has been following her every move for some time in order to gain that much knowledge about her and her life. He had been stalking Connie for quite a

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Starting right off the bat, Joyce Carol Oates describes Connie as being a fifteen year old with”a quick, nervous habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all alright” (316) bringing attention to the amount of insecurity and need for reassurance immersed within Connie. This statement continues although this time describing her mother as someone who “noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn’t much reason to look at her own face” (316) bringing into comparison the difference between Connie and her mother, a child and a mother, of childhood and of adulthood. From Connie’s perspective her mother is always on her back because of a theory that her family dislikes her. “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve

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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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“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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