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Differences Between Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Book And Movie

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and the movie Smooth Talk both portray a rebellious teenager who was approached by an unknown guy that tries to get her to go with him. Even though, the short story and the movie are not exactly alike, both are similar by having the same personality for Arnold and Connie. However, there are differences like Connie and her mother’s relationship and how the movie continued even after Connie got into Arnold Friend’s car. First, the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is placed during the 1960s in drive-in restaurants, shopping malls, and homes out in the country. The story presents a rebellious teenager named Connie who is also preoccupied with her appearance. She was approached by Arnold Friend in her house but before this, …show more content…

The movie did have most of the characteristics in the short story correct with only a few differences therefore it is a good adaptation of the story. It’s understandable that the movie added more scenes because the director might have wanted it to be more interesting rather than just have it exactly like the short story. In addition, a cliffhanger in a movie that is not part of a series would be very annoying. Nevertheless, the short story is better than the movie because the reader can read the descriptions of certain characters and are able to hear their thoughts. For example, the story says, “June is a secretary in the high school Connie attended, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she 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” (Oates 324). In the movie, June was never described as a character but was only able to be seen what was on the outside. The audience is not able to hear what a character is thinking inside their head when certain scenes are

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Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” represents the devil who arrives to bring Connie to the underworld. For example, his unusual appearance implies that he is an inhuman being, unlike what he wants to lead on. As he struggles to walk from his car to the front door, Connie notes that “his whole face was a mask... tanned down to his throat...as if he had..makeup on..but had forgotten about his throat”(5). Arnold Friend covers his demonic features in order to pass as a teenager with the intention of deceiving Connie into leaving with him.

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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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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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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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In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, both female protagonists are faced with opposing male forces that seek to control, undermine and take advantage of them. However, in the midst of the challenges and subordination they face from these dominant male figures, each protagonists independence is tested as they both strive to overcome these forces. Connie, the protagonist in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a 15 year old, narcissistic teenage girl, searching for independence through her sexuality as she enters into the realm of adulthood. “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home,” (Oates, 1).

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