Imagery In Joyce Carol Oates's Assassination
Mastery Assignment 2: Literary Analysis Essay Lee Maracle’s “Charlie” goes through multiple shifts in mood over the course of the story. These mood are ones of hope and excitement as Charlie and his classmates escape the residential school to fear of the unknown and melancholy as Charlie sets off alone for home ending with despair and insidiousness when Charlie finally succumbs to the elements . Lee highlights these shifts in mood with the use of imagery and symbolism in her descriptions of nature.
Instead Oates uses very descriptive words to describe the characters. Oates describes Arnold Friend as having “shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig” (Oates 2). This simple little description is packed with detail that gives readers a good sense of what Arnold Friend looks like and how he acts as he is pulling up the driveway. Through description, he has “traits of that arch-deceiver and source of grotesque terror, the devil. ”(Wegs 3).
In Joyce Carol Oates fictional short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the majority of the story lies beneath the surface. More specifically than just the story, you realize that there is more to the character Arnold Friend than what may appear. The author has always remained silent and ambiguous about the real meaning of Arnold Friend’s true nature and she leaves room for the readers to make their own interpretation of him. Readers can analyze Arnold Friend and see him as the devil, he could just be the personification of popular music imagined by Connie in a dream, but Arnold Friend could also be the result of drug use.
And high heels” (Oates 71-71). At this point, in the short story, it is apparent that Arnold Friend is not an average person. Nobody can see exactly what everyone is doing and what they are wearing making it apparent Arnold is not a friend at all but a monster. The author also gives Arnold Friend the ability to alter one's thought process through music and his words. When Connie is around Arnold she felt “a wave of dizziness rise in her”
One day while she was home alone, a man named Arnold Friend showed up at her door. He wanted to take her out for a ride and go on a date. Connie was cautious around him due to how old he looked and his sexual remarks towards her. Strange things began to happen and she eventually left with Arnold Friend. The story does not give a clear explanation as to what happened to Connie, but it was not a good thing.
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.
Throughout the story, there are many instances: the illogical time and settings, the similarity between Arnold and Connie and the unrealistic events show that the meeting between Connie and Arnold Friend is a dream. The dream is also a preparation for Connie before she steps onto the stage of being an adult. Connie’s dream begins when she refuses to go to her aunt’s house for barbecue party. She stays home, and under the warmness of the sun, she begins her day dreaming about love and the boy she has met the night before. In the beginning, the author writes “Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun…”
The story “Where is Here” by Joyce Oates is about a married couple who are being visited by a mysterious man, who they have never seen before. The visitor is walking through their house, seemingly reliving childhood memories. When the stranger says, “I mean, I was a child in this house” this proves that the stranger had lived in the house as a child and had memories of his childhood, but there was no telling how long ago that was. The wife is worried about who the young man is and what his intentions are, she even says “The garage! What does he want in there!”
Society in today’s world is very alike to society years ago, with different social classes and stereotypes. In “Just walk on by” by Brent staples, a variety of rhetorical devices are used in order to convey the message of how a black man is trying to show society that he is so much more than the color of his skin. The author explains how the character was characterized as violent and dangerous because he was black. Staples continues on a sort of journey with the character to show how he overcomes that stereotype, by whistling classical music to give the idea that he is mature and less threatening. Throughout the piece, Staples uses devices that will help the reader better understand the struggles that the character has to face on a daily basis.
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
In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.
Oates created what today is considered a modern classic, with her draws to music, mythology, and modern culture, at that time, 60s. In this direction; summary, analysis and breakdowns of the inspirations and reasons she used, including a interpretation of their meaning(s). Joyce Carol Oates’ story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about a young girl. Like most teenagers, she sneaks around, goes to drive-ins, meets boys. In the story Oates writes, “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home.”
Connie uses her attitude and appearance to attract boys. But she is not aware of the reality of the society in which she lives. Connie is living in a fantasy world, but when she gets trapped by Arnold Friend she is put into a scary reality. There
“A good man is hard to find.” This quote by Flannery O’Connell really embodies the two stories I am comparing. “How I Met My Husband” by Alice Munro and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates both tell the story of a young girl’s innocence being ripped away from them and being taken advantage of by deceptive and older men. These stories have drastically different outcomes; however, they share very similar themes and messages. Young girls and boys are being taken advantage of everyday around the globe.
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