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Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

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A Look at “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Have you ever been in a situation that you were afraid you wouldn’t get out of? In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates tells about a young girl who encounters a strange man and is afraid that she will never see her family again. The story is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie who is being harassed by an older man named Arnold Friend. She is obsessed with her own physical appearance, while her older sister, June, is the opposite. Connie’s mom always criticizes her for being so egotistical and wants Connie to be more like her sister. Their father is always working and hardly makes any time for them. She likes hanging out with boys, but one night …show more content…

The title is a major symbol in the story. When Connie asks Arnold where they are going, it is a reference to the title of the story and also refers to where Connie will go with him (Caldwell). The title represents the two phrases that a parent would say to their child: "where are you going?" as they leave and "where have you been?" when they return (Caldwell). At the end of the story, Arnold says to Connie, "The place where you came from ain't there anymore and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out,” representing the connection between the title and the events in the story (Caldwell). Music is another symbol in the story. Connie is surprised and disappointed when Arnold doesn’t turn out to be like the guy that she has always heard about in her music. Arnold's gold car symbolizes the transformational nature of his character (Caldwell). His car also contains numbers painted on the side of it: 33, 19, and 17 that he calls a "secret code,” maybe the ages of Friend himself and perhaps two of his victims (Caldwell). Some even believe that the sum of the numbers, 69, is a hidden sexual reference …show more content…

As stated earlier, the author herself described the true events that she based the story on in a published article from the New York Times. Arnold Friend should not be referred to as the devil because he has no real knowledge of her family, but instead he just made a lucky guess that they were not home or he could have easily gathered the information through his own observations (Wiedemann 173). There are many elements of symbolism and examples of similes that make the story more interesting and give it a deeper meaning and overall, it is realistic and based on actual events that

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Compare And Contrast The Misfit And Arnold Friend

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Myles Hypse February 3rd, 2017 English 1B 3:30-4:40pm Two Psychopaths Both of these stories give the reader a good look into the eyes of two psychopaths, who both refuse to take no for an answer. One of them, Arnold Friend although at first appearing friendly, is nothing more than a malicious predator, similar in kind to The Misfit, who greets his victims in a much more sinister way. The two characters, when stood side by side, almost seemed as they become one, yet are polar opposites. When one compares the character Arnold Friend to that of The Misfit, more similarities come forward than differences.

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Summary Of Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

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In Joyce Carole Oates short story,” Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been”, the battle of perception and reality comes into play when Connie ,a young teenage girl tries to portray herself as an adult by using her appearance as well as attitude in order to attract the attentions of older men. This fantasy world of Connie’s is eventually overthrown by Arnold Friend, causing her to snap back into the realization that her sexual fantasies will soon be a reality. This overall theme of sexual reality is reinforced by the different uses of music and character symbolisms of Connie and Arnold

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Comparison

1190 Words | 5 Pages

In the story, Connie looked at the phrase “man the flying saucers and she felt like “words meant something to her that she did not yet know” (p.) which if she was on drugs she might not be aware of the fact that what she is seeing is not real, but eventually when she is sober she will understand. The ambiguity of Arnold Friend leaves many unanswered questions for readers. Unless Joyce Carol Oates decides to reveal the real Arnold Friend, readers may never know if he was in fact the devil or just a figment of Connie’s

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Arnold Friend Character Analysis

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The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, is a one where the idea of how girl who struggles with wanting to be a mature woman, faces her demon full form. The protagonist of the story is Connie, a 15-year-old rebel girl, obsessed with her look; and through fault of her own, meets the antithesis of herself, the antagonist of the story, Arnold Friend. Connie seeks to be a mature adult and desires an emancipation from her family. Seeing herself as mature woman through the desires of her attraction by other boys and men, as well as her mother. Its this same desire which acts as the main fault for her character.

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Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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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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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis

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In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main protagonist finds herself in a very hostile situation. With an all most fateful encounter with a man known as Arnold Friend. Forcing her to choose whether to run off with him or taking her by force. This man known as Arnold Friend to the reader comes off as almost a demon. A person who uses many temptations, word play, and threats to take advantage of the young protagonist Connie.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Analysis

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In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl, who does not necessarily get along with her family. During the week, she often times goes to a shopping plaza with some of her friends. However, they sneak across the highway to go to a popular diner where the older crowd hangs out at. At home, Connie is often times arguing with her family. One day her family is invited to her aunt's barbecue but Connie refuses to go.

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Theme Of Allegory In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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Because the lack of family support and guidance, Connie lies to her parents of her whereabouts, and she sneaks away to local hangouts. While being out, she unfortunately catches the eye of Arnold Friend. This man will erase Connie’s innosense and expose her to how cruel the world can actually be. Many literary

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Archetypes In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1428 Words | 6 Pages

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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Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1203 Words | 5 Pages

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl named Connie who is in the mist of her adolescent rebellion. She wants to prove her maturity to others and herself. In the story, Oates describes that Connie always lets her mind flow freely in between her daydream. She even creates and keeps dreaming about her ideal male figure in her mind to make her happy and satisfied. Oates allows the reader to step into Connie’s “dream world” through the appearance of Arnold Friend.

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

984 Words | 4 Pages

“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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Examples Of Allusions In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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Arnold Friend’s Biblical Allusions In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story of a young, innocent teenage girl, Connie who enjoys listening to music and begins exploring her sexuality and being with boys “the way it was in the movies and promised in songs” (Oates 198). In fact she catches the attention of Arnold Friend one night while at the mall meeting up with a boy. Not knowing he would appear in her life, Arnold strangely shows up at her house assuming they made plans to get together. His character is seen as the devil.

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Literary Devices In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

804 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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Symbolism In 'Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?'

700 Words | 3 Pages

Friend himself. There’s so much symbolism going around this one character and his beloved car alone, that one could write a separate paper on the topic. Speaking of yet more symbolism, we get finally get a formal introduction to Arnold Friend, who’s name alone symbolizes trouble. Since Arnold Friend is symbolizing Satan a known shapeshifter, one could do a little reading into the several interpretations of his name. One, An old friend, this being Eddie, the guy she had burgers with at the mall.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme Analysis

1255 Words | 6 Pages

When Connie realizes that Arnold is much older than she thought, she is taken over by fear of what’s going to happen. This situation is much different than anything else she has ever

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