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

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Connie is a fifteen-year-old who is trying to make the best of her life by seeking attention from others. Having the attention, she wants makes her feel superior, and make her feel like no one can tear down her ego. The only one trying to tear down her ego is her mother who wants her to be like her older sister June who is the opposite of Connie. She is mature and even helps the family out. For Connie to be taught a lesson of her conceded qualities, she encounters meet Arnold. Arnold is someone who knows every detail about Connie’s lifestyle and supposedly wants to be with her. The dialogue between her and Arnold makes her come to the realization of growing up. In, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” I believe that Oates is conveying the nature of adolescence through symbolism, tone, and …show more content…

One of them is reality vs. fantasy. From reading the story twice, I picked up on if Arnold is real or not. In my opinion, I do not think Arnold is real. Connie does not recognize him and is perplexed on how he even knows her at all. Another reason that made me think he is not real is how she passes out when she answers the phone, and he somehow had her phone number as well. Even if this was real or not, what Arnold was symbolizing was adulthood and how Connie needs to become mature. Another example of symbolism that is being used is the song “Baby Blue” by Bob Dylan. Arnold has similar characteristics of Bob Dylan. Arnold and Bob Dylan were both considered eerie and like a messiah figure. This also justified why I thought Arnold is not real. “My sweet little blue-eyed girl” (Oates 108). Connie did not even have blue eyes, yet Arnold stated that. This is another way of symbolizing Bob Dylan. Arnold was showing an obsession over Connie only, as Connie has an obsession over herself with what others think of her. Arnold and Connie’s obsessions are both examples of showing the nature of

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Living “just an ordinary girl’s” life was no longer the lifestyle for a girl named Connie. Once a man told her that she was gonna be his, her life turned. Connie was no longer able to forget about reality instead she was forced into adulthood by a man named Arnold Friend. Connie is the main character in the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates. The story is mainly about how Arnold Friend, a sort of stalker of Connie’s, comes to her house.

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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,

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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.

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And it’s all over now, Baby Blue” (Dylan). These two lines were represented when Connie’s conscience had to help her change and start over by destroying her fantasies. After the experience with Arnold Friend, Connie realizes how she can hurt herself which ends her threatening fixation. “The lover who just walked out your door / Has taken all his blankets from the floor / The carpet, too, is moving under you” (Dylan).

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However, this is countered when Connie notes that “he was much older—thirty, maybe more” (315), a fact that frightens her. What Arnold is to Connie is a challenge of her want to be an adult, and a trail of her ability to deal with adult issue. Such as a man who singles her out sexual reason. Her wish to be an adult is something she seeks while passively avoiding it. Her avoidance is marked by day dreams of puppy love romance, like a typical teenager; yet, her attractive flaunt to be mature is presented as if she seeks to be an

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Joyce Carol Oates uses physical characterization to foreshadow early on what truly is going to happen to Connie. Arnold is hiding things about his physical appearance. No matter what Connie says or does, Arnold keeps talking, and yet he reveals nothing about himself. He never physically asks Connie to join him, but his words have the same force and pull as the actions he only threatens to take. "Soon

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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.

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Reluctantly, her parents allow her to stay home alone. A few hours later, a familiar gold jalopy pulls up to her house. The driver announces to Connie that his name is Arnold Friend. His unusual physical appearance, his tone of voice, and what he may symbolize frighten the Connie.

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His statement demonstrates a clear sense of ownership over Connie, as he objectifies her as his date and not a woman with the ability to make her own decisions. This highlights the patriarchal ideology of such men, who cannot see women as able to make their own decisions, rather as objects for a man to satisfy himself. Arnold’s manipulation techniques are also shown in display when he uses terms such as ‘lover’ and ‘honey’. By doing so, Arnold tries to force an emotional connection between the two, as if he calls Connie these terms of endearment, she has no choice but to believe she is his ‘lover’, ultimately giving Arnold the power trip and dominance he searches for within Connie. To conclude, as one reads the short story Where are you Going, Where Have you

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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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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

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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?'

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Where have you been? " there are many different symbols throughout the story much like in "The Yellow Wallpaper". I believe that the repetition of music, the car, and Connie's home all serve as symbolism in the story. The most obvious one of the three is Arnold's Car. The car itself is in direct correlation to who Arnold is as a character in the story.

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

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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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Also it represents as being an out there person. As if he is trying to attract a younger crowd. Arnold has his full name, “Arnold Friend” written in tarlike black letters on the side of his car with a drawing of a round, grinning face that reminded Connie of a pumpkin, except it wore sunglasses (197). This reflects how Arnold tries to fit in with the young kids even though he is much older. Connie asks Arnold how old he is and she realizes that he is not a kid he might be thirty or older.

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