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Theme Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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Exploring the Themes in Joyce Carol Oates's Classic Story
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a well-known short story. It was written by Joyce Carol Oates and published in 1966. After listening to “It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Bob Dylan, the author decided to write this story. According to the LitChart study website, the story was inspired by Charles Schmid and his kind of serial killer murder in Tucson, Arizona. Oates's story follows Connie, a 15-year-old girl who is struggling to define herself and assert her independence from her family. When she encounters Arnold Friend, a dangerous and evil figure, her journey takes a dark and terrifying turn. The author can more effectively communicate themes and life lessons by deftly …show more content…

From the beginning, a tone of disappointment and oppressiveness covered the story. Connie always has to deal with criticism from her mother, ignorance from her father, and comparison with her sister. The author gives the readers a tone of suffocation and struggles from within her own house and how her family members treat her. As the story progresses, the author is changing his tone from oppressive to suspenseful and anxious. At this time, Connie's meeting with Arnold Friend is taking place. His behavior and words became erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes, he was very sweet to Connie, but at some moments, he also threatened to kill her family. Therefore, it gives the readers a feeling of anxiety similar to the main character and they can not help but wonder what his real intentions are. As the story climaxes, the tone grows increasingly helpless and desperate as Connie realizes it is too late for her to run away from the demon, Arnold. The ending of the story is especially effective in setting the tone. The ambiguous ending of the story makes the readers feel both creepy and ominous, and this will help them think more after reading the story. The tone in Oates' story contributes to a mysterious, tense, and fearful atmosphere that makes the readers feel insecure and scared. The author's tone is cleverly developed throughout the text and this allows the author to make the readers feel the same way when Connie has to deal with those

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Have you ever felt so umcomfortable in a situation it made you scared? WAYG, WHYB written by Joyce Carol Oates is a thriller about a stalker who preys on the main character connie. Through Arnold Friend’s persistance and determination for connie, as well as the biblical references, Joyce Carol Oates shows how Arnold Friend is the devil. Arnold Friend is the devil and this can be proven through his appearance. “Tight faded jeans stuffed into blacked scuffed boots” (Oates 4).

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Arnold Friend’s sudden appearance in Connie’s life takes her from childhood to adulthood in the blink of an eye and she ultimately becomes a passive victim. Not many fifteen-year-old girls are considered mature at that age and Connie is certainly no exception to that. She is presented as quite vain in her views of herself and those around her. Her mother, once a beauty herself, is constantly nagging at her and telling her to stop gawking at herself in the mirror. Connie considers her older sister June to be somewhat of a spinster who is described as “plain and chunky” (Oates

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This was evident when Connie's parents left her in charge of Kenneth and the house while they were gone on a night out on the town. No one knew that later that night Kenneth would end up shooting Connie's boyfriend after believing that he was “a prowler” (Dubus 457). Though this story's ending was unexpected, surprising, and confusing throughout the read I also felt an underlying feeling of wordiness. Our feelings toward a piece of work can make or break our experience.

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The latter prevalent throughout Joyce Carol Oates’ short story: “Where Are You Going, Where

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In the beginning, Oates creates a false sense of security. She is at home and Connie seems safe, this is what makes what happens next unexpected. After this, a strange man rolls up to Connie's home, and Connie is only worried about how she looks, not her safety. This makes you wonder what is going to happen, and if their is a reason she is scared. Then, the pace of the story completely changes when Arnold Friend starts to approach Connie and say things that make her feel uneasy.

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Arnold Friend, a mysterious and sinister figure, exploits Connie's desire for attention and independence, ultimately putting her in danger (Oates 8). As Connie converses with Arnold, she slowly realizes that he is not who he seems, but her vulnerability and desire for excitement cloud her judgment, preventing her from acting in her best

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Readers are able to see this when Oates states, “He didn’t bother talking much to them, but around his bent head Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over” (308). Her demeanor is apparent throughout the story as she is a typical teenage girl who has no worries in the world and in a sense is clueless about the real world. This is important because it allows readers to understand her character’s personality and actions throughout the story.

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With the help of Arnold Friend and Ellie, Connie matures into an adult by understanding her “religion”, Connie dreams, and Arnold Friend being perceived as a devil. Connie’s “religion”

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He knew her name even though she had only quickly glimpsed at him the night prior with no communication from her at all. He knows where her parents are, what they are doing, how long they will be, how they look he even knows who her best friends are. Essentially Arnold Friend is the very essence of nightmare to Connie he is everything she is afraid of. He pressures her in to a situation out of her control. He takes away her pride of rejecting people and forces her to choose her family being hurt of facing her demons and going with him.

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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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“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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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…”

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Connie’s place in the story and how she operates within the confines of the narrative. One of the greater facets of the narrative lies in the power of sexual desire, mostly resonating in youth. This provides the precedent for the rest of the story. Being a story rooted in deep

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That also made her become more vulnerable to the real dangers and the evilness that exists in the world. That danger was represented by an old man who pretends to be an eighteen year old boy that seduced and kidnaped Connie. The end of the story Joyce Carol Oates leaves it open to the readers, because that way it makes the reader think of what might have happened, whether she got raped or whether she is killed, after the main character leaves with the antagonist of the story. Oates shows that ignorance, narcissism and the lack of

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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

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