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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

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Varsha R. Yerram Professor Baker Studies in Fiction October 12, 2014 A Tainted Fantasy Overtaken by Morbid Reality In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” there is a serious conflict between what is reality and fantasy. It is far too easy for individuals to create false fantasies and illusions regarding what they believe something to be. Connie, the main character, strives to behave like an adult through her attitude, demeanor, and appearance. This mature façade allows her to attract boys, and yet, she is ignorant of repercussions and the reality of the social setting she lives in. Connie is complacent living in a fantasy world, but soon she is ensnared by the conniving antagonist, Arnold Friend, and …show more content…

She is always concerned about her appearance and even tends to crane her neck to peer into mirrors and examines the way others look at her. Connie discovers that she can be a magnet towards male affection if she dresses and does her hair in a certain way, and this gives her a sense of control. At the same time she is discovering her sex appeal, Connie rebels against her parents. She tries to invent a new attitude and explore new territories. However, her wish to mature and have sex appeal puts Connie in a very unsafe position. Unknowingly, Connie is caught up in a fantasy world, which she naively believes to be her reality. The music she listens to gives her a chance to escape the mundane reality of her own life and allows her to maintain her fantasy and attitude. Music to Connie is like a narration of her dreams, troubles, and feelings. She enjoys sunbathing and listening to music while having all the time in the world to daydream about boys. Music provides her with a level of happiness, warmth, and romance that is far removed from her actual …show more content…

Arnold continues to make explicit remarks that become increasingly demanding. Connie’s fantasy perceptions of the world dissolve as she becomes frozen in a state of absolute terror from her present reality. She desperately wishes her family would come home soon to save her from this situation, and yet they are completely oblivious to her present state. In one last desperate attempt to salvage her fate, Connie tries to call her mother, but finds herself not able to use the telephone. Connie “cried out for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it was something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness” (376). Arnold has a very firm grip over Connie’s state of mind in that moment. Connie is not able to think properly and is disheveled, possessed by Arnold’s domination. Connie is separated from Arnold by a screen door, and yet she still feels caged by him in her own home. The screen door is a thin barrier between peril and security, and between naïve fantasy and horrific reality. Eventually, Arnold convinces Connie to cross this barrier in order to protect her family. As she leaves her home, Oates explains that there is “so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it” (377). Hideous things will indeed occur to Connie after this. She is consumed by bright sunlight while

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Character Analysis Of Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

1147 Words | 5 Pages

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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Summary Of 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

411 Words | 2 Pages

: Seduction, Space, and a Fictional Mode”, acknowledged that, Connie constantly lives with a mood of expectation that is like a light that provides romance and experience to her (Gillis). The last reason Connie gave in was the fact that Arnold had an interesting choice of words that in the end, made her

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

1258 Words | 6 Pages

She spends her time at home acting one way and when she goes out with her friends she transforms into another person. In the story it is stated that “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oates, 1141). Some may say that this is normal teenage behavior, however Connie's desire to look and act older than she is puts her in harms way. One night she and a girl friend go to a

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Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

446 Words | 2 Pages

As the story progresses, Connie is left alone on a Sunday afternoon while her family is out. As the day progresses, the strange character, Arnold Friend, appears at her door. He proceeds to convince her that she will be coming with him and that she basically belongs to her. The character is very forceful with his manner. Connie, being so young, did not have the slightest idea what she was in for.

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The Girl With Charlotte Smith Analysis

1045 Words | 5 Pages

Zadie Smith’s “The Girl with The Bangs” is a vivid account of a romantic relationship between two incompatible characters with vastly different personalities. Told from a first person perspective, it traces the narrator’s journey through an unusual relationship with the girl Charlotte, exploring what it is like “being a boy” – enthralled by a girl’s physical features and thus willing to tolerate any faults of any magnitude (188). His optimism and attraction to Charlotte eventually leads him to grief, where, blinded by their relationship, he is caught unawares and replaced by another boy. Yet, he also achieves an epiphany: that the relationship is built on irrational obsessions and motives and is thus ultimately unsustainable. Told in introspection,

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Connie's Double Personality

913 Words | 4 Pages

She was never nourished or taught to be confident in herself by her parents, so she is only doing what she thinks is best to get attention. Connie’s disagreements with her family and struggles to make herself sexually attractive are part of her search for independence. Connie’s search for this has a brutal outcome though. When Arnold appears and interacts with her he yanks her out of her childhood and places her into an adult world from which no one will rescue her. The night that she encounters Arnold Friend, she meets a boy named Eddie at the drive-in and he asks her to walk to his car with him, so she does.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

1553 Words | 7 Pages

An article by Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski, “Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” analyzes this helpless nature of Connie as a result of Arnold’s alluring tactics. However, many readers may indeed question why she reacted in such an incapable and naive manner, resulting ultimately in her abduction. Although her state of shock is sudden, her response is an accurate and natural depiction of the bewildering state she was put in under these tactics. From the start of the story, we get insight into

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Arnold Friend Character Analysis

1137 Words | 5 Pages

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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Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1181 Words | 5 Pages

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

694 Words | 3 Pages

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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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Analysis

817 Words | 4 Pages

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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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

In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme Analysis

1255 Words | 6 Pages

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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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis

657 Words | 3 Pages

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates can be interpreted in a multitude of ways due to its ambiguity. A psychological lens, however, provides the most accurate viewpoint for analyzing the story as it clarifies certain obscure scenes and actions of Connie. One psychological issue of Connie that is easily inferred from the beginning of the story is her insecurity about her looks. Connie constantly worries about the way that she looks and takes any opportunity to do so, “craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (1).

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