“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.
Based on the story “Where have you been, where are you going” by Joyce Carol Oates Connie was a young girl, who wanted to grow up way to fast. She wants everyone to believe that she is very experienced in being an adult. In the story Connie went to the movies with her friends and met up with a boy named Eddie. Eddie and Connie went to the diner and then to an alley. But as Connie was walking out of the movie theater, Connie’s eye wandered over the people and things in the car.
Joyce enjoys writing about the dangers of the world, such as, rape, and murder. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about an insecure girl named Connie who ends up getting raped, and murdered by a “devil in disguise,” Arnold Friend. Oates uses many forms of symbolism in this short story, all associating with darkness, childhood, and religion. Joyce also uses characterization
The story Where Are You Going, Where have you Been, is about a fifteen year old young lady named Connie. She was seen at home as a youthful adolescent who went around "ogling" at herself. When she was out with friends she attempted to keep up a full grown and hot personality. Her mother was extremely judgmental of her. Continually contrasting Connie with her more seasoned sister June, suggesting that she was less mindful than June.
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.
A coming of age novel is not like an ordinary story. A coming of age story is about a child/teen transitioning from being small and naive, to becoming a mature, wise adult. There are many hardships during this process. Usually a large event will greatly impact the way that a person sees the world and others around him. In the novel “The Outsiders”, the main character, Ponyboy, goes from being a punk in the gang “the Greasers”, to being a wiser and more sophisticated young man.
Lauren Ziegler Prof. J. Campbell English 111-09 28 February 2018 The Plot Twist Around the Bend* "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates and "Encounters with Unexpected Animals" by Bret Anthony Johnston are short stories that describe events where the characters in compromising situations. They showed how one's outlook on life can be altered once a conflict or threat is presented. While both authors appeared to have this in common, their methods allowed for two different approaches. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" takes a focus on the main protagonist, Connie.
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.
“Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” was written by the author, Joyce Carol Oates, the protagonist in the story is a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl named Connie who feels she can not live up to her mother's expectations and feels that her mother mistreats her. Connie wishes her mom and herself were dead, to end the torment she feels. It seems that Connie doesn't have a fatherly figure in her life, her father works long hours and is barely home, and when he is home he buries his head into the newspaper.
A coming of age story is one that follows the main character in their journey from a child to an adult. You can see this genre of literature displayed in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The protagonist of the story Jean Louise Finch(“Scout”) makes strides from immaturity to maturity. While doing so she learns life lessons despite the development of the protagonists being met with hardships. Some of the things Scout experiences in small Maycomb County, Alabama is personal insults, racism in the town, and unfairness in the justice system.
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.
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.
In the story “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been,” symbolism is one of the main literary elements used to reveal the ugly in the word. As Connie is an innocent child, she does not recognize all of the dangers that are in the world. There are points in the story where Connie does not comprehend the threats that are all around her. “Connie said she would meet her at eleven, across the way.
Joyce Carol Oates short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” contains many major themes most of which are dealing with the main character, Connie, and her personal struggles due in fact to her belief that she is no longer a child, but a mature young adult. The main theme I would like to focus on is the pursuit and longing for self–identity. As a young fifteen year old girl, she reveals herself as having a prodigious amount of self-confidence in her looks while feeling deterred by her mom’s actions towards her, in turn, dampening the confidence built up inside. She is a rather normal fifteen year old believing she is much more mature than she is, trying to act as an adult would. This is reflected in the text when the author states,
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.
