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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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The Treatment of Women in Literature Since the beginning of time, women have always been considered less than or inferior to men. Although, the treatment of women has improved tremendously and women are seeing more opportunities than ever before, we still have a long way to go. Until recently, the majority of published writers were men and the depiction of women in literature was mainly one sided. No matter what time period or culture, women in literature usually take the back seat to men. The once popular TV drama series, Twin Peaks, which was created in 1990, and Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” which was published in 1970, but was probably written in the 50s or 60s, are perfect examples of this. These two projects are roughly twenty years apart, yet the way women are treated and looked upon is the same. In both works, women start off strong and independent but in the end they are, what seems to be, punished for stepping away from normal female roles. …show more content…

She was the high school homecoming queen, she volunteered at Meals on Wheels, tutored students, and was the best friend anyone could wish for. However, Laura held many secrets. She was a cocaine user, a victim of child abuse, and briefly held at job at a brothel/casino called One Eyed Jack’s. She was officially in a relationship with the captain of the football team, but had many secret relationships with other men, both her age and older.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” the main character, Connie also led a double life. At home she was a typical teenage daughter, only concerned with typical adolescent things. She was obsessed with her looks, friends, and boys, especially older men. When she was away from home she would explore her sexulaity. She would change the way she looked, walked, and even laughed to make her appear more sexually

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2. The Connie’s character, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is a fifteen year old, naïve girl. She has two sides to her personality, “everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (1). At home she would act childlike and away from home she would act older, making her sexual appeal stand out. Like most teenagers, Connie didn’t get along with her family and is in constant battle with her family.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” had people in history asking questions of good and evil. Why do people have to suffer in the world? Arnold Friend is more than just an individual. He is a strong symbol of death, happiness, and everything that opposes the life we live in. This story was set in the context of the 1960s and the 1970s America and shows how strong violence is built into society (Laura Kalpakian).

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Back in the 20th century woman did not have many rights. Men were the providers and woman were the homemakers. They were often seen as beautiful objects. Some stories that can conclude that are “Winter Dreams” by F Scott Fitzgerald and also “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. “Winter Dreams” is mainly about a man, named Dexter and a woman named, Judy.

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642 Words | 3 Pages

After skimming through Volume 1 of The Norton Anthology Literature by Women, I noticed the reoccurring themes of patriarchy, women subordination, and the strength to be creative despite oppression. During the times that these literary pieces were written, women were constantly battling the patriarchy in order to get basic rights. During the earlier time periods, intelligence was seen as a sign of an evil spirit in a woman, resulting in miniscule amounts of literary works written by women. Women were not provided with equal spaces to creatively express themselves, as mentioned by Virginia Woolf. Moreover, they were not given the same publishing opportunities, many women either went anonymous or by a fake male name to have their works published.

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1592 Words | 7 Pages

Both deliberately gender oriented; it is to be resolved how far they follow the

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“Where are you going, where have you been” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. Oates gained inspiration for one of the main characters from a real serial killer she had read about in the newspaper. Bob Dylan’s song, “It’s all over now, Baby blue” was another source of inspiration for Oates. This story focuses on Connie, a self-absorbed, beautiful 15-year-old who often fought with her mother and loved to daydream. Connie loved to hang out with her friends and meet older boys.

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460 Words | 2 Pages

Smooth Talk is slightly based on Joyce Carol Oates’ story titled “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” but isn’t as straightforward and frankly gruesome. The story focuses on the 1960’s suburbia from a teenagers perspective. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” focuses on topics relevant in the 1960’s including the Sexual Revolution. Oates’ focuses on major issues and topics such as feminism, sexual freedom, and adolescent sexuality.

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Women’s role in history has always been incredibly complicated. In majority of cultures around the world, women are most commonly recognized as being compliant to the will of men. However, this recognition is drastically changing along with today’s rapid transformation of technology and other beliefs compared to several generations ago. Women are now holding jobs in prestigious political offices, medical fields, and engineering backgrounds. Of course, there are countless stories of courageous women who defied expectations and challenged the views that defined what a woman is suppose to be rather than accept who she is.

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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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They are both representations of male patriarchy who’s downfall are qualities associated with women of the time: they rely on emotion, and think they are superior to their female counterpart but meanwhile are proved otherwise by their inability to reason, while only focusing on vanity and academic

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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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2035 Words | 9 Pages

Many critics agree on one fact about Canadian author Alice Munro: one of her most notable qualities in regards to her work is the distinct use of realism in her writing. Her writing provides a strong sense of familiarity to the reader, while also containing stronger metaphorical meanings that one can note when they begin to closely look at her work. Her short story “Boys and Girls” portrays the socialization of a young girl, once very close to her father and unaware of any sort of gender bias within her society, into a young woman with a pessimistic view of femininity and her expected position in society. This story shows the socialization process in a way that makes it easy to recognize, illustrating circumstances that the reader can notice the blatant sexism and misogyny; however, its portrayal is extremely realistic, allowing the reader to recall how oblivious they may have been in the past during times that they have been impacted by social biases in our world. Critics of Munro typically agree on her overall theme of femininity and coming of age in her writings; “Boys and Girls” emphasizes the ways in which young girls are socialized into a seemingly natural understanding of the sexist expectations and gender roles.

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1255 Words | 6 Pages

Fantasy V.S. Reality In some cases an individual can perceive something as the complete opposite of what it truly is. People create the illusion or the fantasy on what they believe something to be.

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1171 Words | 5 Pages

Looking back one can see Cinderella being invoked by Margaret Fuller in Women in the Nineteenth Century (1845), a book that was perhaps the first public discussion of women 's rights. This was followed by Louisa May Alcott who in her novel Little Women drew upon both Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella to project how women in her times had to abide by the conventions dictated by men. Subsequently Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Jane Austen during the Victorian era down to Angela Carter, AS Byatt, Margaret Atwood and Anne Sexton, to name a few twentieth century women writers, have delved into this fathomless storehouse to reclaim the gendered agenda lying dormant in their

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826 Words | 4 Pages

This novel is also autobiographical. Throughout history, women have been locked in a struggle to free themselves from the borderline that separates and differentiate themselves from men. In many circles, it is agreed that the battleground for this struggle and fight exists in literature. In a

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