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Themes Where are you going, Where have you been
Critical analysis of where are you going, where have you been
Critical analysis of where are you going, where have you been
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Film Review Essay - “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and Smooth Talk “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates. The setting was in a suburban area in the 1960’s, America. The plot of the short story surrounds a teenage girl named Connie. Connie was going around the block experiencing the “Glories” of what a maturing teen girl could do, while at the same time having a poor relationship with her family.
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 is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, centered on the protagonist 15 year old Connie. In this short story Oates sets the frame-work for religious allegory- the seduction of a young woman coming to terms with the hand she has been dealt as a result of her choices [you need to something here] similar to that of Eve (Urbanski, 1978). In the first paragraph, we are introduced to Connie who is an eccentric, and spoiled fifteen year old with middle class parents. We become aware of the fact that Connie has an unhappy home life, the story states that her father “was away at work most of the time," and he "didn't bother talking much to them,"(422); as a result, Connie never received any form of love
If you are old enough to remember, you can think back to the memories of when you are a kid and understand the memories as a child are the best memories that you have in your life; yet eventually you mature into ann adult. Like the book, Catcher in the Rye, the short story Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oats is about Connie, an adolescent girl, wanting to stay in her child-like life and not mature into a adult. Fortunately, Connie has some help coming into the adult world with the manifestation of a person named Arnold Friend and Ellie.
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.
Where are you going, Where have you been? by Joyce Carol Oates is a story about a teenage girl who wants to grow up too fast. It shows how the growing gap between a parent and their teenage child. The movie Smooth Talk shows a different but interesting perspective to Oates’s story. In this essay the similarities and differences between the movie and the story will be evaluated and explained to see if the movie is accurate to the stories main points.
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.
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.
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.
Where are you going, where have you been? By Joyce Carol Oates. Connie a fifteen years old girl who her life is defined by her relationship to boys or men. She let romance fills her thoughts and her reunions with other girls are simply a pretext for approaching boys. She praises beauty above all, she knew she was pretty and that was everything that she needed to make it out in life.
In this story, Oates describes Connie character as a pretty young girl with “long dark blond hair that drew anyone’s eye to it.” (86) Because Connie led two different lives, she would dress and look different at home, then she would with
Connie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).
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.
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.
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).
