...Throughout the history of the world, society has been plagued by periods of extreme brutality and disorder, and it is often difficult to come to terms with what happened. All forms of literature, from novels to short stories to poems, can offer a way to understand those kinds of atrocities in which people may not be familiar or able to come to terms, by presenting a coping mechanism that is relatable. Examples of how literature allows society to accept the violence and oppression that surrounds them can be found in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Since both stories contain events that seem cruel and horrifying, readers can analyze the actions of the “villain” and make connections to the real world and relate it to the horrors of everyday life....
Words: 540 - Pages: 3
...Milano 1 Elizabeth Milano English 1102 Professor Crowther 9/11/2014 " “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Literary Analysis “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that all teenage girls can relate to. It really reminded the readers how difficult life can be for a teenage girl because of all the pressure and feelings that come along with these angst-filled years. “Her name was Connie. She was fifteen and she had a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (145 para. 1). Joyce Carol Oates does an amazing job creating such scenes that do happen to girls in their early teens years. In the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” the main character Connie deals with many coming of age situations including her parents and sister, social situations, and Arnold Friend, a boy. Connie’s mother is always trying to bring her down. She always compares her to June, Connie’s older sister. “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister?…” (145 para. 2). This can lead Connie to having a horrible self esteem issue since her mother obviously does not see the best her youngest daughter can be. She is very jealous of how beautiful of a young woman Connie is becoming, and that gives her a reason to tear her down. “Her mother had been pretty once too…but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Milano 2 Connie.” (145 para. 1). Her...
Words: 1185 - Pages: 5
...Joyce Oates, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been is a story about a teenager named Connie who has two sides to her personality. Connie's actions in the story show that she is unsure of who she really is. Connie constantly battles with who she really is and who she wants to be. Our main character, Connie an adolescent both a daughter and a sister. Who constantly picks on her older sister and is always at conflict with her family. Connie has a split personality and likes to make herself sexually appealing when she's away from home. Connie is trying her best to seek attention from grown men with her sexual personality. Until she finally gets what she has been asking for and becomes terrified. I chose to do my rhetorical analysis paper on...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...Fantasy versus Reality Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” presents the theme of fantasy versus reality. Oates Writes, “Shut up! You’re Crazy! Connie said. She backed away from the door. She put her hands against her ears as if she’d heard something terrible, something not meant for her” (Oates, 1966). Connie puts on this front that being pretty is “everything,” you can see that through her clothing, hairstyle, and behavior that she acts as if she is a mature women. Connie has this obsession with sexuality and desires attention from men. That’s when Arnold Friend comes into play and we are never really made aware if Arnold Friend is a reality or a scary fantasy to Connie. As you read further into the story Arnold Friend, someone Connie really doesn’t know begins to show the knowledge he has of Connie, her family, her friends, and her life. This is when you see Connie’s Fantasy become a scary reality because the persona of the mature women she puts on in the beginning slowly begins to fade and you see the personality of the fifteen year...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...retelling, the ones in which you may find the meaning of your life—are forever stalking the right teller, sniffing and tracking like predators hunting their prey in the bush. Joyce Carol Oates is one of their lucky catches. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was an enjoyable, well written story because the themes were strong, the mood and tone of the story grabs the reader and doesn’t let go, and is very realistic. One of the first things someone may notice directly after reading is the story’s strong themes, and the implanted ideas that Oates puts into the heads of her readers, that stay with them long after the reading is over. To say that the themes of this story were ‘good’ would be an understatement; this masterpiece of writing gave to its readers truly meaningful themes about real life that many people never get to learn in average life. One of the most powerful things the story showed was the illusion of adolescent invulnerability. Connie knew that she was beautiful; everyone around her did too, including her mother, who ‘had been pretty once too’ as the narrator puts it. Connie thought that her beauty would get her everywhere, do everything for her, which is why, she had the “habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right.” One is reminded of the story of Narcissus, the boy too beautiful for his own good. Connie was one to think that these materials, outside things were going to save her from all...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
...The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was published in nineteen ninety-three. The author Joyce Oates dialogues a young girl named Connie and her uncomfortable encounter with a man named Arnold Friend. Many critics believe that the short story had almost a dreamlike impression. In the story, Oates incorporates several binaries and repetitions to underscore the theme of reality versus fantasy. First and foremost, Oates begins the story with an internal/external binary. Oates describes the protagonist, Connie, as a young fifteen-year-old girl who spends most of her time thinking about her appearance Oats writes, “habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was...
Words: 889 - Pages: 4
...Theme and Character of: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie lives in a world dominated by Hollywood, popular music, shopping plazas, and fast-food stands. Connie is your typical teenager an, evenings spent with a boy, eating hamburgers, drinking Cokes, and making out in a dark alley are just perfect, “the way it was in the movies.” Like most teenagers Connie feels misunderstood by her parents, she is sure they do not appreciate the significance of her adolescent daydreams and activities. It's obvious to Connie that her mother doesn't understand her; why else would she constantly nag her about her time spent in front of a mirror or for not being as steady and reliable as her twenty-four-year-old, unmarried sister. As for her...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
...“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Analytical Paragraph In this short, daunting story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Joyce Carol Oates utilizes Syntax and Imagery in order to emphasize Connie’s struggle to achieve dominance over Arnold Friend, which leads to her loss of innocence during turbulent times. The image of “…shaved for a day or two and his nose was long and hawk-like, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up” (Oates, “Where are you going, where have you been”, page 4, lines 9-10). Depicts a state of fear and helplessness because the reader envisions Connie as being ambushed. This imagery is significant because it enumerates how Connie wanted to experiment with boys and describe these encounters...
Words: 322 - Pages: 2
...In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”- Written in 1966, as a tribute to Bob Dylan- Joyce Carol Oates, tells the story of a teenage girl Connie, and her struggles with discontent, vanity, and attachment. Despite some tensions with her parents Connie has a decent summer and goes to the town center with friends often. She loves to engage with pop-culture and the sweet sounds of the 1960’s. Despite being a highly courted young lady, Connie dreamt of the perfect boy, to capture her and breathe life into her seemingly lackluster life. A man named Arnold Friend sees Connie out one evening and proceeds to arrive at her door step, with an invitation to escape soon thereafter. After much persuasion, Connie decides to climb into Arnold’s car, despite some reservations about his age and character. Themes such as maturation, lust, and youth present interesting insight to the mind of a young girl of a time period in which women’s’ social...
Words: 484 - Pages: 2
...In “Where are you going, Where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates the plot is set in multiple places including Connie’s house, the mall, and the burger joint in which she meets Eddie and first encounters Arnold friend. Connie is a self centered teen who has a knack for exploring a world not meant for teenagers. While Connie continues here acting of being older than she is in order to attract older men, she accidentally attracts a stalker whom later arrives at her house to take here away. The importance to read this story is to gain insight on the culture of teenagers, and does an exceptional job of portraying the rebellious nature embedded into teens from many generations. Additionally, the movie is important because it illustrates that being...
Words: 908 - Pages: 4
...transitional period, many issues of self-identity and self-independence arise where they have to make tough choices regarding social life, sexuality, etc. Most of the time, teenagers want to surpass this period quickly and want to be an adult; nonetheless, they are unware of the responsibilities that come with being an adult. A prime example is the protagonist, Connie, in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” in which Connie wants to be a grown-up without facing responsibilities that emerge during adulthood. Through the character of Connie in the short story, Oates explores how the archetype Over-Reacher recurs throughout time....
Words: 612 - Pages: 3
...Is it possible for someone to embody maturity and innocence at the same time? A story written by Joyce Carol Oates called “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been” shows this duality in her depiction of a suburban teenage girl who doesn’t seem to fit in with her life. Connie, the story’s protagonist, embraces two personas; one for her home and another for the outside world to help her cope with life. One day while out with her friends, she ends up luring a man named Arnold Friend back to her house. Arnold proves himself to be extremely dangerous when he shows all the information he knows about Connie and her life. He threatens her to come with him and she attempts to get him to leave her alone. In the end he convinces her to go to him and she is sure she will never see her family again. While Connie’s fate is unknown due to where the story ended, it is strongly implied she was raped, then murdered by Arnold. Connie in this story is a confused, misled teenage girl who deeply craved and searched for love. Due to this strong desire of hers, she ended up looking in all the wrong places which eventually led to her demise. Connie has a complex, multifaceted personality that was not...
Words: 1472 - Pages: 6
...Where Is Your ID Going Where Has Your Superego Been? Connie, the main character in Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a self conscious teenage girl with a quirky personality. Her condescending mother constantly measures her up against her older sister June, which leads to resentment and tension between Connie and her otherwise admirable sister. On a night out with her friend, Connie has a strange encounter with a boy at a drive in restaurant which introduces the personified Freudian struggle between the ID, Ego, and Superego. First, it is necessary to comprehend how Connie’s family is the personification of the Freudian Superego. By simply relating the characteristics used to describe each family member to the concept of a Superego, the reader can condense their apparent individuality into this definitive Freudian ideal. June, a twenty-four year old still living and working from her parents home, serves as an example of low-risk and conservative decision making. Early in the story Oates writes, “June did this, June did that, she saved money and helped clean the house and cooked and Connie couldn't do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams” (Oates, 1), which provides supporting evidence in proving June’s...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...Every human being on this earth goes through the same phases of life. The adolescent, or rebellious, phase is probably the most awkward, difficult, and confusing of them all. Adolescents are faced with challenges such as fitting in, finding individuality, and simply struggling to find out how to properly go about life. There’s a point in life where teens learn to stand up for themselves; that is the rebellious phase. Joyce Oates’, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” portrays the mind playing act that teenagers perform during their rebellious phase. Adolescents struggle to find individuality within themselves. They don't know how to fit in, therefore, when they get frustrated they resort to acting in a way that would be considered...
Words: 290 - Pages: 2
...she’s out or at school. She’s very concerned about how she looks to others and is constantly checking herself in the mirror (Oates 244). At the end of the story, it seems Connie is changed after she tries, and fails, to call the police. It seems that Connie has lost her will when it’s said that “She was hollow with what had been fear but what was now just an emptiness” (Oates 254). Connie no longer felt in control of her own body, thinking about her heart “for the first time in her life that it was nothing that was hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living thing inside this body that wasn’t really hers either” (Oates 254). As Connie walks out the door, she feels as if she is watching herself from outside of her body. She does not own her body and is no longer in control of it, and she gives in to Arnold Friend. In the excerpt “Night March” from “Going after Cacciato” by Tim O’Brien, a new soldier, Paul Berlin, is feeling overwhelmed by his circumstances and the recent death of his friend. He meets another soldier who offers him gum, and they talk about the dead soldier. Based on the excerpt alone, it’s unknown which soldier is going AWOL. If I had to guess based on contextual evidence from “Night March,” I would assume that Cacciato, the soldier carrying many flavors of gum, is the soldier to go AWOL. Cacciato, whose name is not revealed until the last line of the piece, seems to be unstable when he often whistles unconsciously or talks too loudly about...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
