Analysis Of Connie Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

Connie, in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” encounters this experience, and falls victim to danger. Connie’s conscience will place her in a dream to help her see the threat that will be coming her way if she does not stop. Connie is a fifteen year old girl filled with insecurities, and depends on others’ reactions to her to make

Author, Joyce Carol Oates, of Where are you Going, Where have you Been alludes to four particular historical references within the story. Each reference provides significance to the story’s context. When the story is read with an approach, the reader will then have a better understanding. It is argued that the myth Death of a Maiden, the crime narrative Charles Schmid, the 1960’s values of Bob Dylan, and Sigmund Freud’s philosophy of the dream sequence and the most important approach to the story. The story, which is described as a mystery and crime narrative, reflects the killing of Charles Schmid.

The inflamed eye-catching mountain topped off with a creamy white summit, smack dab in the middle of your face. It's every teenager's fear; waking up from a blissful dream to only have that spiral into a living nightmare after seeing your reflection in the bathroom mirror. For the more dramatic, it's the “End of the World”. While the horrors of a ginormous pimple are legitimate, people underestimate the true horrors of adolescence as described by Joyce Carol Oates in her story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?”. While most people believe Connie meets her fate because of her desire to mature, Oates demonstrates that Connie met her fate through her youth and therefore, seems to claim that adolescence is the most dangerous time for a

In “The Flowers”, Alice Walker explores the woods through the eyes of a little girl named Myop, but she soon realizes the world isn’t as nice as flowers. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Joyce Carol Oates follows a young girl named Connie who is focused on others and her own appearance, until she is introduced to the world in a unexpected way. Both Walker and Oates use young girls to show the harsher sides of the world and how their childhood changes to adulthood in different ways. The main thing that Myop and Connie have in common is that they are both females, but their looks and the way the live are totally different.

You think you’re so pretty?”” (Oates 1). This example was the beginning of Connie’s free will type of character. She knew she could use her beauty to get what she aspires for, and can use those looks to get people to buy her meals, for an instance. Connie used locations and clothing to show her interest in her fantasies but also her act of freedom.

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.

In the short story, Where are you going where have you been the author, joyce carol oates is thinking how the reader will interpret her short story. She has several moments in her short story that the reader has to make an inference about what

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.

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 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.

“But now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.” (Oates ). Also, there is another opportunity for friendship within the family, between Connie and her sister, however, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility. “Her sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters.” ( ).

Carol Joyce Oates’ “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents how falling into temptation leads to giving up control and innocence. Though her mother is unapproving of her actions, Connie spends her time seeking attention from male strangers. Home alone, Connie is approached by a compelling creature who convinces her to leave her life and join him on his unknown journey. Through disapproving her family, having multiple appearances, listening to music, and her desperation to receive attention from boys, Connie gives up control of herself losing the purity of adolescents and contributing to her detrimental fate. It is imperative that one should not be controlled because of a desire to impress others.

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).

“At its most basic, every story is an attempt to answer the question What happened?” (Norton 85) One of the most significant elements in a short story is plot. Plot is construct by authors and they rearrange the character’s action in a consequential way to shape our response and interpretation (Norton 85). In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, they use similar plot styles that contributes to the process of maturation for characters in the stories.

She is a victim suffering from conflicted desires and struggling to overcome them to reach maturity. Unfortunately, Connie falls short of the destination due to the appearance of Arnold Friend, flaunting her momentary, selfish desires like bait , interrupting her development. Thus the manipulator, Arnold, is able to whisk Connie away. The characteristics of Connie’s family, Arnold and Connie herself serve as reasonable attribution towards understanding the idea of maturation in Oates's Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?