Where Have You Been And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Improved Essays
We often focus more on the protagonist of stories, but what about the antagonist? Reading all three of the short stories Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, they all expand the idea of the “bad guy.” The antagonists are the ones that truly develop the situation of stories, because without them there wouldn't be a conflict, or a story in general... At least not an interesting one to say the most.
In the first short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, the protagonist of the story, Connie, is described as a pretty young girl that possess a very flirtatious attitude and nervous giggle. While she was out to eat with her
…show more content…
They decide to bring the old granny that can’t seem to shut her mouth. Everyone has that type of family member, but at the end of the day you just have to deal with them. But anyways while they were on the trip she tells a story about the ole misfit that’s of the loose. She didn’t want her grandchildren anywhere near the town he was last seen in. So therefore she talks about this plantations that has “hidden treasure.” Of course she lies just so she can visit the plantation, but after talking about it she’s quick to realize that the plantation is in Tennessee. This realization startles her and triggers the cat, the one she’s been hiding the whole car ride, to jump out. It causes the veer off and flip over. After the accident everyone gets out the car, and at this point they’re stranded. They all sit and wait for a car to come by. Luckily one did. The two men got out the car and tried to help with the damage. The One of the two men was the misfit. Of course the grandma notices, and opens her mouth. “You’re the misfit!” By her doing so, she got herself and her entire family …show more content…
She is very mysterious and no one doesn’t really know too much about her. Thirty years before Emily "vanquishes" the tax office, the townspeople complained about a terrible stink coming from Miss Emily's house. Certainly no one confronted her about it, so what they decided to do was sprinkle some lime around the house, which quickly resolved the conflict. Miss Emily then begins to date a man named Homer Barron, however the town does not approve. She is then seen buying arsenic at the drugstore, and the townspeople think that she plans to kill herself. Unfortunately they thought it was the best for her. After being seen at the drugstore, Emily was never seen again, until almost twelve years later. She was hosting painting lessons, and at this point Emily has gained weight and has obtained grey hair. But she dies shortly after. After the funeral, and after Emily is buried, the townspeople go upstairs to break into the room that they know has been closed for forty years. Inside the room, they find the body of Homer Barron, decaying in the bed. On the the pillow next to Homer they find an imprint of a head, and there in the indentation a long grey hair was

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The author uses the point of view of Miss Emily’s neighbors to demonstrate how little is known about this woman and how most of what we do know is speculation. We hear the story through the mouths of Miss Emily’s nosy neighbors, who seem to take joy in gossiping about her grim life; although, it is clear they don’t really know her at all. When Miss Emily dies the women only go to her funeral to see the inside of her house, which no one has seen in many years (Faulkner 204). The narrator describes the scene, stating, "[t]he Negro met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in with their hushed, sibilant voices and their quick, curious glances..." (210). Her neighbors make it very clear with their actions that Miss Emily was merely…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the short story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, the plot revolves around a young narcissist named Connie. Connie is a 15 year old normal teenage girl relatively speaking. She has no interest in responsibility and often dreams of the Disney-like life of a beautiful girl being met by an extraordinary man. Connie’s desire to be rebellious, her desire to be better than others, and her desire to be noticed are the focus of this story. Despite the similarity in these, there are very key differences that reflect the immaturity and indecisiveness of young Connie.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Judges 19:17 Joyce Carol Oates’s 1970 story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? introduces fifteen year old Connie, a narcissistic girl who prefers flirting with boys, and listening to Rock and Roll. Like most girls her age, Connie is very keen on being mature. Connie puts on her act the minute she exits her house by portraying herself as an adult. However, behind closed doors Connie reverts to her childish nature.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The sporadic storytelling creates an eerie mood in which the reader knows very little, but very much at the same time. The unknowingness shows the disconnect of humanity. Miss Emily is not cared about but for the use of conversation. At first, she is cared for by the Jefferson government and they do not make her pay taxes. As time progresses and the government officials are replaced Miss Emily has several tax collectors come to her home.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is definitely apparent that this action caused the crash because once “Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Bailey’s shoulder,” he veered off the road (O’Connor 6). Just before the accident, the grandmother recalled that the “house she remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee (O’Connor 6).” This particular mistake fits with the grandmother’s personality to a large degree because it displays her overall carelessness. The grandmother appears to be a careless person who doesn’t think things through all the way. In addition, it…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The entire community conspires unconsciously to protect Miss Emily from the shame and stigma that may be caused due to her illness and idiosyncratic behavior. The townspeople knew she was distraught from her father’s death and knew that her father had dominated her all of her life and with him gone she felt no since of guidance. She sought to find a replacement for her father and found it in her lover Homer. Though the disappearance of her lover Homer and her suspicious behavior around the time of his disappearance nobody seem to pin his death on her. After Homer’s disappearance Miss Emily had a strong stench coming from her house yet no one bothered to put circumstantial evidence together nor wanted to question her about the smell.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Then hilly tells Skeeter to but out her newsletter and Skeeter changes it a bit and Hilly ends up with toilets in her yard instead of what she wanted. Aibileen was going home that night from work and was told to get off of the bus y the bus driver because an African American male was shot by the KKK. Minnie is talking to Aibileen about how unfair their lives are unfair and about how she was scared about if the KKK caught them talking to Skeeter what they might do. Aibileen told her they have to be careful. One of Aibileens friends was arrested by the police for trying to pawn a ring and that was enough to get all of the maids needed to finish her book.…

    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brandon Siron Anne Henley Rowe ENG 112 27 September 2017 Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Final Draft In the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? " Written by Joyce Carol Oates, is a fiction about a rebellious fifteen-year-old girl named Connie. She is obsessed with her appearance and avoids her mother when she tries to tell her that her appearance isn't what's important. Connie wants to get attention from boys until she gets attention from the wrong boy.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Self Serving Examples

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are two types of motives that self-serving people use; for personal gain and for self-preservation. Self-serving people only think about themselves and they rarely ever concern themselves with the thoughts or feelings of others. Generally, the majority of people share the self-serving characteristic in one way or another, and most people are often self-serving without even realizing they are doing so. In the stories “A story of an Hour,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” all three protagonists, Mrs. Mallard, Emily Grierson, and the grandmother all share the self-serving characteristic. Upon learning of her husband’s untimely passing, Mrs. Mallard takes the news, she weeps for a moment and retires to her room.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Miss Brill” compared to “A Rose for Emily” “Miss Brill” was published in 1922, written by William Faulkner with the main character being that of Miss Brill. “A Rose for Emily” published in 1930, written by Katherine Mansfield with the main character being Emily Grierson. Although both stories were written long ago the stories are just as prevalent in today’s society. Similarly both Miss Brill and Emily suffered from loneliness and their own delusions, on the other hand Miss Brill was never involved romantically with a man, but Miss Emily’s only romance ended in murder. Miss Brill worked as a teacher and also read the newspaper to an elderly man.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When there is protagonist in a story, there exist antagonists. They are used as either an obstacle to the main character’s journey, or as another form of motivation to get through. Posidon, without a doubt, is the antagonist in The Odyssey. There may be many insignificant characters that are obstacles to Odysseus’s episodes of adventure; however, Poseidon’s existence becomes the main objection to Odysseus returning to Ithaca.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Emily becomes fixated on Homer’s body, the text showing indications of her sexually sleeping with the body. Emily’s act of keeping his lifeless body is her attempt…

    • 1113 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The larger story being that Miss Emily is loco.. Each chapter would get into details of Miss Emily's life, but then would leave you wondering. What kind of woman is she? Who is Homer? They mentioned he liked me, so what were his motives? What were her motives in being with him?…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    That following summer Emily suffers a long illness. Also, the town gives Homer Barron a job paving sidewalks. Her family didn’t like the fact that she was seeing him, they felt like it was beneath her standards. One afternoon, she goes to the drug store and purchase a powerful poison. By law you have to tell them why you are buying it…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A women’s role in society and family has extremely changed throughout the years. “A Rose for Emily” and “Eveline” was two short stories that showed two characters playing roles that showed negative impacts. Rose and Eveline had similar but different lives, they both had very strict fathers, but they could never neglect their families. Emily’s father was very well known in her community, she was the only child and grew up in a beautiful home. Eveline lived in a small apartment with her father and her siblings, her father was known as the alcoholic.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays