In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Joyce Carol Oates describes the story of Connie, a fifteen year old teenager who is too concerned with her appearance and is often scolded by her mother. This dark story takes place during the 1960s, while the story’s location can’t be pinned down to anything more specific than suburbia. This ambiguity gives the tale a universal relevance. Yet a definite sense of place looms large in the narrative. Joyce Carol Oates describes in…
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a young girl named Connie is visited by a mysterious man named Arnold Friend who tries to make her get in his car by threatening the lives of her and her family. The responsibilities and emotions of adulthood are thrust at Elliot and Connie, and as they make this rapid transition they notice the scenery around them. In their respective stories, Eliot and Connie have a moment in which they realize they have reached a turning point…
through some sort of change, either positive or negative. However, in some cases characters will go through these life-altering events and not change at all. In the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie struggles with wanting to be an adult, but is also scared of what that means, until her moment of transformation where she decides that she wants to leave and go with Arnold Friend. Connie’s transformation is her deciding that she does not want to be a child, in a family who…
good and evil. Every person, no matter how kind-hearted they may be, have an evil side to them. A woman who dedicates her life to charity be seem good on the outside, but the way she treats others could be cruel or evil. Similarly, a murderer could be killing others, which is evil, because he is killing others who are harmful to society. Evil manifests in every person to a degree. Relating to “Where Are You Going, Where Have You been” by Joyce Oates, the protagonist, Connie, is initially…
Writers write for a purpose, they write to express themselves and their thoughts to fill the emptiness that they see within the world. Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and Margret Atwood’s “Rape Fantasies” are major examples of writing pieces that attempt to fill the void within the world. Through their usage of symbolism, theme, style, and tone these writers are able to compromise the emptiness that they feel. They are able to withstand indifference and allow their…
can be pleasurable. I have always been exceedingly critical of my writing, and I have a bad habit of producing your standard “five paragraph with five sentences” essay. High school was the true test of my writing skills, mainly because I had to take the ACT and SAT with writing if I wanted to get into the only Georgia school that I thought was up to par with my standards: The University of Georgia. Even though my teachers have considered me to be an acceptable writer, I have always considered…
What does the devil look like and how does he sound? Is he just a cloven beast with horns and a roaring voice? Or is he a little more inconspicuous? In her short story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Joyce Carol Oates shows readers exactly who the devil is. The story takes place in the sixties, and revolves around two main characters, Connie and Arnold Friend. Connie is the typical teenage party girl, hanging out with new boys every night at the drive-in. One night, Connie has an…
n the short story " Where (1)are you going , Where have you been ? " . , Joyce Carol Oates creates a story of a young girl stuck in arrested development . A young girl named Connie is stuck in a fantasy and refuses to see things in the correct light . Connie is a girl (2)who is full of herself . She has no respect for people (3)who is in charge of her and she does what she wants . She decides to do what she wants and takes her journey (4)in life alone . Sometimes a person will create illusions…
In the short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Connie and Arnold Friend are both something close to a rebel and a criminal. Both have made a conscious choice to veer from the societal standard and the expectations of those around them. In an alternate telling, this could have brought them closer together and they could have had a positive relationship, in finding a companion in someone who shares the labelling of being different. However, this is not the case due to the sensation…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and “Young Goodman Brown” are two short stories, though written two eras apart in the past by two different authors, are quite similar. Both stories have many references to evil along with a revolution in the main character’s life and therefore explore common themes as well as meanings. The first similarity between “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and “Young Goodman Brown” that comes to the readers’ mind is the idea of the existence of…