Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essay

Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” begins as a benign and familiar tale of a misunderstood teenager: the protagonist, fifteen year old Connie, rebelliously expresses her sexuality, as she painstakingly feints the hindrance devised by mother. Connie as perceived by mother suffers from an overindulgence of one’s appearance – “excessive gawking at one’s self, excessive hair spray, excessive day dreaming”. Though, in all honesty, Connie exhibits the traits of most, if…

Cultural Context Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is good representation of the culture of the 1960’s. The 1960’s was a changing time in American culture. The 60’s were radically different from the decades before it. The 60’s were a time when people started to change social norms and people really started to go against authority. The reader sees elements of this in the story. The story describes Connie as pretty and someone who looks one way at…

Every horror story has the same basic outline, the antagonist pursues a certain goal or target while the protagonist turns into the damsel in distress. In the short story “Where Are You Going,Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates expertly executes the aspects of the horror genre by adding fairy-tale aspects like Cinderella and Red Riding Hood to characters and atmosphere; giving the tale an eerie feeling. Throughout the story, the actions that Connie takes against Arnold portrays the damsel…

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been “With great power comes great responsibility”, this very old saying famously appears in the Marvel comic series Spider Man. Uncle Ben uses these wise words to warn Peter Parker that with any sort of power, there is also a negative side that comes with it. We can observe this in, Where you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story the main character Connie realizes that she has this great power to attract boys, she is very much…

story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character, Connie, is subjectified due to her gender and makes poor decisions because of it. Gender stereotypes still exist in today’s society and are unlikely to disappear anytime soon due to the ideas and influences of stereotypes within the patriarchal society that existed in previous generations. First off, a perfect example of a gender stereotype that existed in the past can be seen in Where Are You Going, Where…

In the short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, by Joyce Carol Oates, the setting is set in the 1960’s in America. The story has different situations such as: Connie’s house, the shopping plaza, the movie theater, and the drive-in restaurant. One day in a drive-in restaurant a guy seeks interest on Connie and marks her as his belonging. Days later the guy, Arnold Friend, shows up to Connie’s house when she’s alone and tells her to come outside with him so they can be together;…

Humans have always been capable of doing evil things. It is almost instinct even if we know it is bad. Some of us are willing to do whatever it takes to get what we want even if it involves hurting someone or even killing them to get what we want. There are many instances that can prove just how evil man can be. Evil can come in many different forms, for instance persuasion and selfishness. The nature of evil derives from man himself. In Joyce Carol Oates shorty story, “Where are you Going,…

Raynise Adams Dr. Kathryn Crowther English 1102 9 September 2014 A Critique of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been as an Archetypal Tale As children, people are told tales that are meant to entertain and educate. These tales introduce children to the complexities of human behavior when trying to make the right decision. Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is an archetypal tale about fifteen year old Connie who while in this liminal phase of life makes the wrong…

Originality is something a lot of people lack. In the movie Finding Faith and the story “Where are You Going? Where Have You Been?” each story represents a young girl breaking free of the life she lives by being reckless and not listening to her parents, deciding she can make decisions on her own, and going with a strange man when she knows she shouldn’t. The story “Where are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is similar to the movie Finding Faith (2013) in theme, manner, and…

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was a story I did not expect to be as fascinated by as I truly was. By combining an authoritarian yet familiar tone with a realistic setting, Joyce Oates short story angles itself into an unexpected horrifying tale, fit for ones with a distinctly strong heart. “Her name was Connie.” Don’t be fooled by this simple setup. This is not a story about a girl and her jealousy for her perfect sister. This is not a story about Connie finding a warm, comfortable…