Joyce Appleby

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a story about a about a fifteen year old girl named Connie. Connie holds two sides of herself, one side of her life at home and the other when she is with her friends. When she is at home she walks and acts childish and when she is with her friends she acts grownup. Her mother treats her and her twenty-four year old sister much differently. She praises her older sister about how perfect she is but puts down Connie about how she can’t do things…

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, was written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1970. Oates was fascinated with human behavior and the way people create identity. (Oates, 204) This story indicates the battle with the evils of our society as well as how it can occur anytime, anywhere. Connie’s struggle with her own identity leaves her vulnerable in the face of manipulation. Although vague about the setting, it is inferred that this story takes place in Suburban America in the 1960’s. Oates…

Growing up is something we go through from the time we are born to the time we die. We start off being helpless, alone and wondering what our next move will be. We rely so much on our parents to give us guidance, knowing right from wrong and learning how to survive on our own. As time goes on, we grow up into a teenager where we think we know everything about the world and that we are entitled to everything. After we grow out of the teenager stage we begin into adulthood where we make our…

Professor Malchodi EN 102 Life Passages class focused on life passages, or the transition from one stage of life to another. Many of the stories were about transition between childhood and adulthood and were relatable because I am also in that transition. At the beginning of my freshman year, I created a guiding question that will follow me throughout my four year of college. My question, “What is the relationship between personality and behavior?” relates to the class because I gained insight…

The warmth of the sun can be used to describe the love for boys, escaping her life, and wholesomeness achieved from a male. Oates explains this connection at the end of the story where she describes that Connie was “…taken up…by the vast sunlit reaches of the land behind and on all sides of him” (Oates 872). Connie was extremely attracted to the warm sun that illuminated Arnold Friend, signifying that she would be taken away to a warm loving world with a warm loving man. Arnold states that he is…

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Connie a fifteen-year-old girl, is preoccupied with her appearance. Her mother desires her beauty, as one day she was young and beautiful too. Connie’s mother urges her to be neat and responsible like her older sister, June. June who is twenty-four works as a secretary at Connie’s high school. She saves money, helps their parents with cleaning, not to mention her maturity, whereas Connie spends her time daydreaming. June was good for one particular…

“A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner, is a story that proves that a refusal to let go of the past and accept change can be self-destructive, and that rejecting the changing realities of life can lead to physical and mental anguish. During the story, the protagonist, Emily Grierson, is a static character and through her refusal to adapt to the changing social environment around her; she ultimately tears her life apart and in turn ends the life of another. Death is a main theme…

The Rose of Death The American author William Faulkner wrote the short story “A Rose for Emily,” to explain the struggle and resistance to change. “A Rose for Emily,” was William Faulkner’s most popular short story. This short story suggest that time has passed Emily, the main character, by and she will not accept the past. Change is inevitable in the future, and plays a major role in who people are today. Emily’s refusal to accept change has led her to become very isolated. Emily’s…

A Romance To Die For “ A Rose for Emily” a short story written by William Faulkner, presents a portrait of a lonely woman; Emily, who succumbs to mental illness. It is also a gothic story, in the sense of a genre of fiction presenting dark, mysterious, terrifying events that take place in a gloomy or ghostly setting. The manner in which dust covers the objects (and people) in Emily’s archaic home represents the obscuring of past events. Unlike decay, which changes and erodes what exists, dust…

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…