Joyce Carol Oates

Adolescence is a time to explore and discover one's true self. Parents play a pivotal role during this phase of life. In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character,Connie, is transitioning from a child to a teenager. Scholar James W. Johnson’s myth of adolescence is clearly shown throughout the short story through Connie’s relationship with her family. Clearly, Connie proves Johnson’s myth of adolescence through conflict with her family…

In the short story social and cultural values decline during the 1960s can be seen through, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, which is narrating the fatal destiny of a fifteen-year-old girl. The story is unsettling and an incredibly formidable story of a young girl’s loss of innocence during a time of social change, unrest and turbulence. The story’s protagonist is Connie, a self-absorbed, yet beautiful fifteen-year-old girl, who is at odds with not only her…

especially true when referring to the name of a character in a story. A name can point to a character’s personality, to a struggle in their life, or carry a specific irony. Short story authors like Flannery O’Connor, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Joyce Carol Oates pay particular attention when naming their characters and, in turn, the names have a great emphasis on the story. At times, the irony of a character’s name is blatantly obvious to the reader, yet at other times it is so subtle that a…

“Everything in life can teach you a lesson, you just have to be willing to observe and learn” is a familiar phrase that can apply to nearly anything (Unknown). It can often apply to literature, especially American literature. Putting the quote into relation with American literature, there is lesson in every story written and read but the only way to find it is to be open to discover and understand. Often at times, the lesson is not openly written, so the reader would have to use the actions and…

experience for everyone. Feelings transform, strong emotions develop, and bodies change faster than we can keep up with. Teenage years are full of confusion, heartbreak, and anger. Every single person has been through this transition, and Connie in Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going,” is no exception. Connie struggles with ignorant and absent parents, and an older sister who she is constantly compared to. She also falls into the teenage rebellion stereotype by going out to meet…

Jessmin Marie Gaerlan Engl 1B – Tomb Compare and Contrast Essay The two stories I have decided to compare and contrast from one another were Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates, and Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer. I do not support the parenting styles of Connie’s parents in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? nor of the parents mentioned in Once Upon a Time. I have found that discouraging children through words, having a lack of communication and effort in…

Connie, the protagonist of a time period where women are seen as objects, follows society’s expectations. Joyce Carol Oates wrote “Where are you going, where have you been?” at a time when women were not respected by men. In “Where are you going, where have you been?”, Connie is approached by a man named Arnold Friend. Friend was very persistent about getting Connie to leave town with him. After Connie refused multiple times, he threatened to hurt her family. Due to the threat, Connie had no…

"Where are you going, where have you been?” Is mixture of psychological thriller and coming of age story, written by Joyce Carol Oates, an American author born on June 16, 1938, in Lockport, New York. This short story tells us about Connie, a fifteen year old girl who lives with her mom, her dad and her sister June. Connie is described as a teenager who is constantly preoccupied about her appearance, trying to look desirable and mature. Her dangerous and naive search for maturity and…

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 describes the main character and…

believe that among them is a murderer responsible for the deaths of the guests. Eventually, each of the characters dies, which is why the novel is called And Then There Were None. On the other hand, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, follows a fifteen year old girl named Connie…