Fantasy versus Reality in Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates has a constant theme of reality and fantasy running parallel for 15 year old Connie. This short story begins with a description of Connie’s vain personality. The narrator describes her as pretty and self-centered (Oates 421). To emphasize her selfishness‚ Connie is contrasted with her sister‚ June‚ who is chubby‚ plain‚ and well-behaved. Connie’s mother always praises
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At first glance‚ the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates seems like a regular story where a girl just has home problems like every other teenager. However‚ by looking more into the story you can see that the locations of where Connie is at‚ mean something different. In my opinion‚ I believe that the setting plays a significant role in the way Connie alternates her personality around her family and friends. When she is out with friends and not at home with family
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In Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" the author goes into depth of the transition from being a carefree‚ innocent child to the complexity and uncertainty of the future when one becomes an adult. The message begins even before the story itself actually does. The title illustrates the passage of time in life such as the phrase "where are you going" refers to the question of what direction does one have for his own life. "Where have you been?" is a question which involves
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It all happened on a warm sunny saturday morning in “Where are you going. Where have you been’’ by Joyce Carry Oates. It started with an unfamiliar car bouncing along Connie’s long drive way. When she first heard the car she rushed to the window excitedly‚ frantically fixing her hair. Making sure she looked good‚ seemed to be an insecure habit for Connie. She saw an uninvited boyish looking man who was situated in the car parked now in her driveway. There was a tension of unease about the boyish
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Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” conveys the theme of good vs. evil through Connie and Arnold by creating a sympathetic character and using symbolism‚ creating a fine line between the protagonist and the antagonist. In this short story‚ the antagonist Arnold Friend is a seducting creep that seduces young‚ innocent girls to “go on a date with him”. While he is at the protagonist‚ Connie’s‚ house‚ he is persuading Connie by telling her all about herself‚ including his
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In Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are you Going‚ Where Have You Been"‚ Oates used figurative language to show the evil in Arnold Friend and how he as a Fiend tries to pull Connie into his corrupted world. The harsh reality that Oates includes in her story is that there are fiends that may seem like a friend around us like Arnold. By using figurative language Oates can create a fiend from what Seem to be a Friend. There are many hints that Joyce left to show that Arnold Friend is not a friend at all
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The story‚ Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol‚ is a story told in a third person perspective‚ regarding Connie‚ a 15-year-old. She and her mother have not at all gotten along. Her mother consistently compares her with her sister‚ and her father barely ever speaks with his daughters. One night‚ Connie and her best friend go to a shopping plaza. As instantly the adult is out of sight they cross the highway into a drive-in restaurant and stay on the restaurant’s counter. Thereafter
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person one can see their hidden emotions and attitudes and thoughts” (Schwartz). Also when the author makes a point to mention in detail items that have reflective surfaces they are inferring that there is a deeper meaning behind the reflection. In the short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce
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In the short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates there is bad parenting and it costs Connie at the end. Throughout the entire story there is little or no parenting‚ or sometimes there is a little parenting but it is not very good parenting. For example‚ “their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home‚ he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn’t bother talking much to them” (Oates 1). So even
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Joyce Carol Oates’ story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” is initially about a teen (Connie) who is going through the beginning phases of teen life‚ playing into the stereotype of an image-conscious teen. She is recalcitrant with her parents‚ sneaks off to start hanging out with boys‚ et cetera. About a third of the way through the story‚ a man that she had seen earlier at the diner shows up to take her out for a drive‚ and the situation goes downhill as she asks him more and more questions
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