The Devil’s Favorite Sin: Vanity In "Where are You Going‚ Where Have you Been?" Joyce Carol Oates uses an allegorical figure of evil to illustrate the theme of temptation. Oates alludes to hell through the character Arnold Friend‚ as the devil‚ and his victim Connie‚ who invites him in by committing one of the devil’s favorites sins: vanity. The narrator implies that Arnold Friend is Satan by giving certain clues that the reader can easily deduce. The name that Oates gives to the character
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“Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Paper “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” is a short story that poses many questions centered around the protagonist‚ Connie and the antagonist Arnold Friend and his “comrade” Ellie. The fate of Connie at the end of the story is still up for debate after all these years after the story was published in 1966. The main question posed is who actually is Arnold Friend? Is he the devil or something else? The answer may never be fully known but in
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In the story Where are You Going‚ Where have you been reach out to young girls that have family issue and personal issues going on in their life. Connie is a young teenager who is self-centered and thinks that she is a grown women but still has a child mindset. She doesn’t know how much danger she is in by messing with a older man that she barely knew. Connie felt like nobody in the family careed about her so she decided to stay at home instead of going to the family barbecue. She is a shattered
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Innocence “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents many themes and symbols to the reader. One that jumped out at me while reading the story was the overall feeling of innocence. Joyce Carol Oates shows us innocence from the very beginning of the story to the end where Connie loses self-control and power. From the first paragraph of the story we learn that Connie is a young fifteen year old who longs for attention and acceptance. I was able to relate to the story better when I paused
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Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? “Where are you going‚ where have you been?” is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates about an average fifteen year old girl who is not unlike many other girls her age‚ she is self-absorbed‚ and has a “Nervous giggling habit of craning her neck and glancing into the mirror‚ or checking other people’s face’s to make sure her own was all right.”(Oates‚ 388) The story takes place in Middle America. Oates wrote “Where are you going‚ where have you been?”
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Language of Terror When a person is put in an incredibly horrifying situation where the outcome is unpredictable many physical and emotional changes take place. Joyce Carol Oates’s story "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" places Connie‚ a typical teenager‚ in this situation. Throughout the story‚ occasionally using religious undertones‚ Connie’s language of a typical teenager gradually changes‚ from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified. Early in the story on a
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Connie’s Paradigm In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” we follow the main character Connie as she faces an inner transformation. The author introduces Connie as a vain and inexperienced adolescent who seems to daydream about things she doesn’t quite understand as she has more of a naive idea of what adulthood is all about. She takes pleasure in having control over everyone and everything around her. These ideas as well as her security are shaken when the
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of women that had sex before marriage also sky rocketed. In Where Are you Going‚ Where Have You Been‚ Connie wants sexual attention from men‚ and that hurts her self-confidence and puts a real strain on her self-esteem. The theme of this story is that younger women going through their sexual maturation have a hard time dealing with the changes of emotions towards the opposite sex. It is about the stage of life when young woman are going through their search for independence. The first reason why
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In her essay‚ Where are you going‚ Where have you been‚ Joyce Carol Oates‚ underscores the importance of communication to develop her story. Both the presence and absence of communication are utilized in the evolution of Oates’ purpose. The author relates each of her subjects to archetypal characters in order to firmly cast them into a category. Through careful consideration of detail‚ Oates’ offers a particular understanding of Connie’s relationship with her parents and the world around Connie.
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The dramatic irony of “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” conveys the tone of warning about temptation. Connie’s situation is that she does not feel appreciated at home and uses her looks and actions to get attention and appreciation from boys even if it is short-term. She is self-conscious about her looks and is constantly worried about how other people perceive her. Friend’s fantasy is that Connie will willingly go with him and be his “lover” (605) even before he officially met her. The
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