Dylan‚ or that he is just the mere imagination of a salacious daydream in a young girl’s mind. In Joyce Carol Oates acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ a 15-year-old girl named Connie‚ with ever growing feelings of attraction toward the opposite sex‚ has a vexing encounter with a middle-aged man who goes by the name Arnold Friend. You can’t talk about Arnold Friend‚ his train of thought‚ and intentions without talking about and understanding Connie’s character. In the
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Have you ever had a nightmare that is so realistic it speeds up your heart rate and takes your very breath away? In Joyce Carol Oates’s 1966 “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ she tells a story of a teenager by the name of Connie. Connie has a fate of being kidnapped by a strange man that seems to know everything about her. Connie is a typical adolescent with a vivid imagination and a difficult‚ unstructured home. She is at a delicate time in her life of transitioning to find her “own”
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like. It made them feel good to be able to ignore him. They went up through the maze of parked and cruising cars to the bright-lit fly-infested restaurant‚ their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building that loomed out of the night to give them what haven and what blessing they yearned for. They sat at the counter and crossed their legs at the ankles‚ their thin shoulders rigid with excitement‚ and listened to the music that made everything so good: the music was always
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Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer who has published over forty novels. Most of her novels are graphic and many of them depict death. In her short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Oates tells the story of Connie‚ a fifteen year old girl. Like in many of her previous novels Connie dies‚ or the reader is led to believe she does. Oates was inspired by Bob Dylan’s song “ It’s All Over Now‚ Baby Blue”‚ Charles Schmid‚ and from the book of Judges chapter 19 verse 17 in the Bible.
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the other. While at other times‚ a change can be as major as transitioning from childhood to adulthood. For much of the 20th century in America‚ the dynamics of communication among parents and their children was not fundamental. “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚” written by Joyce Carol Oates introduces these “ills” of the 20th century to be examined in a more psychological depth. This ominous literal piece unfolds the story of protagonist Connie‚ a self-absorbed‚ disoriented‚ beautiful fifteen-year
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In Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" and Estrella Alfon’s "Servant Girl‚ firm actions brought by male characters caused women to reveal their true nature. Rosa‚ from Estrella Alfon’s Servant girl is a very humble lady who is consciously aware of two men having interest in her. First is the cochero‚ whom he calls Angel‚ is the man who lived in her fantasies after their encounter and second is Sancho‚ the other guy‚ is her admirer who seems to possess the the opposite trait
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One story from the short story unit that depicts impossibilities is “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been.” Connie’s vanity is not abnormal; many teenagers who are her age and attractive act the same way. The impossibility of the story appears in the form of Arnold Friend. Whether he is Satan‚ a serial killer‚ Jesus‚ Bob Dylan‚ or none of the above‚ his presence seems odd. Arnold Friend seems to know too much about Connie’s life to simply be a stalker. He know that the rest of Connie’s family
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There are many similarities between the short stories "Good Country People" and "Where are you going‚ Where have you been?"‚ most notably their characters. Both stories contain a female protagonist‚ and a male antagonist‚ whose confrontations start out relatively normal‚ and progress to more and more surreal and twisted endings. Their main characters‚ Hulga and Connie‚ are shockingly similar‚ and yet strangely different‚ one a 15 year old wishing to be older and beautiful‚ the other a bitter 32 year
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What will happen to you? Every person comes face to face at some point in life with vital decisions. Some of the decisions are minor ones‚ while others can bring turning points in life. In Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" she displays a particular instant in the main character’s life. This character‚ Connie was caught in the difficult transition from her youth and innocence to a doubtful future. Throughout the story Connie alternates between two very different sides
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Danette Willis June 15‚ 2013 English 11238A A Masterpiece in Disguise The first line of Oates literary work “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” indicates that the conclusion to Connie’s existence may have come to a terrible end. In the short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been” written by Joyce Carol Oates‚ the story takes you on a journey through the eyes of a helpless girl‚ who‚ as shown by the three opening words‚ came to a very unfortunate collapse. This particular
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