“Where are you going‚ where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates In the short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚” author Joyce Carol Oates depicts the main character as a fifteen year old daydreamer. Her name is Connie‚ and she is obsessed with her appearance. Connie’s mother constantly teases her about looking in the mirror and always obsessing over her looks. Connie believes her mother does this because her own looks have faded. Connie has an older sister‚ June. June is constantly
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Where are you Going‚ Where have you been? Is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story involves a 15 year old girl named Connie that is rebelling against her mother’s whishes. Connie often rides with her friends to a shopping plaza to hang out and meet other people. One evening while she is out with her friends she leaves with a boy named Eddie. On the way to Eddie’s car she sees a stranger in a convertible that tells her “Gonna get you‚ baby”. Then one Sunday after missing church Connie’s
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The decline of the societal and cultural values during 1960s can be seen through Joyce Carol Oates’‚ “Where are you going‚ Where have you been?” The story‚ which narrates the fatal destiny of fifteen year old Connie‚ shows the rise of a pop-culture/music guided society‚ it also shows the rise of the sexual revolution and the disregard for women‚ and the negligence of parents at the time. In the story the devil is represented by ARNOLD FRIEND‚ who at the end of the story seduces Connie into her own
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Charles Schmid‚ the serial killer that Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? was based on‚ would try to look like Elvis Presley to lure girls to him. Music is a motif that shows up in the story multiple times. Joyce Carol Oates uses music to show Connie’s comfort‚ emotion‚ and the bait that lured Connie to Arnold. First of all‚ Oates uses it to show when Connie feels comfortable. For example‚ “... the music was always in the background‚ like music at a church service‚ it was something to depend
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hadn’t grown up and realized he needed to give it his all in order to survive considering he would never have made it out alive otherwise. Finny struggles to accept how things are considering he lives in his own perfect world. Connie put herself in an adult and more mature world when her mentality was still in a young and innocent state. In Night by Elie Wiesel ‚ Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates‚ and A Separate
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Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been? Innocent‚ young‚ naïve; this is how Connie was at her age of fifteen. She liked the attention boys gave her and how it made her feel. A man named Arnold Friend‚ whose much older than her‚ has stalked Connie and wants to convince her to go for a ride in his car. Connie doesn’t notice the man’s older features and this causes her young mind to contemplate going with Arnold in his car. Connie is more conflicted with herself‚ she battles to make the right choices
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In the short story Where Are you Going Where Have You been‚the main character Connie is very promiscuous and struggles with finding herself. Joyce Carol Oates takes the reader on a journey of teen rebellion turned tragic and uses Connie to show that becoming independent is not easy. Throughout the story you can interpret that Connie felt vulnerable and neglected by her family and friends. Her mother always talked about how she should be more like her older sister‚ Jane “she was so plain and chunky
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The story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates shows the reader the self-created illusion that the main character Connie has created in order to better understand herself. Connie’s reality is altered as she has this dream that has manifested due to her desire for attention from others. Throughout the story there are many occurrences that support the idea that the entire story is a dream that was made up by Connie’s subconscious. Throughout the story‚ Arnold mentions many
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In “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” the author uses clothes as a symbol to reveal our protagonist and antagonist individualities. Connie who is our protagonist is a fifteen-year-old girl who has the habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors. Connie wears a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she is home and another way when she is away‚ in where she wears shorts. In the text‚ it states that “They must have been familiar sights walking around the shopping plaza in their
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Assignment: Reading Journal 2 Course: ENG 1120(F) Literature and Composition 1 As I read the story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”‚ I noticed that there are two stories taking place that would lead me to anticipate different future events. From the beginning of the story‚ the main character‚ Connie‚ shows to be a lazy‚ stylish girl who is trying‚ unlike her sister June‚ to be independent of family life in favor of breaking through sexual maturity and independence. Knowing about
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