‘’Where Are You Going Where Have You Been”
INTRODUCTION:
“Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol, showcases the inevitable effects of youthful exuberance in a teenage girl. The story is a compelling tale which unveils the vulnerability of Connie, a young teenage girl who could barely substantiate fantasy from reality. She prides herself as a pretty girl who understands the basic principles of life. Her encounter with Arnold Friend reveals her as someone who lacks the mental ability to make meaningful decisions and accurate when necessary. Her desire for attention and frivolities facilitates in subjecting her as a victim of a wicked and complex world. She is obsessed with her beauty; her desire for boys and attention makes her pride herself as a “paragon of beauty”. She finds a great deal of pleasure in sexuality, listening to music and hanging out with friends (boys). Her sense of immaturity and inexperience reflects through her ugly ordeal with Arnold Friend, a young man who is twice her age. He takes advantage of her and inflicts her with profound terror. He succeeds in subjecting her to unbearable pains and agony. His intimidation and humiliation enables Connie’s understanding that “the world is not a bed of roses”; Arnold subjects her to learn her lesson the hard way.
PLOT SUMMERY: Connie at fifteen lives with her parents and elder sister in a family house surrounded by vast farm land which stretches down the country side. She preoccupies her mind with the fantasies of nature; she is obsessed with her beauty and prides her ego. Her mother scolds her to be modest and responsible as her elder sister June, but Connie refuses to make amends. The frustration of being yelled at by her mother makes her sick and angry; she wished she and her mother were dead. Her father works so hard and rarely speaks to them; he plays no role in scolding
“Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol, showcases the inevitable effects of youthful exuberance in a teenage girl. The story is a compelling tale which unveils the vulnerability of Connie, a young teenage girl who could barely substantiate fantasy from reality. She prides herself as a pretty girl who understands the basic principles of life. Her encounter with Arnold Friend reveals her as someone who lacks the mental ability to make meaningful decisions and accurate when necessary. Her desire for attention and frivolities facilitates in subjecting her as a victim of a wicked and complex world. She is obsessed with her beauty; her desire for boys and attention makes her pride herself as a “paragon of beauty”. She finds a great deal of pleasure in sexuality, listening to music and hanging out with friends (boys). Her sense of immaturity and inexperience reflects through her ugly ordeal with Arnold Friend, a young man who is twice her age. He takes advantage of her and inflicts her with profound terror. He succeeds in subjecting her to unbearable pains and agony. His intimidation and humiliation enables Connie’s understanding that “the world is not a bed of roses”; Arnold subjects her to learn her lesson the hard way.
PLOT SUMMERY: Connie at fifteen lives with her parents and elder sister in a family house surrounded by vast farm land which stretches down the country side. She preoccupies her mind with the fantasies of nature; she is obsessed with her beauty and prides her ego. Her mother scolds her to be modest and responsible as her elder sister June, but Connie refuses to make amends. The frustration of being yelled at by her mother makes her sick and angry; she wished she and her mother were dead. Her father works so hard and rarely speaks to them; he plays no role in scolding