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Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates: Summary

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Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates: Summary
Debrionna Mulhall
Jennifer Schaller
English 1102 Sec. 53
10 October 2014
Peeling Back The Label “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. This popular short story made its debut in 1966. Dependent upon the interpreter, this short story may seem to be based upon many different themes, although my goal is to focus on analyzing the author’s use of stylistic devices such as a recognizable setting, and symbolism that Oates has effectively implemented in this story to convey the most important theme, which is maturity and coming of age. Oates uses many symbolic devices such as; words/thoughts, relationships amongst characters, and even objects to effectively symbolize Connie’s coming of age adventure. …show more content…
Throughout the story the author conveys Connie’s relationships with her immediate family members as being relationships that are dysfunctional, especially the relationship between Connie and her mother. "Why don 't you keep your room clean like your sister? How 've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks? Hairspray? You don 't see your sister using that junk." (Oates 1). The constant comparison the mother makes between Connie and her sister June, is symbolic of Connie not yet having an identity of her own. I don’t think her mother is aware of the negative effect that the comparison will ultimately have on Connie, but without a doubt, all the comparison does is make Connie more rebellious and defiant against her mother’s wishes. These comparisons also motivate Connie to quickly become her own person. Connie’s relationship with her father is also portrayed as being a negative relationship. He is explained as the type of father who goes to work every day and comes home to eat and go to sleep. Connie didn 't seem to have a lot of attention from her father, which may have been what was encouraging her to find male attention somewhere else. Does this have an effect on the
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