When the character, Arnold Friend, was introduced I did not expect that he would play the role of the enemy in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” When he arrives at Connie’s home, I began to question my hypothesis. Similarly, Connie’s view of the mysterious man is reformed as Arnold’s true nature is revealed. The realization begins when he discloses all the information he knows about Connie and the whereabouts of her family. This is when I, the reader, and the character begin to suspect that Arnold is not a respectable guy. She then notices his eerily pale skin, aged appearance, unsettling remarks, and seemingly stuffed shoes. These suspicions were confirmed once he spoke of his intentions.…
The metaphors Charlotte makes for her mother and Miss Hancock are very accurate. Charlotte compares her mother to a “white picket fence” with “thorny bushes and barbed wire” on the other side (72). Charlotte’s mother is a very beautiful person on the outside. She has great hair and a great figure, but deep down she is not that good of a person. She is a very emotionless and stern woman. In the last few paragraphs of the novel she tells Charlotte that Miss Hancock’s death was her own fault. On the other hand, Miss Hancock is compared to a cake. The cake “was frosted by someone unschooled in the art of cake decoration” but the inside of the cake “was rich and soft and very delicious” (80). Miss Hancock looks quite unattractive on the outside because of her age, clothing, and excessive amounts of makeup, but she is a great person. Her students all really care for her and even decides to get her a trophy. She teaches with great enthusiasm and use a lot of emotion. She is also more of a mother to Charlotte than her actual mother is. Charlotte’s metaphors tells us much about the truths of these two characters.…
But that does not take away from the story. The 1960’s basic town setting helps the story unfold. In the 1960’s women were not treated as equally as men. They had less power than the men. Arnold Friend proves this when he expects Connie to listen to him when he tells her what to do. Just like the other women in the 1960’s Connie did not want to listen to the men. The smaller town setting made it easier for Arnold friend to find Connie and know exactly what she was doing, along with her family as well. Along with the setting, the third person limited omniscient point of view directs the reader to feel sympathy for Connie. The point of view allows the reader to see Arnold Friend and the situations from Connie’s perspective. If the story was told in a different point of view the reader may get a complete contrasting outcome opinion. The setting and the point of view play together to pus…
She was her own person and was nothing like her sister June; she’d only wished her mother would see that. Connie mostly kept to herself while at home and often listened to music; listening to rock music was Connie’s way of escaping from the real world into her fantasy world. It set her at ease rather than listening to all the bickering and nagging. While out with friends her persona was totally different; Connie was very gregarious, “she had a high, breathless, amused voice” (Oates 200). Connie’s father on the other hand, was a workaholic, mostly absent; he never really did tell Connie what to do. Being that Connie’s mother always compared her to her sister she felt worthless; but when she went out, she felt a sense of belonging and worthiness. Connie became rebellious; while going to the “movies” with her friends, she was really going to the drive-in where the older kids hung out. Her appearance changed when her parents weren’t around. Clothes would be changed or modified. For example, when Connie would leave her house with her friends, she would be dressed appropriately in a pull over jersey; but when she would be out, where there were no parents around, the jersey became shorter than normal being brought up…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is a chilling tale of rape and murder with a plot to create suspense. On a symbolic level it becomes a metaphor for simplicity and innocence. Oates’ use of literal and figurative, psychological and allegorical levels makes this story a powerful and fascinating story. One contributing factor to this story’s power is her depiction of the two main characters’ double identities. Connie is one way at home and a totally different person when out with her friends. Arnold dresses younger, stuff his boots to make himself appear taller, all to present himself as a younger man and hide the devil that lies within…
Furthermore, Connie had very little respect for her parents. She would disobey her mother more than her father, for he spent all his time at work. Connie's mother would ask her to do simple tasks, such as carrying herself in a specific way, keeping her room clean, and going particular places with the family. For example, here's a line from the text when her mother asks her to obey her wishes: "Why don't you keep your room clean like your sister? How've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks?…
Connie was a young, fifteen-year-old, attractive girl who worked hard to show the appearance of being mature. She created a personality through expressing…
Connie’s two-sided personality is split between when she is at home or with her family and when she is anywhere but home. While she is at home, she lives her reality. That reality is that she is still very young. “Her walk which is very childlike sometimes or languid as though she was listening to music; her mouth was pale and smirking most of the time, or bright pink with lipstick while she was out with her girlfriends; and even her laugh, which was very sarcastic at home, but high pitched and nervous sounding when she was with her friends or around boys…” (Oates). As you can tell, Connie works hard to perfect her second personality which is presenting herself as an experienced and mature woman when it comes to men. She escapes to this fantasy that is this sexy attractive woman through her hair style, clothes, and the way that she acts.…
In conclusion, Oates utilizes Connie’s setting to create a deeper meaning behind what would be a simple story. The setting encourages the reader to look past the surface meaning, and realize the motivation behind Connie’s actions. The descriptive language paints a clear and vivid image that not only provides a strong tone but also pertinent information to the…
The second paragraph also uses psychological analysis to show why Connie is an unreliable narrator because of her sense of entitlement.…
Easterly’s article takes the approach in dealing with ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’ to be somewhat of a mythical with underlying evil tone. The story of an attractive adolescent girl left all alone at home while her family is absent is swayed into forsaking the safety of her home by this eccentric yet fascinating character named Arnold Friend. Easterly appears torn concerning the antagonist’s identity…
Oates uses music as Connie’s bridge from the real world into her fantasy world. Throughout the story Oates shows the importance of music in Connie’s life. Connie often listens to music and daydreams about boys. All of her ideas about boys come from the music she listens to. Connie thinks about one of the boys she went out with and feels as though the kind of love they had was the way it is promised in music (Oates 293). The songs she listens to give her everything she knows about romance. When Connie and her girl friend go out for the night Connie meets a boy named Eddie. During her hangout with Eddie, Oates writes that “…her face was gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; it might have been the music” (Oates…
“[Connie] had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right.” (1) In the story “Where are you going, where have you been?” the author Joyce Carol Oates, deliberately shows us the level of innocence of the protagonist Connie, as well as the similar features an inexperienced young girl who lived in 1966 compares to those of a young girl who is raised in our era. Young teenage girls in 1966 are no different than those now in 2018, as one day I too was a teenage girl myself, who cared a lot about how would see me.…
There are two main symbols the author uses to convey the central theme of this story, Connie and Arnold Friend. Connie is symbolic of young girls who try to rush and grow up too fast - The ones who want to be popular with the boys and gain more freedom. The girls that wear provocative clothing…
Connie’s clothes and obsession with her own beauty symbolize her lack of maturity or knowing her true self, which in the end enables her to be manipulated by Arnold Friend. Connie was smitten with her own beauty; in the beginning of the story Oates states that Connie “knew she was pretty and that was everything” (626). This captivation with herself along with the constant looking in the mirrors and thinking her mother was only pestering her all the time because her mother’s own good looks were long gone by now, shows a sign of immaturity because she believes everything revolves around whether or not someone is beautiful. Connie had two sides to her, which is most personified in her clothing and the way she makes it look one way at home and a different way when she is out. Everything about her had one side for home and one side for public, from the way she walked to…