Do not knock on the devil’s door‚ for he is bound to answer. Unfortunately this is exactly what happens to Connie‚ the main character in the short-story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates. In the story‚ fifteen year old Connie is like any other teenage girl. She is vain‚ unkind to her parents‚ and desperate to grow up. Connie makes rebellious decisions such as sneaking across the highway to a drive-in restaurant for older kids‚ experimenting with sex‚ and lying
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“You can’t change who you are. No matter how you struggle‚ some things will never change. And maybe they shouldn’t” (Thurman‚ Rob). “Identity is a powerful organizing presence in social life today” putting people into sections concerning likes and dislikes‚ culture and customs‚ separates them via social‚ economic and religious differences‚ identity makes a person‚ a person (Leve‚ Lauren). The character regarding one’s self is shaped by identity‚ how they view themselves‚ and largely how society
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Superficial‚ Intimate Teens "Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates catapults its reader into a seductive‚ fifteen-year-old mindset‚ embodied by the main character‚ the rebellious Connie. Connie‚ much like Sammy‚ the main character from "A & P" by John Updike‚ is on the prowl for companionship and sex. Their unsuccessful search for intimacy‚ appreciation for family life‚ and superficial attitudes are what bring them together as similar characters but also what makes them different
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Joyce Carol Oates’s short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” focuses on the seemingly typical life of a teenage girl‚ Connie. The character irony is found in the fact that a teenage girl in the 1960’s struggled with the same issues teenagers battle with in present society. Connie‚ the main character‚ fights with her parents‚ does not want to be like her older sister‚ and thinks very highly of herself. As a teenage girl typically believes‚ Connie imagines she is the center of attention
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The Fantasy of Life In the novels The Great Gatsby and "Where Are You Going and Where Have You Been" authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Joyce Carol Oates show a theme of fantasy versus reality to convey a deeper meaning within their novels. They express this theme using characters such as Gatsby‚ Connie‚ Daisy and Arnold Friend within the stories. Through these characters lives and experiences the theme is created connecting both stories. The theme of fantasy versus reality is used to a great extent
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The story “Where are you going‚ where have you been?”‚ written by Joyce Carol Oates‚ is a psychological thriller. It contains many elements throughout the story that the reader can only attempt to understand. This story can affect one on many different levels. It can cause one to be lost in thought‚ stuck on the complexity of the 15-year-old main character. It can forever creep one out by the unforgettable traits of the main antagonist. All the while employing many hidden meanings into the story
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Maddie Kramber 8 April 2016 Dual Credit English Per. 3B “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”: The Search For Self Still to this day in our lives‚ we struggle to figure out who we are‚ and what we are put here on Earth to do. In our society today‚ we have trouble with searching with who we are. In the short story‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?‚” by Joyce Carol Oates‚ the author’s background as well as her usage of characterization and internal conflict‚ develop the theme of identity
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what is left of it‚ in "Where Are You Going‚ Where have You Been?" With symbolic imagery‚ major bibliomancy‚ and extreme personal conflict Oates easily manages to get her point across of the complete loss of innocence. A constant image that is brought to the reader’s creative thoughts is colors. The “convertible jalopy painted gold” (Lit 326) when Connie was with Eddie‚ the “open jalopy‚ painted a bright gold that caught the sunlight opaquely” (Lit 327) when Arnold Friend was barely arriving‚ and
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not home”(1369)‚ this character‚ Connie‚ in “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates‚ is depicted as a self-centered‚ condescending‚ insecure fifteen year old girl growing into a woman. Connie comes off as a troubled young girl who consistently uses her sexuality for attention but at the same time is afraid of intimacy. This is said be due to her fractured relationships with her family; her frequent excursions with older boys that appeared to not have any interest after the
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Connie’s fantasies and reality. “Where are you going‚ where have you been.”‚ leaves us with the question can we handle such a change? Good and evil‚ yin and yang‚ the idea of everything and everyone having two opposite sides has been talked about by humans for centuries and that’s just what Oats is commenting on throughout the story starting with the main character Connie. An average teenage girl living in a limbo of two worlds
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