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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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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Teenagers in general are often stereotyped into one general category: unruly‚ uncaring‚ and self-absorbed. In the short story “Where are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates plays on this stereotype. She uses imagery and point of view to direct the reader’s attention to the teenage girl psyche‚ selfish‚ whimsical‚ and longing for attention and affection‚ and how this stereotypical psyche can be distorted and controlled. The protagonist of the story‚ Connie‚ is a vain‚ “typical”
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In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates‚ Connie’s house illustrates irony because of the changes that occur in Connie’s behavior towards her mom throughout the story. At the beginning of the story‚ Connie epitomizes a normal teenager’s feeling towards her parents‚ especially feelings towards her mother when at home. “Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over‚” (492). With
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“Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story that brings many girl’s nightmares to life. The story is one about a young‚ naïve girl named Connie‚ and her deranged abductor‚ Arnold Friend. Oates uses the setting in Connie’s life to create a very realistic situation. Oates also uses descriptive language to create vivid images of the setting‚ charters‚ and the emotions Connie feels. By analyzing Connie’s home setting and the descriptive language Oates uses‚ we will
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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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In the short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been‚” Joyce Carol Oats uses characterization including methods such as symbolism and allusions to develop her characters‚ and thus establish her theme of the cross roads Connie faces in her transition from the innocence of her adolescence to the impurity of adulthood facilitated by the antagonist‚ Arnold Friend. From the beginning of the story‚ the reader sees Connie has a strong desire to make her early transition into adulthood. Although
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Where are you going‚ Where have you been? This is a horrifying and haunting story that shows a girl who resulted in an awful situation. She rejects the role of being a daughter‚ sister‚ and a nice girl to refine her sexual personality. She has an obsession with her looks‚ loves to hang out with her friends and flirts with boys older than her. This award directly goes to Connie which is the main character of the book called‚ “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol. Connie is
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Hurst 1 Allison Hurst Professor Ben Mayo English Comp II 30 April 2011 Analysis of “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates In 1966‚ Joyce Carol Oates published her short story “Where Are You Going‚ Where Have You Been?”. Oates was inspired to write this story after reading about a serial killer that was referred to as “The Pied Piper of Tucson”. Oates was disturbed by the number of teenagers that this killer was able to persuade to help him and keep his secrets
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