There are many dangerous things in this world, and most people would never recognize them. Anyone can be dangerous, yet they would look so normal to the world. “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been” shows that exact thing. There are many threatening figures in the short story, and most people do not recognize them until they are right in their face. The symbols are the only thing that would show the danger’s true self. In the story “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been,” symbolism is one of the main literary elements used to reveal the ugly in the word. As Connie is an innocent child, she does not recognize all of the dangers that are in the world. There are points in the story where Connie does not comprehend the threats that are all around her. “Connie said she would meet her at eleven, across the way. "I just hate to leave her like that," Connie said earnestly, but the boy said that she wouldn't be alone for long.” (Carol Oates …show more content…
After the night Connie went out with her friends, and the night that Arnold Friend called after Connie, he showed up unexpected at Connie’s house. “Connie blushed a little, because the glasses made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldn't decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk, and so she dawdled in the doorway and wouldn't come down or go back inside.” (Carol Oates 3). Connie was still blind to how unsafe Arnold Friend was that she was blushing to little things that he would say to her, and that made Arnold even more infatuated with her. Arnold said, “You're cute.", and Connie would blushed and fidgeted with her fingers. "Don'tcha wanta see what's on the car? Don'tcha wanta go for a ride?" (Carol Oates 3). Arnold tried to convince Connie to go with him. He wanted to take her away, and that is where Connie finally realized of the terrible predicament that she was
by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie's youth and naivete are juxtaposed with Arnold Friend's threat, creating a conflict between innocence and experience. From the novel's beginning, Connie is presented as a self-absorbed, naive adolescent girl who wants to be recognized by males. However, as the narrative continues, it becomes abundantly evident that Arnold Friend is no average adolescent. Arnold Friend gives off the impression that he is a force for evil due to his enigmatic appearance in a gold convertible, frequent allusions to the devil, and overstated age (′′he was thirty-five or something). Oates creates a sharp contrast between Arnold Friend's experience and Connie's naivety with this
From these mass media, we learn; we dream; we think. This is the same as what Connie does in the story. On the other hand, we as dependent children will try to get rid of our family constraints. We want to be independent just like the way she does. Therefore, Connie is sharing the same experience with us.
Finally, Oates uses irony when Connie tells Arnold that he is "crazy"(72) and he responds by saying that she is the one who is "crazy"(72). This is ironic because it is clear to the reader that Arnold is the one who is truly unstable. Overall, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a work of fiction that employs several different rhetorical devices to create a haunting
According to McCabe and Wauchope “The most common type of relationship was that of a stranger, with 55/130 or 42% of rapist selecting a stranger as their victim” (239). While some psychopathic serial rapists may pick someone close to them or someone they know, that is not the case with Arnold Friend. In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates uses Arnold Friend’s stalker tendencies, use of Connie’s weaknesses, and deceiving looks to allow us to view Friend as a psychopathic serial rapist who has committed similar prior crimes. Throughout the story, Connie wants to grow up so quickly and have the attention that she thinks she wants but in reality it is nothing she could ever imagine and by doing this Oates shows
If Arnold had “found out all about [her]” like he says, he would know about her daydreams and need for an escape (Oates 5). This is the perfect way for Arnold to take her away because he knows she does want to leave. In conclusion, Connie wants to escape away from her neglecting family as she is always daydreaming and entering a different reality. Arnold provides for this escape by taking her away but she is torn with this decision as she still loves her family no matter what the circumstances. She does not want to make this decision but is forced to therefore making her
One day while she was home alone, a man named Arnold Friend showed up at her door. He wanted to take her out for a ride and go on a date. Connie was cautious around him due to how old he looked and his sexual remarks towards her. Strange things began to happen and she eventually left with Arnold Friend. The story does not give a clear explanation as to what happened to Connie, but it was not a good thing.
And high heels” (Oates 71-71). At this point, in the short story, it is apparent that Arnold Friend is not an average person. Nobody can see exactly what everyone is doing and what they are wearing making it apparent Arnold is not a friend at all but a monster. The author also gives Arnold Friend the ability to alter one's thought process through music and his words. When Connie is around Arnold she felt “a wave of dizziness rise in her”
She sees the boys who give her attention as subjugations who “dissolve into a single face that was not even a face but an idea” (Oates 675). But soon enough her dreams and music materialize into the shape of Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend is described as a muscular, older, and mysterious character. He seems to be a work of her imagination as he is ultimately an idea she created that would fit into her perfect fantasy world. Connie is defenseless to Arnold Friend’s manipulations mainly because she has no visible identity of her own.
In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.
He mysteriously knows where Connie lives and invites himself to drive over to her house. Arnold assumes Connie’s friendship by convincing her that he knows everything and everybody, “I know your name and all about you” (Oates 201) when she never told him her name in the first place. He knew her friends, their names as well as what she did the night before. He also knew exactly where Connie’s family was, at a BBQ at Connie’s aunt Tille’s.
In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.
Throughout the story, there are many instances: the illogical time and settings, the similarity between Arnold and Connie and the unrealistic events show that the meeting between Connie and Arnold Friend is a dream. The dream is also a preparation for Connie before she steps onto the stage of being an adult. Connie’s dream begins when she refuses to go to her aunt’s house for barbecue party. She stays home, and under the warmness of the sun, she begins her day dreaming about love and the boy she has met the night before. In the beginning, the author writes “Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun…”
This interpretation of the story explains how Connie simply fell prey to the common theme of men acting as predators in society. Therefore, Connie had no say in her fate, so she just decided to go quietly with him. However, this theory completely disregards the psychological disorders that Connie has. Connie did not go quietly with Arnold because he was a dominating male. Instead, Connie left due to her numerous unconscious mental problems.
Reluctantly, her parents allow her to stay home alone. A few hours later, a familiar gold jalopy pulls up to her house. The driver announces to Connie that his name is Arnold Friend. His unusual physical appearance, his tone of voice, and what he may symbolize frighten the Connie.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is about a teenager named Connie who is trying to come to terms with her transformation from childhood to adulthood. Through this process, Connie attempts to act older than she is an tries to gain the attention of boys. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as obsessed with men to symbolize how one’s obsession and narcissistic attitude can cause danger to seem surreal. In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.