Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
Joyce Carol Oates’ story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” includes several aspects that could easily be analyzed and interpreted in different ways. One of the most important and perhaps more obvious aspects is Oates’ character Connie. Connie’s home life, safe place, and epiphany moment are all key components to understanding the story and its meaning. Connie’s home life is the first angle that is important to the story. Fifteen- year- old Connie is a rebellious teen who does not get along with her family. Readers are able to see this when Oates states, “He didn’t bother talking much to them, but around his bent head Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over” (308). Her demeanor is apparent throughout the story as she is a typical teenage girl who has no worries in the world and in a sense is clueless about the real world. This is important because it allows readers to understand her character’s personality and actions throughout the story. …show more content…
Connie and her friends go to the restaurant whenever they hang out and it somewhat symbolizes a safe zone for Connie away from her family and the evils in the world. Along with the drive-in, music is also a very important piece to understanding the purpose of the story. Oates writes, “the music was always in the background like music at a church service, it was something to depend on” (309). When she says it was something to depend on it is as though the music was a constant in Connie’s life. Connie used music as a sense of escape from everything almost as though it was a ritual or spiritual experience for her and her
Connie's Insecurities
1092 Words | 5 PagesConnie is insecure and hyper-aware of herself and how others perceive her. Considering the fact that Connie is unhappy about aspects of herself, she judges other people to make herself feel better. According to Oates, “They would lean together to whisper and laugh secretly if someone passed who amused or interested them.” (Oates 1). This passage reveals Connie’s judgemental nature.
Victimization In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
765 Words | 4 PagesEarlier in the story, it is noted the guy has been seen glancing peeks and attempting to strike up a conversation with Connie. In this section, Oates is showing the outcome of an intentional action planned by predators altering their appearance to capture their prey. It analyzes masculinity and hostility. At first, Connie is enticed by the mysterious men who appear at her doorstep. Arnold, being older, captivates Connie’s teenage heart so that he will sweep her off the ground away from her sickening family.
Connie In Joyce Carol Oates's The Metamorphosis
1417 Words | 6 PagesConnie in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” desperately wants to be independent from her family, while Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” pathetically yearns for inclusion. In this story, Oates pays special attention to the mother-daughter relationship and the lack of meaningful communication between them. Connie's mother is an image of the future Connie doesn't want – the life of a domestic housewife. Connie has a love-hate relationship with her mother, with whom she identifies, but at the same time she has to distance herself from her mother in order to establish her independence. On the other hand, The Metamorphosis, a story by Franz Kafka, is about a man who has been transformed into a giant beetle
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Comparison
1203 Words | 5 PagesIn “The Flowers”, Alice Walker explores the woods through the eyes of a little girl named Myop, but she soon realizes the world isn’t as nice as flowers. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Joyce Carol Oates follows a young girl named Connie who is focused on others and her own appearance, until she is introduced to the world in a unexpected way. Both Walker and Oates use young girls to show the harsher sides of the world and how their childhood changes to adulthood in different ways. The main thing that Myop and Connie have in common is that they are both females, but their looks and the way the live are totally different.
The Theme Of Ignorance In Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Been?'
1399 Words | 6 PagesThat also made her become more vulnerable to the real dangers and the evilness that exists in the world. That danger was represented by an old man who pretends to be an eighteen year old boy that seduced and kidnaped Connie. The end of the story Joyce Carol Oates leaves it open to the readers, because that way it makes the reader think of what might have happened, whether she got raped or whether she is killed, after the main character leaves with the antagonist of the story. Oates shows that ignorance, narcissism and the lack of
Archetypes In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
1428 Words | 6 PagesHome is where the heart is, but what if home is no longer safe? Joyce Carol Oates explores this concept in her 1966 short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. On surface level, this story appears to discuss a rebellious young girl named Connie and her confrontation with Arnold Friend, a stalker. The ending leaves the reader to assume that Arnold Friend plans to sexually assault the young girl.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Allusion Essay
564 Words | 3 PagesConnie had a side hidden away from her family. When home she had a “childlike and bobbing walk”( Oates 1) but away from home her walk was “languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head”. The moral standards and self interpretation of Oates character Connie stems from how her parents treat
Literary Devices In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
804 Words | 4 PagesIn 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.
Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
1203 Words | 5 Pages(Oates 12), which means that Connie falls asleep after her family left. Then right in the same paragraph, Oates also tells us that “when [Connie] opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was... She shook her head as if to get awake.” This line shows that Connie is at the start of her dream because the only time we don’t know a place is when we is
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis
657 Words | 3 PagesThe short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates can be interpreted in a multitude of ways due to its ambiguity. A psychological lens, however, provides the most accurate viewpoint for analyzing the story as it clarifies certain obscure scenes and actions of Connie. One psychological issue of Connie that is easily inferred from the beginning of the story is her insecurity about her looks. Connie constantly worries about the way that she looks and takes any opportunity to do so, “craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (1).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Analysis
817 Words | 4 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl, who does not necessarily get along with her family. During the week, she often times goes to a shopping plaza with some of her friends. However, they sneak across the highway to go to a popular diner where the older crowd hangs out at. At home, Connie is often times arguing with her family. One day her family is invited to her aunt's barbecue but Connie refuses to go.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme Essay
1040 Words | 5 PagesJoyce Carol Oates dedicated “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” to Bob Dylan, the story was influenced by Dylan’s haunting song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” Many aspects of Bob Dylan are mirrored is the character Arnold Friend. Author considered them as a physical double; In the 1960s, people had an idea of Dylan being otherworldly or messiah person. However; Arnold Friend was a darker version of this type of figure.
Analysis Of Connie In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
1415 Words | 6 Pages“But now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.” (Oates ). Also, there is another opportunity for friendship within the family, between Connie and her sister, however, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility. “Her sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters.” ( ).
Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'
984 Words | 4 PagesConnie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis
694 Words | 3 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main protagonist finds herself in a very hostile situation. With an all most fateful encounter with a man known as Arnold Friend. Forcing her to choose whether to run off with him or taking her by force. This man known as Arnold Friend to the reader comes off as almost a demon. A person who uses many temptations, word play, and threats to take advantage of the young protagonist Connie.
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