Archetypes In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
Home 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. However, looking beyond what is initially shown, a new context can adhered to the plot. Carl Jung’s theory of archetypal patterns delves into the human psyche by analyzing its parts. According to Jung, the human mind is split into three different parts; the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious- which can be split into many different archetypes that impact personality (McLeod). Oates uses archetypes and symbolism to show the battle of a young girl trying make her own home and identity in a world that …show more content…
Music is the most significant of symbols in Oates short story to the point that it is dedicated to Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was a popular singer of the 1960’s and many of his songs spoke out in favor of the civil rights movement and anti-war movement, perhaps Oates felt inspired by his work when she created this story. Considered a window to the soul, music plays a large role as the backdrop of the story. Throughout the entire story, the type of music and the songs playing are listed such as at the dinner and Bobby King’s radio station playing in Arnold Friend’s car. These types of music are conflicting as the music in the dinner is described as “background music like music at a church service” and the station in Arnold’s car is “hard, fast, shrieking songs” (pg 1056-1058). Again, the reader sees traditional values placed against changing times, reinforcing Connie’s internal struggle to define
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
702 Words | 3 Pages"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a short story filled with ideas of vanity and judgment through references of music and the Bible. The main character, Connie, is a vain teenage girl in the 1960s who spends her days exploiting her beauty to fulfill her personal desires. Joyce Carol Oates uses the symbols of Arnold Friend, music, and the deceit of appearances to develop the allegory of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Oates uses several symbols through her characters, such as Arnold Friend, to create a religious allegory about the temptation of the devil.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary
983 Words | 4 Pages“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, written by Joyce Carol Oates, is a short story that takes place in a 1960’s American suburb where tight jeans and slicked back hair is the popular style. The story takes place around a young fifteen year old girl, Connie, who has family issues and enjoys going out with her friends whether it be to the mall, movies, or drive-in restaurant. At the restaurant, Connie is noticed by a man with an odd car who later finds her alone at her house and seductively forces her to come with him and leave her family. This short story demonstrates an allegory. While on the surface it seems to be just a story of a vain girl who is “voluntarily abducted”, it actually represents the temptation of death (Oats 1).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
658 Words | 3 PagesJoyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” focuses on how the character Arnold Friend actually defies the common archetype of enemy and instead acts as a savior, rescuing Connie from her misery. Connie, a fifteen year old girl, frequently goes out with her friends to escape from her family. One day when her parents are gone, a man, Arnold Friend, appears in her driveway requesting that she goes with him for a ride. She is persistent in staying at home, but eventually gives into him and goes with him because Connie’s life at home is not great. Her mother is always complaining about Connie’s actions and one day “Connie’s mother kept picking on her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Devices
1210 Words | 5 PagesWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oats is a short story that is based on a true event that happened in the 1960’s. The allegory came from the man named Charles Schmid, who was a serial killer in which he was known for his ability to get the girls to fall for him. As for the story, Connie, the protagonist, wants to grow up and live in a fast pace and experience adulthood. She soon meets up with a guy named Arnold Friend, the antagonist, who is in search of finding someone to kill or looking for another innocent soul to take. In terms of the story, the author uses a type of writing that differentiates what is reality versus fantasy by using the literary devices of symbolism of Arnold Friend, setting of the music Connie
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
670 Words | 3 PagesConnie's choice of life style and attitude shows her lack of morals. Connie constantly has conflicts with her family. She is beginning to break away from them. Because the mother is jealous, she likes to put Connie's self esteem down: " Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you?
Arnold Friend's Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'
982 Words | 4 Pages“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Essay Since it’s publication in 1966, Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the character Arnold Friend has caught the attention of many critics and readers. Connie is a fifteen year old girl who has an encounter with Friend while she is home alone one summer afternoon.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Internal Events
691 Words | 3 PagesIn her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates gives the internal events of her short story the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. This is accomplished by providing the thoughts of Connie to the reader; showing the effects of the setting on Connie; and Connie’s final realization of her fate. She connects this to the idea that Arnold Friend is the demonic adversary who convinces Connie to cross the threshold into adulthood and lose her innocence by shear persuasion and threatening undertones.
Arnold Friend Symbolism
1290 Words | 6 PagesJoyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” expresses the dream of all teenagers, to grow up quickly. Throughout the story Connie’s wish to transition from childhood to maturity is juxtaposed; in the beginning she yearns to be older, but as the story progresses and she is forced to grow up, she crumbles. Unable to know who she truly is, Connie’s innocence slowly diminishes once she unveils Arnold Friend’s true, uncanny personality, leading Connie from the safety of her childhood to the unknowns of the real world showing the innocence of kids is lost before they are ready. Symbolism and setting in the story intertwine to portray both Connie’s desired and forced transition through various locations. Note that in
Joyce Carol Oate's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'
1114 Words | 5 PagesReligion and temptation of a forbidden object is a major theme in Joyce Carol Oate’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. The story features Connie, a pretty 15-year-old girl who is given the opportunity to go on a date with Arnold Friend, who is described as being a mysterious man of 30 years of age or older. While this first excites Connie, she becomes increasingly hesitant as to whether or not going with Friend is a good idea as she starts to notice flaws in his character. Arnold Friend takes the form of a devil-like character and displays both physical and mental characteristics of this biblical creature. Friend makes multiple references to numbers and symbols that would give up his identity, and each time he makes these references
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Symbolism
1311 Words | 6 PagesJoyce Carol Oates is a famous American writer. Oates has published numerous plays, poetry, novels, novellas, and volumes of short stories. One of her most controversial short stories is, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, because of one of her main characters, Arnold Friend. In her story, Arnold Friend can be portrayed as a negative entity, but Oates does not explain when she is asked about it. Arnold Friend can be seen as a demonic figure in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, because of the way he looks, the way he interacts with Connie, and the symbolism in the story.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
1135 Words | 5 PagesRochelly Mojica Professor Hearst English 102.0859 8 November 2017 The Devil In Disguise: In Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates takes everyday life situations and turns them into something much more realistic, by showing the dark and uncut version through her writing. She was an author born in Lockport, New York, who developed a passion for writing.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Allusion Essay
564 Words | 3 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates story, “Where are You Going, Where have You Been,” Oates sets up biblical references to the settings to allow the reader to connect the characters to biblical figures. The first major setting for biblical innuendos is the drive-in restaurant. Oates describes the restaurant as “a big bottle, through squatter than a real bottle, and on its cap was a revolving figure of a grinning boy holding a hamburger a loft” (Oates 1) which first establishes the biblical allusions. The revolving figure at top the drive-in restaurant is an allusion to the stepal atop a church. “Their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building that loomed up out of the night to give them what haven and blessing they yearned for”(Oates 1) Oates uses the restaurant as a place of peace and escape for Connie from a demanding mother, much like a church is an escape for sinners.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme Essay
1040 Words | 5 PagesIn the story, Arnold came to take Connie away, and she is ultimately powerless to defy him. Oates’s recreation of Bob Dylan is purposeful, and meaningful particularly during the time period in which it takes place. In the 1960s, when Oates wrote “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” a social revolution was happening. American women were stating with confidence about their rights and getting independence from men.
Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'
984 Words | 4 Pages“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.
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
1122 Words | 5 PagesJoyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where are You Going, Where Have you been” represents this time in American history through the use of a symbolism. The reoccurrence of music and its influence on Connie, the main character in the story, symbolize the demoralization of American society. The beginning of the story introduces Connie’s view on sexuality, showing how traditional ideas of sex have changed. When
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