Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
In Joyce Carol Oates’ highly acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates tells the story of a fictional adolescent girl named Connie that has a run in with pure evil itself in the shape of a man named Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend, a man dressed as a boy that she once saw at a drive-in, shows up at Connie’s house one afternoon when her family is away and tells her that if she does not come out of her house and go away and have sex with him then he will kill her whole family. Throughout the story Connie is shown to be an extreme narcissist, constantly staring at herself and basking in her profound beauty. Connie is a typical teenage girl that only seems to care about boys what others think of her but she takes it …show more content…
When Arnold and Ellie first show up at Connie’s house and ask her to take a ride with them it is very much unlike her to be hesitant and even say no. Connie normally feeds off of her interactions with guys and is with a different one every night so for her to reject Arnold’s offer is shocking. At this point in the story Arnold seems to Connie as a normal teenage boy with a flashy car so the reader would think of course Connie would go with him but to the reader’s dismay, she does not. Already in the story the reader has seen a striking change in Connie, she is more apprehensive and aware, contrary to her reckless decisions prior to this encounter. It is inevitable to see that Connie has already begun her transformation into a more aware and mature human being. This change is more than obvious when Arnold confronts her with a decision to save her family’s lives and sacrifice her own and Connie chooses to save the family that she despises. For Connie to save these people that she calls her family and sacrifice her own life that she normally sees as superior to others’ is of utmost importance in perceiving that Connie has undergone a momentous change as a person. Connie goes from wishing her mother dead at the start of the story to exchanging her own life for her’s. Although Connie is perceived as a pretentious brat at the beginning of the story, she undergoes a change in personality, and acts in spite of all her previous beliefs …show more content…
Previous to Connie’s transformation, she despised her family and even wished her own mother dead, but she pushes all her preceding beliefs aside and puts others lives before her own to the absolute dismay of the reader. What would you do if you were in Connie’s
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
658 Words | 3 PagesShe does not get affection from her family, and feels isolated from them. Connie first receives affection from Arnold when he asks her “You wanta come for a ride” (Oates 8). No one has ever offered Connie any affection. Her family looks down on her as the disappointing child and she is just a young girl trying to be loved. Arnold asking her to come for a ride and seeking to spend time with her is the attention she is missing in her daily life.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
677 Words | 3 PagesShe becomes rebellious day by day. She ignores her mother’s criticisms and starts exploring her sexuality by flirting with boys. Because of her oblivious ways, she fails to recognize trouble when Arnold Friend shows up outside her house. Parents are the ones who should warn their child about the dangers in society and protect them from harm. Connie’s fate proves that her mother has terribly failed as a parent.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Scold Friend Character Analysis
1627 Words | 7 PagesConnie, the main character in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a young woman with palpably low self-esteem. This vulnerability allows Arnold Friend, the main antagonist of the story, to successfully attract and manipulate Connie. The story begins by highlighting Connie’s daily rituals of self-assurance (369). In order to feel secure with herself, even for a fleeting moment, Connie looks at herself in a mirror to make sure that she is satisfied with what she sees; this ritual is coupled with her tendency, when in public, to scan the area in order to make sure that no one is making any disgruntled looks about her appearance (369).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
875 Words | 4 PagesConnie does not have any relationship with her father, which allowed her to be vulnerable to older men. Oates describes the father’s character as, “…away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper he went to bed. He didn’t bother talking much to them…” (26). Her parent’s lack of effective communication allowed Connie to seek validation in all the wrong places.
Arnold Friend Symbolism
1290 Words | 6 PagesAt home she had a childlike walk, a pale and smirking mouth, and a cynical laugh; at home Connie was a child. In public, Connie acted like someone different, with a languid walk, bright pink lips and a high-pitched laugh; Connie tried to fit in with the older kids. Based on the way she presents herself, Connie seems to be able to attract guys’ attention and handle any situation with grace. However, just as the confrontation between the two showed Friend’s true character, the confrontation showed Connie’s as well. After her nerves overcame her, Connie reached for the phone to call for help, but all she could hear was a tiny roaring and was “so sick with fear that she could do nothing but listen to it” and then “she cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth into her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with” (13).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character
890 Words | 4 PagesAt first glance, we are made to believe that Connie is a static character through her infuriating naivety and cliché persona. When we delve into the story we see the altruistic and sincere characteristics, which
Abuela Invents The Zero Analysis
859 Words | 4 PagesWhen Abuela first came, "I try to walk far behind them in public so that no one will think we’re together" (Ortiz-Cofer para 4). This shows that Connie doesn 't care about Abuela 's feelings to an extent that she doesn 't even want to be seen with her. This can prove that Connie made her choice to not help Abuela when she lost her way in the church since she was too embarrassed to be seen with Abuela. Connie would have spent time with Abuela if she cared about her feelings. After Connie made her choices, Abuela said, "You made me feel like a zero, like a nothing" (Ortiz-Cofer para 16).
Folktales In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
1391 Words | 6 PagesTo begin with, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the protagonist Connie, is a young pretty girl who is seen as gentle and innocent. She lives a neglected life with her mother always nagging, saying “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed--- what the hell stinks?
Uncanny Elements In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
1079 Words | 5 PagesAnd honey, no matter who you were with last night, today you're with Arnold Friend and don't you forget it! Maybe you better step out here". By writing all of this, the author is able to build a very strong obsessive connection between Connie and
Where You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
1413 Words | 6 PagesConnie’s vanity causes her make terrible choices about Arnold Friend. The Trouble of being notice is blaming yourself if what you deserve is horrible things like getting unwanted attention someday you get what coming to you. In Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where You Going, Where have you Been,” one of the protagonist Connie is a fifteen year old girl who wants to look and act like an arrogant child. She isn’t herself.
Wyb By Joyce Carol Oates Ap Rhetorical Analysis
672 Words | 3 PagesIn the story it states, “Connies mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead” which shows how women tend to think men will make them feel better when really the man is using that power to his advantage. A women’s insecurities can cause them to seek attention from the wrong people which she does with Arnold Friend by communicating with him when she should’ve walked away when she had the chance. In the story it states,”She drew her shoulders up and sucked in her breath with the pleasure of being alive” which shows how connie is enjoying life for all the right reasons. Pedphiles look for vunerable girls like Connie so it is easier to take advantage of them. Connie looks for attention and when she gets it from the wrong person like Arnold Friend, she realizes she had made a mistake.
Arnold Friend Symbolism
1429 Words | 6 PagesImagine being in a situation where you are constricted, with no means of getting out. Would you want to escape into a world of fantasy and leave the dreadfulness of reality? “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a story that explores this idea through the beautiful teenage girl Connie. Arnold Friend, an older man, wishes to take her out on a “date”, but things quickly become out of hand. As Gillis states in “Connie’s Tambourine Man: A New Reading of Arnold Friend”, Arnold presumably “leads his victim… to a quick and violent sexual assault” (Tierce and Crafton 219).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis
657 Words | 3 PagesThis 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.
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 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.
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