Analyzing Development: “Where is Here?” by Joyce Carol Oates Gothic literature holds an allure that readers and audiences often draw into; its combination of wickedness, mystery, death, and even romance stirs a sensation, a charm no other genre has. Through this charm, Edgar Allan Poe, the "founding voice of American gothic tradition," was able to pioneer interest into many future writers in the American writing industry. Specifically, modern writer Joyce Carol Oates implicated traditional gothic elements from Poe. Using dialogue, diction, and the interaction between characters, Oates carefully establishes the foundations and elements of spookiness into her gothic story—“Where is Here?”
The new house owners might be the ghosts of the stranger 's parents, and somehow he has come back to his childhood home as the adult spirit of his former self. He remembers living in the house, with his parents and his sister when he was eleven, this family also has two children: a boy, who is eleven; and a girl, who is thirteen. The reader can sense that there 's a violent past, however, Oates doesn 't explicitly state whether or not there is. The stranger also has an obsession with riddles, which can be the key to understanding the plot of the story. There’s not a much literary criticism of this story, but because the riddles demonstrate infinity, this could be the purpose of the story.
Carol Joyce Oates’ “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents how falling into temptation leads to giving up control and innocence. Though her mother is unapproving of her actions, Connie spends her time seeking attention from male strangers. Home alone, Connie is approached by a compelling creature who convinces her to leave her life and join him on his unknown journey. Through disapproving her family, having multiple appearances, listening to music, and her desperation to receive attention from boys, Connie gives up control of herself losing the purity of adolescents and contributing to her detrimental fate. It is imperative that one should not be controlled because of a desire to impress others.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates Psychoanalytic Criticism Question How are id, ego and superego represented in “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates?
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” the setting of the screen door created a fragile barrier between the evils of the outside and the safety of the home. In classic storytelling, the home is seen as a refuge, a safe place for the protagonist to be and the forest, the sea, the mountains, the desert, the world around their home or town is seen as deadly or dangerous. The world outside of the home or town is unknown and mysterious. Oates in her story takes the idea of the unknown and mysteriousness to the next level, invasiveness.
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” leads the reader to believe both Connie and Arnold Friend battle with their identity. As Oates begins the story, she introduces Connie as “shallow and vapid” (Slimp); more obsessed with herself to notice the real world around her. Connie had a tendency to look “one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home” (Oates 1), showing the reader she was two sided. Connie’s need to change her identity based on her location can very much stem from a lack of self-confidence. This can also be seen with Arnold Friend. According to Connie, Arnold appears to be around thirty years old at least, but when she asks Arnold how old he is, Arnold responds by saying, “Can’tcha see I’m your own age?” (Oates 5). Arnold is trying to fool Connie by dressing himself as a teenager; he is even “wearing a wig” (Oates 6) to appear younger. In this paper, I will argue how both Connie and Arnold suffer from ambiguous identity.
The inflamed eye-catching mountain topped off with a creamy white summit, smack dab in the middle of your face. It's every teenager's fear; waking up from a blissful dream to only have that spiral into a living nightmare after seeing your reflection in the bathroom mirror. For the more dramatic, it's the “End of the World”. While the horrors of a ginormous pimple are legitimate, people underestimate the true horrors of adolescence as described by Joyce Carol Oates in her story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?”. While most people believe Connie meets her fate because of her desire to mature, Oates demonstrates that Connie met her fate through her youth and therefore, seems to claim that adolescence is the most dangerous time for a
The writer gives the reader the impression that the person occupying the house doesn’t wish to be visited. It portrays this in the quote “equipped with neither bell nor knocker.” Bells and knockers are usually put on a door to notify that there is a visitor waiting outside, and since there is no “bell nor knocker” it shows us that the inhabitant does not want company. This is an example of deception in this novella as the
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.
“They All Just Went Away” by Joyce Carol Oates is an amazing work. The language used is excellent, the presented descriptive details and events are exact and accurate. However the descriptions of the abandoned houses is upsetting. Still her essay helps the readers to define a family, home and a house and people’s relationships to each other. She did a remarkable job in presenting the stories about particular people and events that happens in each house.
Oates reminisces back to when she was a child wandering the fields and abandoned buildings behind her home. As she explores these abandoned structures, she takes notice of the “remnants of a lost household” within this “absolute emptiness of a house whose
When psychic Annika Hurwitt meditated in the haunted room she sensed a presence which was very angry and hurt and possibly had been murdered by her boyfriend or husband who had been cheating on her. She has since been haunting the living to seek revenge by making them feel the violence she felt upon her death such as being held down, being stabbed and not able to breathe because she was being strangled. The owner has felt a presence in the downstairs living room. • Floating up the main staircase from the first floor a gray apparition has been seen gazing upon the view of the sea and harbor from the picture
There is a small room where visitors can walk, and stand to get a deeper look at what is inside her bedroom. This room has a one small doorway for entering, and exiting. Which also is also closely placed to another set of stair that lead down. Beside this room being very compact for large crowds, it also seems like a big fire hazard. During my visit I spent roughly 2-3 minutes trying to get out of that space, to go down the stairs.
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.
The fact that he feels like a visitor make it seem like he used to live in the house, but it is