Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates is inspired by the events of the Arizona murders in the 1960s. This short story revolves around Connie who obsesses about her looks and develops a split personality in order to capture male attention. Connie resents her mother, has sibling rivalries with her sister, and her father’s indifference to her makes her life at home miserable. The absence of family in her life leads Connie to misuse her freedom which ultimately makes her an easy prey for the villain, Arnold Friend. The Merriam-Webster defines a parent as “a person who brings up and cares for another”. Protecting and loving your children is the number one quality of being a parent. Connie’s family resembles an ordinary nuclear family with a hard-working father, a stay-at-home mother, and a responsible older sister. But the characteristics of her family …show more content…
She 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. June also shows an important part in influencing Connie, who desires to be free and joyful, unlike her elder sister. She idealizes male attention and that is exactly what she gets from Arnold. Although a minor character in the story, Connie’s father plays an enormous role in shaping her personality. Her father’s absence impacts her ability to trust and relate to male figures. A daughter requires her father to be the standard in order to judge men. For Connie, there is no one. Therefore, she is not aware of the fatal environment that she is exposed to and nor is her
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary
983 Words | 4 Pagesthe same was important because this two-sidedness of Connie played a key role in characterizing her. This made so that Connie would be very noticable when she went out with her friends which made boys gravitate towards her, including her later stalker, Arnold
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
860 Words | 4 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been , the deception of appearances plays a colossal role in the development of the story. Characters are not what they seem and are portrayed differently than the person they truly are. When the main character tries to make herself become something she is not, she leaves herself open to a person doing the exact same thing. The story focuses on the protagonist, fifteen year old Connie, who believes that she is too far from adulthood and finds herself longing to be older.
Arnold Friend Symbolism
2030 Words | 9 PagesThe first time Connie notices AF is at a restaurant. Connie notices AF staring at her with a wide grin. Some time later AF goes to Connie’s house to take her for a ride. Connie, however, does not want to go for a ride with him. AF tries to be friendly to Connie and shows her the car that he drives.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Essay
1557 Words | 7 PagesWhen Arnold Friend threatens to hurt her family if she does not come with him, it made Connie go with Friend (Oates 136). Lynn Z Bloom discusses how her and her own class were discussing “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” when she started to discuss her own horrific encounter with a person like Friend. Bloom said that although she started screaming she stopped because, “then I thought, still screaming, ‘I don’t want my children to hear this.’” (825).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
555 Words | 3 PagesReaders 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.
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
Arnold Friend Character Analysis
1137 Words | 5 PagesConnie has a conflict with her mother, presented in the story as they continually fight; her mom generally starts the conflict, "Why don 't you keep your room clean like your sister? How 've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don 't see your sister using that junk" (308). Connie has a conflict with June, her sister.
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 Theme
979 Words | 4 PagesSimilarly, her dad does not have much of a relationship with her either. “Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn’t bother talking much to them…(Chopra).” This lack of Connie’s parents playing positive roles in her life led to her trying to seek attention elsewhere, causing her to become more susceptible to predators. “...but sometimes they went across the highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung out.
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.
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.
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.
Where Are You Going Short Story
433 Words | 2 PagesStarts off with the very pretty miss Connie, loud personality, and was a normal fifteen year-old girl. Connie was the pretty sister, outgoing and beautiful, so it is not surprising when she had caught someone’s eye, but the tragedy of what happened to Connie could have been avoided. Connie is just your average teenage girl, the one who wants to go out with friends rather than clean their room or spend quality time with the family. So it is not out of the norm that she finds herself at a drive-in where the older kids hang out. Spotting the strange man that says “I’m gonna get you baby.”
Sacrifice In Gran Torino
710 Words | 3 PagesA classic film, Gran Torino, which was released on December 12, 2008 and directed by award winning director Clint Eastwood, displays an emotional yet drama filled story based in the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, in a rundown town. This film shows a multiplicity of similarities to a short story written by author Joyce Carol Oates in the year 1996 titled, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? This short story primarily focuses on a 15-year-old girl named Connie who is obsessed with herself and her appearance. One day Connie finds herself in a less than pleasing situation after a man that she does not know very well, named Arnold Friend, shows up to her home and pressures her into leaving with him; which she complies to leave everything behind in order to protect her family from any harm. The film
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