In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates, the use of the symbolism of Connie’s clothes, her fascination with her beauty, Arnold Friend’s car and Arnold Friend himself help to understand the story’s theme of evil and manipulation. The story, peppered with underlying tones of evil, finds Oates writing about 15-year-old Connie, the protagonist of the story, a pretty girl who is a little too into her own attractiveness, which eventually gets her into trouble
Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” tells the tale of a fifteen year old girl named Connie living in the early 1960’s who is stalked and ultimately abducted by a man who calls himself Arnold Friend. The short story is based on a true event, but has been analyzed by many literary scholars and allegedly possesses numerous underlying themes. Two of the most popular interpretations of the story are that the entire scenario is only dreamt by Connie (Rubin, 58) and that the
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, “SmoothTalk”. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that is consumed
of Age Coming-of-age stories commonly record the transitions—sometimes abrupt, or even violent—from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience of its protagonist, whether male or female. Greasy Lake by T.Coraghessan Boyle and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates are great examples of traditional coming-of-age stories. The roots of the coming-of-age narrative theme are tracked in the male protagonist’s perspective for Boyle’s short story, while the Oates’ story captures
The Theme of Temptation in “Where Are You Going , Where Are you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates In “Where are You Going, Where Have you Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses an allegorical figure of evil to illustrate the theme of temptation. Oates alludes to hell through the character Arnold Friend, as the devil, and his victim Connie, who invites him in by committing the sin of vanity. The narrator implies that Arnold Friend is Satan by giving certain clues that the reader can easily deduce. The name
world that cannot be explained. Most parents try to understand and give their teens certain freedoms, but at what expense? Joyce Oates gives us a chilly story about a teenager that wanted and craved this freedom of adulthood called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. This is a haunting story of a young girl by the name of Connie who gives us a glimpse of teenager transitioning from childhood with the need for freedom and the consequences of her actions. Connie is described as a very attractive
Analysis of Connie’s Character and Her Demise There are some stories that capture the reader’s attention and which keep us riveted from the beginning to the ultimate line of the tale. ‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’, a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966, is one of those. Inspired by the mythic song of the phenomenal singer Bob Dylan entitled ‘’It’s all over Now, Baby Blue,’’ the author describes the main character as a 15-year-old girl named ‘’ Connie’’, who is obsessed
"I mean, anybody can break through a screen door and glass and wood and iron or anything else if he needs to, anybody at all, and specially Arnold Friend.” (Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates, pg. 8) Oates manages to make the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” a true horror, because it is relatable. The story leads us through the life of Connie until she encounters Arnold Friend and Ellie Oscar, who pressures Connie into leave her home and leaving thus leading
authored a short story in 1966 called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” which is about a teenage girl named Connie. This story is narrated from a third-person point of view. One day, a mysterious man named Arnold Friend confronts her while her family is away from home. The story was based on the actions of Charles Schmid, a real-life serial killer who targeted young women in Tucson, Arizona, during the mid 1960s. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was later adapted into the 1985
Satan seems to come in many form’s throughout the history of mankind; though, In Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” Arnold Friend looks to be another transient version of Hells keeper. This story was written in 1966 with a horrifying take on a young girl named Connie who was lead out of her home by a monster who ends up kidnapping her while her family was at a barbeque. This Monster in the story is known as, “Arnold Friend”. He appears at Connie’s home while
“Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” is a book that I genuinely enjoyed reading. The author had made a great similarity story compared to the true story of the Pied Piper in Tuscan. While I was reading this book, my eyes had opened about many problems that I did not get at first, but as I continued to read on, I realized what had actually happened, and what was going on. One of the biggest, yet most memorable seen to me was how Arnold Friend knew every detail about Connie as if he has been
In her short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates presents us with a well known maxim: children cannot wait to get older. Tired of her boring and powerless childhood, Connie, the main character, searches for cheap thrills she likens to adulthood. Thus, Connie’s surreal experience (Arnold Friend’s sudden and unwanted appearance in his car) represents a suppressed fear of the inevitable and unknown - growing up. Connie, a stereotypical fifteen year old girl, views her
In the story Where are you going, Where have you been? A vain teenager Connie dreams and desires to be mature in an unrealistic way. She acts differently at home compared to when she is out of her house. Connie takes pleasure in knowing that boys and even men are attracted to her but when she is encountered by Arnold Friend she is actually frightened. The author Joyce Carol Oats unravels Connie’s idea of dream life into reality by turning everything she liked against her. Dysfunction in family does
story “Where are you going. Where have you been?” The main character of the short story feeds off her broken home. Her family household situation motivates her to be a rebel. She ends up making so decisions that will change her life in a negative way. In the story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?’ Connie does not have a good relationship with her relatives. Her family relationship is unhealthy. Her mother says demeaning things to her like “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think
lens, I narrowed my focus directly to analyzing the role women have in their families, relationships, careers, and society. In the short stories “Where are You Going? Where have you Been?”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Barn Burning”, the female characters are overpowered by a dominate male character that uses fear to gain control
Connie’s Analysis In “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates offers a psychological portrait of a vain, vulnerable teenage girl searching for independence. In the story, Connie meets the evil but smooth talking Arnold friend at a drive-in restaurant. Unfortunately, Connie’s fantasy of finding romance leads her to go off with Friend although the reader suspects Friend will eventually harm Connie. In the story, Oates uses Connie’s character to develop the theme of how the psychological
The Search for Independence The short story, Where are you going? Where have you been? Written by Joyce Carol Oates is about a young girl, fifteen of age. Who is vulnerable and occupied with her physical looks, yet has a lot of confidence in herself also because of her pretty looks. Connie always has conflicts with her family, especially with her mother because she thinks that her mother mistreats her due to her pretty looks and always have comments about everything she does. She hates the idea of
Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" written in the late sixties, reveals several explanations of its plot. The story revolves around a young girl being seduced, kidnapped, raped and then killed. The story is purposely vague and that may lead to different interpretations. Teenage sex is one way to look at it while drug use or the eerie thought that something supernatural may be happening may be another. The story combines elements of what everyone may have
“Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” ‘Where are you going, where have you been?’ is a short story about a girl named Connie. Connie is a 15 year old girl who to her mother appears vain. Her mother was once pretty and over the years lost her looks so she attacked her daughter. Connie represents the girls of society which seem to be entering womanhood. In “Where are you going, Where have you been?” Joyce Carol Oath uses literary devices to develop both the theme and
In the two short stories “A Worn Path and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates and Eudora Welty are stories of self-determination and free will in both stories the main characters struggle because they want to be themselves. The protagonist in these two stories differ from one and other Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You been” she wants to be herself and she don’t no one to tell her what to do. In the other hand Phoenix has a mission to complete while confronting