Analysis Of Where Are You Going

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Recommended: Expectations placed on teens

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 and social pressure young girls can experience as they seek independence. We learn about Connie’s determination to be free through her rebelliousness toward her mother, through her acting older than she is, and her desire for romance.
In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Oates tells the story of a teenage girl named Connie, who rebels against her mother in her desire for freedom. Connie's Mother is a nearby reliable wellspring of disillusionment for Connie. Connie and her mother are always quarreling and differ about very nearly everything. Connie's mother begrudges Connie's childhood and magnificence, which she herself has lost, for example, " Her mother had been pretty once too, if you could believe those old snapshots in the album, but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie" (Oates1). I think since Connie's mother tired from her girl's issues and made her an old woman quickly. Likewise, Connie and her mother had an extremely poor relationship that helped her always needing to oppose what her mother sincerely needed (Oates 2).
Another way we see Connie searching for independence is by her acting older than she is. She thinks that she’s the family beauty and ca...

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...s significantly more engaging than the truth of mature person sexuality and temptation.
In Conclusion, I would like to say that a fifteen year old girl passed through psychological and social pressures in her life to the seek for independence and that’s a lot for her to go through. Also her parents should've taken better care of her, at least teach her how to face such a situation. It’s not all the family's fault but mostly it is. In addition, we have to remember that Connie is just an average teenage girl. She is vain (as are many teens). She feels invincible. But, ultimately, she is not more powerful than an older man. Furthermore, Oates’s Short story narrates the typical rebellious behavior that teens, especially females tend to go through. The fact that her mother is the source of her rebellion further exposes Connie to dangers that are hidden in plain sigh

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