Everyone has a fantasy – an unrealistic dream about what they hope their lives will become. Some can push those thoughts aside and continue on comfortably in the real world, but others have a difficult time ignoring their inner desires. This easily relatable situation is the driving force behind “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. The story follows Connie. She is a teenage girl living a simple, unfulfilling life who dreams about a reality where she is adored by all. Her small world turns upside down when a strange man forces her to quite literally step into adulthood against her better judgment. Oates successfully details the sinister coming of age tale through her usage of limited omniscient third person point …show more content…
of view, situational irony, and evocative imagery. These devices work in conjunction to communicate the theme of reality versus fantasy, which leaves the audience questioning not only what events took place but their personal desire to live a life unlike their own. The most effective device utilized in the story to translate the theme is telling it completely from Connie’s limited point of view. Her egotism radiates from the first paragraph where it is asserted that Connie “knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 664). She only valued outward appearance because she had nothing of substance to offer anyone. Secondary characters are only seen through her skewed filter. Connie believed that jealousy was the source of conflict with her mother because the older woman “had been pretty once too” (Oates 664). She experienced similar jealousy towards her sister June who was portrayed as a perfect young woman who was “praised all the time by her mother and her mother’s sisters” (Oates 664). All the female relationships in Connie’s life were broken. Even though she had positive role models, she refused to mimic their behavior and did everything she could to be different. The tension Connie has with her family encourages the fantasy she has of living a life separate from them. Later in the story when Connie is faced against the antagonist, Arnold Friend, he presents her with an opportunity to leave her old life and start a new one with him. He tells her “the place where you came from ain’t there any more” and her only reaction is to think about it (Oates 675). Seeing Arnold from Connie’s point of view paints him in a less threatening light because he is offering her a ticket to a new life. When she first saw Arnold, he was just “a boy with shaggy black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold” (Oates 665). Even though the reader can see how evil Arnold is, reading his portrayal through Connie’s eyes paints him in a more neutral light. It is understandable that he easily manipulated her. Her desire to run away was one of the few aspects of the story that was absolutely real. Oates would not have been able to reach that level of authenticity if she had not told the story from another point of view. Coupled with the strategy of only seeing the story through Connie’s perspective, is the key use of irony.
This device is mostly used in the climax of the narrative when Arnold Friend is trying to persuade Connie to leave with him. Although he is depicted in a demonic way, Connie is attracted to him. He is assertive and confident, but uses pet names like “honey” and “sweetheart” to groom her into trusting him. His voice sounds, “like a hero in a movie, declaring something important” (Oates 673). Arnold is charming and charismatic while being threatening. His last name suggests friendliness, but he is clearly the enemy. The duplicity in his personality parallels Connie’s antagonistic feelings towards having to live a double life. Connie believes that she controls the people around her. She tries to maintain that hold during her first moments with Arnold Friend, but she slowly allows him to dominate her. In a last ditch effort to defend herself, Connie employs her family despite her broken relationship with them. She threatens that something bad would happen if her “father comes home and sees [Arnold]” (Oates 671). Instead of dialing 911 when she picks up the phone, Connie yells for her mother while it feels like Arnold “was stabbing her again and again with no tenderness” (Oates 674). Up to this event in her life, Connie expresses nothing but disdain for her family, but in her moment of weakness, she wants them more than ever. Then, regardless of all the signs telling her not to leave, Connie goes with Arnold hoping to keep her family safe. The irony that arises from her sudden family loyalty leaves the reader wondering what previous familial conflicts were real and what were made up in her
mind. Additionally, the imagery used in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is vital to the contrast between Connie’s lackluster reality and her picturesque fantasy world. Oates’s depiction about the way Connie dressed in public is summed up by the idea that “everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (665). Nothing in the story fit seamlessly together. The restaurant where Connie flaunts herself is “shaped like a big bottle,” “bright-lit,” and “fly infested” (Oates 665). It is the opposite of her “airless little” bedroom that adds to the unpleasant picture of her home life (Oates 667). When Arnold Friend appears at her front door, he offers nothing but seductive images that coax Connie into leaving with him. He dressed handsomely in a way that showed off his body. He was muscular “as if he probably did hard work, lifting and carrying things” (Oates 668). Arnold tempts her with illusions of being in “a nice field, out in the country here where it smells so nice and it’s sunny” with his arms wrapped lovingly around her (Oates 675). He tries to appeal to her idea that the grass is greener on the other side. Arnold’s allure, on top of the constant struggle she feels living in a world where she does not belong, is the final push that sends her willingly through the front door. However, the carefully structured images Oates presented the audience with left it unclear if Connie’s home life was truly that bad. The theme that Joyce Carols Oates’s conveys through her application of limited omniscient third person point of view, situational irony, and imagery in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, leaves the reader to question the sincerity of the unfinished ending. Inquiry about whether or not Connie did in fact encounter anyone at her front door arises. Because only the main character’s feelings are known, it is suspected that the entire situation was simply another one of her daydreams. It is not a far jump to assume that Connie had to imagine a fantastical event to finally gather the courage to run away from home. Her selfish, victim-like behavior suggests that she would need something to blame besides her own desires. The ironic circumstances combined with the illusory details strengthen that suspicion. Additionally, one is left to examine Connie’s desperation. Most would assume that a teenage girl would picture prince charming taking her away to a happy ending, not a disturbing stranger who asserts himself into her power over her life. No matter the goal of her audience’s reaction, Oates successfully communicates her theme of reality versus fantasy through these literary devices and leaves her audience wondering what type of “friend” it would take to convince them to start a new life.
Where Are You Going, Where have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates is a tale of a naive young lass taking her first steps into the illusion of the teenage dream. For the regular viewer of the film Smooth Talk, one would not pick up on the elaborate history behind the movie. Dating back to the 1960’s, the written story sheds very little light on the true sadistic nature of the means and intentions of Arnold Friend. Going back even further, the written tale is based on Life Magazine's article “The Pied Piper of Tucson” the true story of a middle aged man who preys on adolescent girls, getting away with devious sexual acts and sometimes murdering said adolescents. Without this previous knowledge, both the story and the movie seem for the most part innocent, with only a tad of creepiness generated
A spider, a zombie, a serial killer, all of these things would scare most but why do people pay good money to be scared by all these things? Because people like to be scared. Ever since people could speak to one another, they have been telling these stories. whether it be around a dim lit campfire, in the form of a book, or even on the big screen. these stories stand out through time because of their graphic word choice, unique characters, and suspense. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat” and Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” both possess these elements of word choice and suspense along with psychotic like characters such as Arnold Friend (WAYG) and the narrator (The Black Cat). Poe's character the
That’s right. Come over here to me… Now come out through the kitchen to me, honey, and let’s see a smile, try it, you’re a brave, sweet little girl’”(Oates 7). “She put her hand against the screen. She watch herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewherein the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited”(7). What had gotten into Connie, why would she go out with Arnold knowing that all he is going to do is hurt her. Readers may think she is a state of shock and the only thing she can do to protect her family is by going with Arnold.
I think in some strange way Arnold becomes to Connie the way to escape into her fantasy. When she learns his true intentions she is scared to death at first but eventually that fear gives way to "an emptiness." Connie thinks, "I'm not going to see my mother again... I'm not going to sleep in my bed again.
Arnold Friend takes advantage of Connie’s teenage innocence for something of a much more sinister purpose. Connie thought she had it all figured out until Arnold Friend came into her life and up her driveway on one summer, Sunday afternoon and made her realize how big and scary the world can be. Arnold embodies everything that Connie has dreamed about in a boy, but is in the most malevolent form of Connie’s dream boy. She always wanted to get away from her family because she has always felt as if she didn’t belong and Arnold can make this possible just in the most predatory way. She always thought sex would be sweet (and consensual) and that she would be in charge of how it progressed, Arnold strips her of the authority she’s held in any other encounter with a boy. The moral of the story is always be careful what you wish
The short story where are you going, where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed in the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it and has no plan of the future. She argues with her mother and she thinks she is jealous of her. The start of the plot is not very dramatic rather it is more like an introduction. We get a good description of the story’s Protagonist, Connie at the beginning of the story and through out. She is familiar, the typical American teenager, who dream, fantasize and have difficulty differentiating the real world from fairytale. Kozikowsky compares the story to the popular recent Disney tale “Cinderella” (1999). In “Where are you going, where have you been?” the setting of the story is not revealed at the beginning. The reader slowly learns about Connie’s family and her living condition throughout the story.
Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is about a young girl's struggle to escape reality while defying authority and portraying herself as a beauty queen; ultimately, she is forced back to reality when confronted by a man who symbolizes her demise. The young girl, Connie, is hell- bent on not becoming like her mother or sister. She feels she is above them because she is prettier. She wants to live in a "dream world" where she listens to music all day and lives with Prince Charming. She does not encounter Prince Charming but is visited by someone, Arnold Friend, who embodies the soul of something evil. Arnold Friend symbolizes "Death" in that he is going to take Connie away from the world she once knew. Even if she is not dead, she will never be the same person again, and will be dead in spirit. With the incorporation of irony, Oates illustrates how Connie's self-infatuation, her sole reason for living, is the reason she is faced with such a terrible situation possibly ending her life.
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
Joyce Carol Oates intrigues readers in her fictional piece “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by examining the life of a fifteen year old girl. She is beautiful, and her name is Connie. Oates lets the reader know that “everything about her [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere but home (27). When Connie goes out, she acts and dresses more mature than she probably should. However, when she is at home, she spends the majority of her time absorbed with daydreams “about the boys she met”(28). This daydreaming behavior is observable to the reader throughout the story. From theories about dreams, theories about subconscious thought, and the clues that Oates provides, the reader is lead to believe that Connie’s experience with Arnold Friend is a nightmare used to awaken her to the consequences that her behavior could result in.
Have you ever wondered why or how people can manipulate themselves as the devil to receive what they desire? In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a short fictional story by Joyce Carol Oates, the devil is allegedly hidden as one of the main characters, Arnold Friend. Through characterization, setting, and plot, Joyce Carol Oates successfully portrays Arnold Friend as a symbolic Satan.
A mysterious car pulled into Connie’s driveway and the driver proceeds to get out of his vehicle, showing that he belonged there, not recognizing the car Connie opens the door to her house and leans out it. “She went into the kitchen and approached the door slowly, then hung out the screen door,” (2). Without even knowing who or why this person has come to her house, Connie opens her door and leans out to possible talk to the driver, who would turn out to be Arnold Friend and wants to take her on a “date”. Connie’s ignorance towards Arnold and his arrival almost immediately puts her in a vulnerable state without her even realizing it, this vulnerability would be the first event to foreshadow Connie’s inevitable kidnapping. After greeting and talking to Arnold for a little, he proceeds to ask Connie if she wants to go for a ride in his car. Instead of turning down the offer since she barely, if at all, knew Arnold, Connie somewhat debates it. “Connie smirked and let her hair fall loose over her shoulder,” (3). Though she lacks any information about Arnold, Connie kind of debates taking up his offer to go for a ride, further letting her ignorance towards the entire situation usher her into an even more vulnerable
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 experienced as an adolescent mixed with the unexpected dangers of vanity, drugs, music and trust at an early age. Ultimately, it is up to the reader to choose what the real meaning of this story is. At one point or another one has encountered, either through personal experience or through observation, a teenager who believes that the world is plotting against them. The angst of older siblings, peer pressure set upon them by their friends, the need for individualism, and the false pretense that at fifteen years of age, they are grown are all factors which affect the main character in this story.
Have you ever been so focused on achieving your dreams that you become unaware of your current situation? When we focus on the goals ahead of us, we fail to see the obstacles and dangers that are in front of us. In order to achieve our goals we involuntarily put ourselves in an unwanted situation. Connie, herself, struggles to achieve her goal of being a desirable girl that turns heads when she walks into the room. She becomes so set on being this girl that she doesn’t realize the danger of the situation. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates utilizes metaphors, diction, and imagery to show how Connie is in a constant tug between her reality and her dreams, and how this confines her freedoms in a world that is surrounded with malevolence.
During the teenage years they no longer want to be labeled the “child; matter of fact, they have a strong desire to rebel against the family norms and move quickly into adulthood. This transition and want for freedom can be a very powerful and frightening thing as there are evils in this 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 girl who did not like her role in the family unit. She was the daughter who could not compare to her older sister and she felt her Mom showed favoritism towards her sister. Connie is your average teen who loves music, going out with friends, and she likes the attention she receives from boys. During this time, Connie is also growing into her sexuality and is obsessing with her looks as she wants and likes to be noticed by the opposite sex. Her sexual persona and need to be free will be what is fatal to her character’s life and well-being.
Rubin attempts to convey the idea that Connie falls asleep in the sun and has a daydream in which her “…intense desire for total sexual experience runs headlong into her innate fear…” (58); and aspects of the story do seem dream like - for instance the way in which the boys in Connie’s daydreams “…dissolved into a single face…” (210), but the supposition that the entire episode is a dream does not ring true. There are many instances in which Connie perceives the frightening truth quite clearly; she is able to identify the many separate elements of Friend’s persona - “… that slippery friendly smile of his… [and] the singsong way he talked…” (214). But because of the lack of attachment with her own family, and her limited experience in relating deeply to others, “…all of these things did not come together” (214) and Connie is unable to recognize the real danger that Arnold Friend poses until it is too late.