Joyce Carol Oates begins "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" with a reference to Connie's vain habit of compulsively checking her reflection in mirrors.
Connie's obsession with beauty is neither atypical, nor isolated in "Where Are You Going, Where Are You Been." She has absorbed the lessons of the culture she lives in.
Joyce Carol Oates does not condemn Connie for her vanity or suggest Arnold Friend's violent and disturbing visit is a fit punishment, as a male Renaissance artist might have.
Their shared appreciation of the same radio station leads Connie to initially trust Arnold Friend, allowing him to lure her in.
Music connects Connie not only to Arnold Friend, but to a wider popular culture; her ideas about love and sex are derived largely from the songs
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June serves as the matronly foil to Connie's sexual character.
Even Connie's relationships with her female friends are weak.
Some have suggested that Connie never awakes from her mid-day nap and Arnold Friend is a figment of her imagination, a nightmare projection that reveals her inner desires and fears.
Unlikely for an earthly psychopath, Arnold Friend seems strangely reticent to enter Connie's home by force, something reminiscent of vampire mythology.
Arnold Friend knows Connie's name without being told and, more disturbingly, seems able to see across town and into her aunt's barbeque.
There is a sense throughout "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" that Connie is meeting her fate.
Finally, Arnold Friend refers to Connie's dead neighbor, which suggests he was somehow involved in or has special knowledge of her death.
In a New York Times piece Joyce Carol Oates writes that ending features an "Unexpected gesture of heroism," supporting an interpretation that Connie willingly sacrifices herself for her family, who Arnold Friend has threatened several
At the end of the movie, a stranger named Arnold Friend encountered Connie at her home while she was home alone. Arnold was a vicious, but alluring character. The way he dressed was as if he tried to imitate a young teenage boy. First, his intentions for Connie were kind of blurry. Connie, being as
The depiction of Arnold Friend runs parallel to the common conception of the Devil. Many aspects of his outward appearance, as well as his behavior, contribute to this by portraying him in a sinister manner. His nose is "long and hawklike" and he has a "slippery smile." His "greasy" boots don't fit him right, "as if his feet [don't] go all the way down." The stereotypical Beelzebub is often seen with hooves. When he draws 'his sign' – the sinister letter X – in the air, it "stays there, almost still visible," as if he supernaturally burnt it into the air. The numbers appearing on Arnold's car, 33, 19, and 17, exclude the number 18. The 18th letter of the alphabet is "r", and removing that letter from his name presents "an old fiend". Arnold knows about Connie's family, where they are at that moment, and what radio station she is listening to. This can be explained logically by the fact that that he is a stalker. As an allusion, the Devil is omniscient. Arnold also promises not to enter Connie's house unless she picks up the phone. This exemplifies the classic adage, "The Devil won't come into your home until you invite him in." Finally, the fact that Arnold is preying on someone nearly twenty years his junior (physically inferior and easily overpowered) and the methods he uses to finally convince her to come with him (threatening her family and her home) portray him as a genuinely despicable character, worthy of the epithet "Devil," if not its lit...
Arnold Friend is an important character in Connie’s story because he is one of the main reasons she goes undergoes a change. In short, while Connie is going through a teenage phase of exploring sexuality, he comes to Connie’s house to take her with the intention of raping her. More importantly he is portrayed with some of devilish appearances and behavior, to stress the idea of the situation Connie has gotten into and the meaning of her transition. The devil archetype is seen as an evil character that embodies devil characteristics as well as tempting the protagonist with things that will ruin their soul. Thesis Statement!!!! Some evidence that Arnold Friend is the devil incarnate are the facts that he does not cross threshold, he seems to be all-knowing and he has to tempt and persuade Connie to leave with him.
Arnolds uses his charms and good looks when he enters to start off his adventure. It is clear that Connie enjoyed
It is mentioned multiple times that Arnold knows “‘lots of things’” (Oates 3). Not only does he know Connie, but he is able to list off a number of kids even though he himself is not from around there. Arnold is even able to call Connie on her bluff and confidently state that Connie’s family will not be coming back for her, and that they are at “‘Aunt Tillie’s sitting around drinking’” (Oates 6). The only way Arnold would be able to know exactly where and what Connie’s family is doing would be that he has supernatural powers— abilities that are commonly associated with the Devil. This theory is even more feasible when you realize that author stated that “‘Arnold Friend is a fantastic figure: he is Death, he is the 'elf-knight' of the ballads, he is the Imagination, he is a Dream, he is a Lover, a Demon, and all that.’” (Coulthard
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Oates wants to show a more intellectual and symbolic meaning in this short story. Oates has many symbolic archetypes throughout the short story along with an allegory. Oates uses these elements in her story by the selection of detail and word choice used. Oates does this because she wants to teach her audience a moral lesson.
There are many commonalities between “Where are you going, Where have you been?” and other folktales too. One such folktale is Cinderella. In the story of Cinderella, she is often dreaming of escaping the situation she is in. Connie also dreams of escaping the constant nagging that she is receiving from her mother. She also wants to escape constantly being compared to her older sister June. Every girl also wants to be attractive and has this want to feel pretty or appear pretty to others. In the story of Cinderella, she is often dressed in tattered and dirty clothing while at home and doing chores (Kozikowski). This is why going to the ball and wearing the big gown is such a big deal for her. For once in her life she feels and looks beautiful. Connie is struggling with the same sort of self-image problem. Connie is constantly being told by her mother that she should be more like her big sister June. Whether it is her hair being dirty or her room not being clean enough, she constantly feels like she will never be good enough or as perfect as her older sister. Both Cinderella and Connie have to deal with a family who does not full appreciate them or give them any of the support they need. Cinderella is made to think that her sisters are much better than she is and much prettier than she is as well (Kozikowski). She is made to do chores and labor to make her less beautiful and desirable to others. Connie’s situation, although not as bad as Cinderella’s, is one of constant comparison and judgment. She too had to live with the constant reminder that her mother feels like her sister is better than her in every possible aspect. Just as Cinderella, Connie is immediately associated with a feeling of helplessness and uncleanliness from the ...
The Theme of Temptation in “Where Are You Going , Where Are you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
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.
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
When approached by Arnold Friend at first, she was skeptical but was still charmed by him. As she began to feel uneasy, Connie could have used her intuition to realize that he was trouble. Once she had been engaged by Arnold, her life was over. The influences on Connie and her lack of instilled reasoning led to her down fall. Her family’s fragmented nature was echoed in her actions; consequently, she was unable to communicate with her parents, and she was never was able to learn anything of significance. She felt abandoned and rejected, because no one took the initiative to teach her how to make good decisions. Connie was unable to mature until she was faced with death and self sacrifice. In the end, her situation made it difficult for her to think and reason beyond the position she was in. By not being able apply insight, she fell into Arnold Friends lure. Misguidance by the parents strongly contributed to Connie’s
Connie’s clothes and infatuation with her own beauty symbolize her lack of maturity or knowing her true self, which in the end enables her to be manipulated by Arnold Friend. Connie was enamored with her own beauty; in the beginning of the story Oates states that Connie “knew
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.
First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan. Oates says that “There were two boys in the car and now she recognized the driver: he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her,” (Oates 316). The hair could actually be a wig hiding something that he didn’t want someone to see. Maybe he was hiding his devil horns. Also when he was standing Connie had mentioned that “He was standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing himsel...
Joyce Carol Oates got her inspiration for her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” when she heard of a serial killer who would seduce and kill teenage girls. Her short story is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie. Connie is pretty and she knows it, and when she is walking by cars she will stop and look at herself in the mirrors and windows. Connie has an older sister, her name is June. Connie’s mother is constantly comparing her to her sister. “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? … what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.” (317). The things her mother says hurts Connie’s feelings to the point where she wishes her mother and herself dead just so it would all be over.