When thinking of the year 2017, now, the thing that comes to mind is usually that it is the year Donald J. Trump became our president. The year of many people becoming famous for no real or good reason, famous because of vine, instagram, for being well endowed, and for disrespecting parents; yes, I am talking about that “catch me outside” girl. However, when it comes to the early 1960’s American suburbia it is all about drive-in restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, and radio music. Well, in the case of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates there is more than that. In the 1960’s America, a revolution was happening. American women were starting to assert their rights and independence from men's patriarchal …show more content…
Most women at that time felt belittled within their homes and by their spouses, the father in Oates story is a typical patriarch with him being “away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper…” (p. 1). Women started questioning what their role in society and the role that their gender played in their lives. Most affected and discussed by this social revolution were adolescent girls and the struggles that many endured as they lost their sexual innocence that transitioned them into adulthood. Thus, Oates recognized the social upheaval on “Where are you going, Where have you been?” and the protagonist named Connie was realized and the model of womanhood realized as June, Connie’s sister, with her being “ plain and chunky and steady...” A story very much about the women of the 1960’s as it revolves around Connie’s transitioning into adulthood and the questions and struggles she goes through in between as a representative of the new rising culture. The revolution made many young women very vulnerable then, the vulnerability in which Arnold Friend preyed on and saw within Connie. One of the cause for Connie’s vulnerability was the constant criticizing of her mother for failing to uphold the views of her time, for not being like
In Joyce Carol Oates’, “ Where are You going Where have you been,” it was a sunday morning when Arnold continues another one of his daily routines. The main girl, Connie, is a self-centered and shy girl, whose mother is always puts her in the background and makes her feel excluded. For instance, her mother says rude comments like “you think your so pretty” and “you don't see your sister using that junk” (1). Then a guy came into her life. “Where are You Going Where Have You been illustrates a man who uses charms and good looks to get young or middle aged women to satisfy himself, but with this one girl he has some trouble along the way.
As teenagers, we feel like we know all the complexities of life, and that the changes we experience during puberty are the ultimate variabilities of our lives, but the irony of this is that they still have so much more to learn. The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by Joyce Carol Oates, an influential, feminist author in the 1960s. The story was inspired by the real-life serial killer, Charles Schmid, also known as the “Pied Piper of Tucson”, who like the antagonist in the story, Arnold Friend, preyed on young girls as his victims (Sharma 5). An important element that influenced the story is that it was written in the 1960's, a period known as the Second-Wave of feminism, this was a time when women across America began to break free from the patriarchal system and assert their rights as citizens outside of the home (The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is a normal teenage girl who is approached outside her home by a guy named Arnold Friend who threatens to harm her, and she obeys, if she does not get in the car with him. Connie is the main character in this story who teaches us that sometimes we might search for adult independence too early before we are actually ready to be independent and on our own. Connie is so focused on her appearance that she works hard to create a mature and attractive adult persona that will get her attention from guys. This search for independence conflicts with Connie’s relationship with her family and their protection of her. Connie’s insecurity and low self-esteem is triggered by her fear of intimacy. Connie confuses having the attention of men with actually having them pursue her in a sexual way.
Holmen takes a different approach in analyzing Oates’s short story by focusing primarily on features of Connie’s personality in connection to the events that take place over the course of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Holmen describes how Oates foreshadowed Connie’s internal problems at the beginning of the story in the dialogue between Connie and her mother and through Connie’s habit of checking her appearance. Holmen then elaborates on Connie’s self-esteem and fear of intimacy using the example of Connie sneaking to the drive-in with her friends to meet boys despite her lack of interest in seeing them after the one night. Holmen argues that because of
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.
There are various varying emotions and perspectives in association with this subject of suburbanization and women’s role, and this causes inconvenience to answer the above question. It is key however to survey and have a comprehension of this thought of suburbanization before dealing with the proposed question. I will go in detailed explanation of suburbanization for a better understanding of women’s role in it.
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.
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” clearly illustrates the loss of innocence adolescents experience as they seek maturity, represented by Connie's dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie symbolizes the many teens that seek independence from their family in pursuit of maturity. Connie’s great desire to grow up is apparent from the beginning of the story, as she experiments with her sexuality. However, it is clear that Connie is not interested in pursuing a relationship, but relishes the maturity she feels after being with the opposite sex. After following a boy to his car, she was “gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place” (2). This suggests that Connie's exploits
In the story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character, Connie, experiences life not having an actively participating mother or father. Most adolescents struggle with the transition from teen-age years to adulthood. For many, this is where the parents step in. Parents are meant to support and help an adolescent when needed, especially during this difficult transition; however, this is not always true. In Connie’s case, her parents allowed her to make the change alone and endure hard times. As a result, she lacked the values needed to survive. Such values are used to equip a young person for the real world and the tragedies that come with it. As seen in “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Connie was a victim of poor guidance and empty judgment. The dysfunctional family’s behavior was reflected in Connie. Her mother envied her, and her father was not an active figure in her life. Connie 's
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
In the 1960’s women were still seen as trophies and were beginning to be accepted into the work industry. They were still homemakers, raised the family, and made sure their husbands were happy. That was the social norms for women during that time period. They were not held to high work expectations like men were. But something amazing happened that would change women 's lives for centuries; it was the 1970’s. The 60’s put the equality movement in motion but 70’s was a time of reform where women were finally able to control their own paths. Not only was the 70’s a historical marker for the fiftieth anniversary for women suffrage, it was also a marker for the drastic change of different social norms, the changes of the American Dream, and the
To ensure that women would have the same opportunities as men in jobs, education, and political participation, the National Organization for women was formed in 1966 (Foner 944). The sixties also marked the beginning of a public campaign to repeal state laws that banned abortion or left the decision to terminate a pregnancy to physicians instead of the woman (Foner 945). Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of a thing. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fighting against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” follows a fifteen year old Connie, who acts like any rebellious teen her age. She is self centered and loves thinking about boys. One in particular is Arnold Friend, who catches Connie’s attention from the moment he drives by the restaurant. It was only a short encounter, but his gold convertible would stay in her mind. At first he seems like a normal boy just passing by in his convertible, but as the story progresses he shows his true self. He is not what and who he says he is. From the beginning Arnold seems to be a very scheming and assertive person. While this story is following Connie the person the reader should be paying attention to is Arnold Friend, a manipulative, controlling,
In the year 1960, women’s opportunity and equality was extremely limited. A woman was expected to follow path in which she had to marry in her early 20’s, start a family, and quickly become a homemaker within her conforming community. “They were legally subject to their husbands via ‘head and master laws,’ and they had no legal right to any of their husbands' earnings or property, aside from a limited right to ‘proper support’; husbands, however, would control their wives' property and earnings” (American Feminist Movement, 2017). Women were treated more as their husband’s keeper that cares for the children and the house rather than being treated with respect and equality. Women were oftentimes limited to jobs that would only express “homemaker” abilities, such as a teacher or nurse. Along with having limited job opportunities, women were paid lower salaries than men because the employer assumed women don’t have a family to support, unlike men.