If you are old enough to remember, you can think back to the memories of when you are a kid and understand the memories as a child are the best memories that you have in your life; yet eventually you mature into ann adult. Like the book, Catcher in the Rye, the short story Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oats is about Connie, an adolescent girl, wanting to stay in her child-like life and not mature into a adult. Fortunately, Connie has some help coming into the adult world with the manifestation of a person named Arnold Friend and Ellie. With the help of Arnold Friend and Ellie, Connie matures into an adult by understanding her “religion”, Connie dreams, and Arnold Friend being perceived as a devil. Connie’s “religion”
Connie's vain personality is hidden behind her good looks that she uses to receive attention. When Arnold Friend first appears in the story, he catches Connie's eye as she walks by, but after learning more about his motives he appears fake. Joanne Creighton explains that "Connie's encounter with Arnold Friend is... not just one girl's perception of the deception of appearances and the terrible reality of evil, but a particularly vivid instance of a universal experience: the loss of innocence" (Creighton 3). Marilyn Wesley then describes Friend as a transgressive other "...who is defined by a narrative position in contrapuntal relation to domestic norms and standards of communicability within which the text is located" (Wesley 1).
The story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been”, By Joyce Carol Oates takes place during the summer time of 1966. The story is set in several locations for example the house, the car, and the movies. In the story it’s the summer time and connie goes through some rough patches with her mom. Connie is fifteen years old and is a freshman in high school. Her mother constantly tells her that her older sister June who is 24, is better than her and wants her to be more like her.
Living “just an ordinary girl’s” life was no longer the lifestyle for a girl named Connie. Once a man told her that she was gonna be his, her life turned. Connie was no longer able to forget about reality instead she was forced into adulthood by a man named Arnold Friend. Connie is the main character in the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates. The story is mainly about how Arnold Friend, a sort of stalker of Connie’s, comes to her house.
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oats is a short story that is based on a true event that happened in the 1960’s. The allegory came from the man named Charles Schmid, who was a serial killer in which he was known for his ability to get the girls to fall for him. As for the story, Connie, the protagonist, wants to grow up and live in a fast pace and experience adulthood. She soon meets up with a guy named Arnold Friend, the antagonist, who is in search of finding someone to kill or looking for another innocent soul to take. In terms of the story, the author uses a type of writing that differentiates what is reality versus fantasy by using the literary devices of symbolism of Arnold Friend, setting of the music Connie
Even with having so much conflict between her and her family they represented the only life Connie knows. “She put out her hand against the screen. She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited” (Oates 9). Arnold has wrenched Connie out of her childhood and into the adult world where there is no turning back. Connie’s life has changed forever
Leading Towards The End Of Her Life Would Connie had continued being stubborn and obsessed with herself if she knew what the consequences were going to be? In this story called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” it involves a young teenage girl Name Connie who wants to act older and an old guy name Arnold Friend who is trying to seem young, to get Connie’s attention and ends up figuring out her information. The consequences that she gets put her life in danger and does not make it, to continue with her life. This story is about a 15-year-old girl who has a “habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors” (p.176) and can’t stop looking at herself because she thinks that she is pretty. She has long blond hair that drew anyone’s attention and would wear charm jiggling bracelets (Oates, 177).
Arnold Friend was there to take Connie away; away from her childhood and home, which never quite felt like home until her fantasy world deteriorated and reality set it. The next moment is pivotal, this is when Connie forgets her hedonism and becomes something of much more substance. Before Connie studies Arnold Friend’s abnormal personality and erratic behavior she is fascinated by him and even worries that she is ill prepared for this
Where are you going? Where have you been? is about a beautiful teenager named Connie. She does not have the best relationship with her parents but she tries her best to get through each day. Connie and her group of friends usually go to a drive in to hangout and eat.
Again, the reader sees traditional values placed against changing times, reinforcing Connie’s internal struggle to define
In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.
I believe that in the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” false perception V.S. reality is seen. The main theme in this short story is the conflict between fantasy and reality. One of the main characters in this short story is Connie. She tries very hard to create an adult persona.
Arnold Friend’s Biblical Allusions In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story of a young, innocent teenage girl, Connie who enjoys listening to music and begins exploring her sexuality and being with boys “the way it was in the movies and promised in songs” (Oates 198). In fact she catches the attention of Arnold Friend one night while at the mall meeting up with a boy. Not knowing he would appear in her life, Arnold strangely shows up at her house assuming they made plans to get together. His character is seen as the devil.
While “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” may seem like your average “coming of age” story at
In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is about a teenager named Connie who is trying to come to terms with her transformation from childhood to adulthood. Through this process, Connie attempts to act older than she is an tries to gain the attention of boys. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as obsessed with men to symbolize how one’s obsession and narcissistic attitude can cause danger to seem surreal. In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.