Preview

Review Of Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
369 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Review Of Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'
In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and Estrella Alfon's "Servant Girl, firm actions brought by male characters caused women to reveal their true nature. Rosa, from Estrella Alfon's Servant girl is a very humble lady who is consciously aware of two men having interest in her. First is the cochero, whom he calls Angel, is the man who lived in her fantasies after their encounter and second is Sancho, the other guy, is her admirer who seems to possess the the opposite trait of his ideal guy. Joyce Carol Oates' story describes a girl named Connie, who, in her acts, is obviously at the stage of adolescence. She is the type of girl who views only one side of her nature. She would prove her maturity through seeking

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?” readers are introduced to a young female, Connie, who wants to do be herself. She wants to experience a lot of things and her experiencing got her in a stage where she cannot get out. Oates portray in the story that you should not want to be an adult before your time. Connie had not realize that she is not ready to be an adult because there is a lot of things that she do not understand yet. In Oates’ story she has several themes in which she uses them to get her point. Themes such as Connie’s search for independence, Connie’s fantasy, Connie’s freedom, Connie’s identity disclose that she wants to have her own way and not let others tell her what to…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Where are you going, Where have you been” is a famous story that was written by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, Connie is fifteen years old girl and the main character. She seems to have always lived in her sister’s shadow, June, who was apparently better all-around. Connie seems to be the more attractive of the two due to which she felt that her attractive personality would succumb to pleasure in the arms of a random boy. One day, she decided to stay home as opposed to going to a barbecue with her family. At that time, Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Oates’ story drives up to Connie’s house. Connie is a character that represents the nature of epiphany in literature. Through Connie, we learn how a character can have a highly significant impact on an important work of literature and the person reading the story. Connie’s naïve understanding of the world and her immaturity led to her downfall in “Where are you Going, Where Have You Been?”…

    • 1034 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. This popular short story made its debut in 1966. Dependent upon the interpreter, this short story may seem to be based upon many different themes, although my goal is to focus on analyzing the author’s use of stylistic devices such as a recognizable setting, and symbolism that Oates has effectively implemented in this story to convey the most important theme, which is maturity and coming of age. Oates uses many symbolic devices such as; words/thoughts, relationships amongst characters, and even objects to effectively symbolize Connie’s coming of age adventure.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Arnold Friend, a conniving antagonist, charms a naive teenager named Connie into believing he will rescue her from her inattentive family. However, at the story’s climax, Connie fears for her life yet cannot resist Arnold’s temptations. Although details of Friend’s appearance, speech, and actions should warn Connie of his evil intentions, through Oates’s portrayal of Friend as a devil-figure, Connie is easily “conned” foreshadowing her deadly fall. Many times throughout the story, Arnold reveals supernatural qualities that he possesses, foreshadowing the spell that Connie is put under and cannot break.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lurvin Magana-Calles Heidi Kozlowski English 1B September 28, 2014 Where Are you Going, Where HaveYou Been? Analysis “Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been? Is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates about a fifteen year old girl’s that lives a dual life for self-importance, an unforgiving desire for irresponsibility, yet doubtfulness to leave the security of family and the comfort ‘of sleeping on her bed again’ ( Oates 77) . Connie is a young girl that likes listening to music ‘that made everything so good” (Oates 66) and watching movies and also she spends a lot of time going out with friends and meeting boys, until she experiences been harassed and threatened by an older guy, leading her to go with him. From the beginning of the story,…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the article “Is This the Promised End?” The Tragedy of King Lear, written by Joyce Carol Oates, King Lear is presented as someone who is “…overwhelmed by the authority of the title ‘King’… [becoming a] human being dying inside an archetype” (Oates 4). King Lear was someone who yearned for status and power, but never truly upheld any of the responsibilities that came with the title of being king. Because he was obsessed with keeping a royal façade, he disconnected with the ones dearest to him—his daughter, Cordelia—and in the process, even himself, as he “…attempted to escape his responsibilities as a ruler and father, while maintaining his privileges…” (Oates 3). In the case of Arthur, he is considered the modern day king—an A-list celebrity.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Joyce Carol Oates creates an inquisitive plot that causes the reader to question events in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” She develops this story featuring a girl named Connie, who has an encounter with a boy at a restaurant that she doesn’t know. “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, “Gonna get you, baby,” and Connie turned away…” (Oates 210). Startled Connie only saw this boy once that night, but the story goes on, and a few days later he comes to her house where she learns that the boy’s name is “Arnold Friend.” She is unaware how the boy knows anything about her, where she lives, and the fact that he knows all about her family and friends. In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates creates significant details that some readers might miss, revealing that Connie is actually having a nightmare where Arnold Friend is an imaginary character.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This is a horrifying and haunting story that shows a girl who resulted in an awful situation. She rejects the role of being a daughter, sister, and a nice girl to refine her sexual personality. She has an obsession with her looks, loves to hang out with her friends and flirts with boys older than her. This award directly goes to Connie which is the main character of the book called, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol. Connie is a very attractive, inconsistent, and disobedient person.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A close reading of Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" reveals many layers of possible meaning, which makes it a fine example of literary merit.…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” conveys the theme of good vs. evil through Connie and Arnold by creating a sympathetic character and using symbolism, creating a fine line between the protagonist and the antagonist. In this short story, the antagonist Arnold Friend is a seducting creep that seduces young, innocent girls to “go on a date with him”. While he is at the protagonist, Connie’s, house, he is persuading Connie by telling her all about herself, including his “Sign. And he drew an X in the air, leaning toward [Connie]” (Oates 325). The “X” is implied as a symbol of evil and death. “X” is used as the antagonist’s sign to mark himself as evil and deadly. This conveys the theme of good vs. evil because…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some say he is the devil, others claim he portrays the godly image of Bob Dylan, or that he is just the mere imagination of a salacious daydream in a young girl's mind. In Joyce Carol Oates acclaimed short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a 15-year-old girl named Connie, with ever growing feelings of attraction toward the opposite sex, has a vexing encounter with a middle-aged man who goes by the name Arnold Friend. You can’t talk about Arnold Friend, his train of thought, and intentions without talking about and understanding Connie’s character. In the story, Connie is vain, self-centered, and fabricates the truth of her whereabouts to her parents. She and her friend both tell their parents that they are going to the mall…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where are you Going, Where have you Been?” the characters Connie, who soon finds herself traveling somewhere she has never been as well as not knowing where that place is or what it means for her, and Arnold Friend , who Connie believes to be an ordinary 18 year-old boy, demonstrate duality through not only their actions, but their appearances as…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story that brings many girl’s nightmares to life. The story is one about a young, naïve girl named Connie, and her deranged abductor, Arnold Friend. Oates uses the setting in Connie’s life to create a very realistic situation. Oates also uses descriptive language to create vivid images of the setting, charters, and the emotions Connie feels. By analyzing Connie’s home setting and the descriptive language Oates uses, we will be able to further understand how Connie’s thoughts and actions were effected by her setting.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oats uses characterization including methods such as symbolism and allusions to develop her characters, and thus establish her theme of the cross roads Connie faces in her transition from the innocence of her adolescence to the impurity of adulthood facilitated by the antagonist, Arnold Friend.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Class Act

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the words of Parenti, “A woman can escape from economic and gender exploitation by winning the love and career advantages offered by a rich male.” (423) This makes it easy to say that when an example of a lower-class woman and an upper-class man fall in love, they will find happiness. In today’s society, it is less likely to happen but is wished upon and sought after by women of this generation. If a lower class woman meets the right man, she will transform and make means as to fitting in. In this case, Vivian changes her ways to become a different woman. After finding Robert, Vivian transforms from one with dominantly masculine characteristics to a woman with feminine characteristics.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays