Preview

The Woman Who Had Two Navels

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
671 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Woman Who Had Two Navels
Nick Joaquin’s “The Woman Who Had Two Navels” revolved around the upper middle class expatriates consciousness during the American period of colonization. It portrayed every character’s struggle to maintain their “selves” in a foreign setting like Hongkong. It can also be defined as coming to terms with the political consciousness during that period. The novel also contained mixtures of hatred, love, anger, insecurities, and sufferings that manifest in the realities of life making the flow of the story more provocative and appealing to the audience.

The title of the novel excited my curiosity; that’s why it took me a long time to analyze and think the interpretations that I have to use to show its significance. The story started with Connie, a daughter of a wealthy politician. Connie portrayed herself as a person with two navels.

Literally, when a woman has two navels, this means that she has two umbilical cords. The navel is the shortened umbilical cord - usually removed when a person is born. But it is not possible because if a person has two umbilical cords, he is a preternatural being - a mutant.

Connie, pretending that she has two navels may refer to the “rebirths” that she underwent. The first rebirth was escaping from her mother’s evil clutches since she was an unwanted child - always ostracized and continously suffered from the ghosts of the past that haunted her. Let us not also forget her inability to deal with her life due to parental constrictions and the love affair of her husband Macho and her mother that made her feel miserable at some points in her life. The second rebirth refers to her awakening, her self realization and emancipation as a woman. She learned to face reality and accepted the truth. In my point of view, her reason why she pretended to have two navels is that she wanted to forget everything...

CHAPTER ANALYSIS:
In the of the story, it started when Connie went to Pepe’s place for consultation. The problem of Connie is how
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary
    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

    understand it. Such as, it could be a dream that Connie is having, in all actuality it could be real;…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Joyce Carol Oates Use Imagery In Connie's '?
    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Joyce Carol Oates Use Imagery In Connie's '?

    Joyce Carol Oates uses powerful imagery in the short story, such as the idea of love, dishonest smile, and Connie’s dissociative state. In the idea of love, she uses vivid language to explain Connie’s daydream. The actual desires where not yet tied to concrete the acts or a specific man. Connie’s is being attracted to the idea of love and sex confusing fantasy and reality. The author helps the reader to visualize on how girl’s discrete experiences fading into a deeper impulse. Connie being in the puberty is being pulled by natural forces by the desired that she is not conscious about it and doesn’t have an explanation for it. Another language that Oates uses is she focus on Arnold Friend physical. Connie got to recognized most of the things about him since the moment she met him. Words like thighs and buttocks were mention to show his sexual nature. Arnold friend smile was emphasized as a slippery friendly smile in other words as a dreamy smile. Oates used this term to communicate with Connie to entangle her and easily get her. Finally, she also describes Connie beating heart, this help Connie express her dissociative state. She felt isolated with her physical body, which it perceived it wasn’t really her either. The state of separation she was feeling demonstrate how she was slipping out of control over her own actions and decisions she was making. At…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Analyzing Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'
    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analyzing Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

    One of the main characters, Connie who is the protagonist of the story. She plays a key role in the central idea of the story with the way she lives so secretive to her family. She is a young teenage girl who lives a double lifestyle. “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home…” While at home she acts as sweet innocent girl who is overly obsessed with the way she looks. When she leaves the house she becomes almost like an adult. Connie no longer acts 15 years old. She now gets joy from all the attention the men give her. Especially older men. Connie is addicted to the attention they give her. Connie’s maturity level along with her sexual appearance she provides, get her into some grave danger with an older man named Arnold Friend. Arnold friend is the antagonist of the story. He is a very strange character. From his odd car to his appearance. Arnold Friend is not so much a “friend” to Connie. In the story Friend plays the role as a man but in deeper meaning, he is really a demonic figure. When he unexpectedly shows up to Connie’s house, his strangeness begins to grow dramatically. Arnold Friend is not some normal person. He comes off as if he has some deeper issues. Although Arnold Friend has a strange appearance and there seems to be something wrong with him, Connie sees a slight interest in him.Friend…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Short Story Analysis: Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Short Story Analysis: Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

    What I feel is significant about this piece of literature is the story that is being told and the reality behind it. Many young girls face this kind of reality everyday and don’t have a good outcome. The authors’ intention in the story was to portray a little girl named Connie and show her struggle with adolescence and wanting to become a woman far too fast. The themes that stand out to me in this story are Connie’s constant fantasizing and daydreaming. She is always worried about her appearance and fantasizing about boys, but when it comes down to the reality of actually engaging and being confronted with a man, she reverts to being a child again. Another theme that stands out to me is Connie leaving herself extremely vulnerable. She has her friends’ dad drop them off at a shopping plaza, but sneaks off to a drive in to meet boys. Then she meets with Eddie and hangs out in an alley. This exposes her to Arnold Friend. She portrays herself with a lot of independence, but when she has the confrontation with him at her house, she tries to scare him away with saying, “But my father’s coming back. He’s coming to get me” (Oates 330). She says this because she is still a little girl and doesn’t quite know how…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay

    Connie was a young, fifteen-year-old, attractive girl who worked hard to show the appearance of being mature. She created a personality through expressing…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates: A Masterpiece in Disguise
    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates: A Masterpiece in Disguise

    During the beginning of the story, we learn that Connie’s hair is in fact blonde. Coincidentally, another similarity to that of the fairytale character Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood is tricked by the villain in her story just like Connie, and when she learns of the villain’s schemes and trickery, it is ultimately too late. This story, like that of “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been” also comes to a bad conclusion, because Red Riding Hood is thus eaten, and very clear hints are given that Connie might be raped and killed. The way…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Summary Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Summary Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

    Humans are allowed the ability to exert free will and be able to make decisions for themselves that reflect their own persona. With this liberty, the identity of an individual isn't limited to one set of characteristics as many external and internal situations either influence the cognitive decision making complex of humans. In the short story, "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, reveals through the characterization of Connie and her settings the duality of human beings. Also, using symbols and patterns to strongly put emphasis on how the underdeveloped mind of adolescents make way for impressions and influences by the factors that surround them when trying to cope with developing their own identity. To begin with, the protagonist Connie is a mirrored version of many adolescent teenagers that experience problems such as a duplex…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Rhetorical Analysis
    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Rhetorical Analysis

    In the beginning of the story, Connie is said to have a habit of observing herself in mirrors, which isn’t abnormal for teen aged girls to do. Regardless of the normativity Connie is criticized by her mother for doing so. Her mother then proceeds to heavily suggest that Connie should be more like her sister by commenting “What the hell stinks? Hair Spray? You don’t see your sister…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Commentary on "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"
    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Commentary on "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"

    Written in the nineteen- seventies a new era of sex, drugs and rock and roll, Connie is growing up in a new rebellious young culture. Oates writes about how obsessed Connie is with her appearance, "craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking others people's faces to make sure her own was all right". This description makes her out to be vain. One explanation of why Connie is concerned with her appearance would include a new awareness of self consciousness and a need to always look pretty. Being vain is considered a sin by many but however one must always project an image of perfection in that society and even today's society. Connie has to be able to fit in and go out to enjoy her life and if she did not look her best she would not be able to do the things she enjoyed most. Her mother was constantly pressuring her to be more like her older sister. This shows the rebelliousness of new teens in the beginning to this era and how the differences of age and culture can cause conflict. Connie thought secretly that her mother had preferred her to her sister…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis Essay
    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis Essay

    From the beginning of the story, the reader sees Connie has a strong desire to make her early transition into adulthood. Although she in only 15, she acts like an adult as “everything about her had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oats, pg 510). She frequently tests her limits by making her parents believe she was with her friend shopping or seeing a movie, however “sometimes they went across the highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung out” (Oats, pg 510). There she met boys and eventually went out to their cars with them to engage in sexual activities. This shows…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Connie In Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Connie In Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

    Connie is so use to the ridicule and criticism, that her natural defense mechanism allows her to ignore the hurtful comments. However, the negative comments sometimes become so overwhelming, that Connie wishes for the demise of her mother and herself. “Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over.” (2/16) This relationship is clearly unhealthy with the woman that should be her first role model, her mother. It is believed that a daughter’s “first love” is her father, and that every child should have a strong male role model in their life. Contrary to belief, Connie’s father has limited to no influence on her or the household. He is not involved with them and has no interest to be. The story states…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

    Connie is fifteen years old and obviously self-conscious because of the love that she never receives at home. Her whole life revolves around attention from boys since she does not feel loved at home. Her sister June appears to be the favorite in the family, as she receives all of the positive attention. Connie's mother doesn’t speak kindly to Connie or about Connie, and Connie doesn't think well of her mother either. Her father does whatever he can to please Connie but doesn’t seek for a good father-daughter relationship. They never talk about what is happening in their lives and act as if they are only acquaintances. Connie wants to appear older and wiser than she actually is and her head is always full of meaningless daydreams to help her cope. Her promiscuity leads to attraction from boys and older men where she becomes terrified and realizes that she is not as grown up as she thought. Connie comes face to face with the harshreality of being forced into adulthood at the age of fifteen because of the special attention of Arnold Friend.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Annotated Bibiliography
    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Annotated Bibiliography

    Connie is portrayed to be lacking in self esteem and has feelings of worthlessness which is why she makes the decision, possibly fatal, like befriending Arnold friend.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Pair Of Silk Stockings And The Chrysanthemums Analysis
    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A Pair Of Silk Stockings And The Chrysanthemums Analysis

    Did you know that in 1900, only 19% of women in the U.S. held jobs? By 1998, this number had nearly tripled to 60%! During the early 1900’s women didn’t realize their full potential or their role in society as females. The theme I am going to analyze is the journey that the women in two stories experience as they search for their personal identities. Both “A Pair of Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck deal with the journey to one’s identity, but they do so in different ways.…

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

    The first reason why the theme of this story is the search for independence is because Connie is a typical teenager back in the 60’s and 70’s. The sexual radicalism which argued that capitalism sexually repressed the masses in the interests of its life negating and exploitative goals. Capitalism demanded self-restraint and compulsive work. It is argued and it is also contrary to any liberated and spontaneous sexual expression. Sexual liberty has been colonized and brought into the service of capitalism’s nexus of production and consumption. Women back in that generation and decade were just being introduced to such sexual nature and liberty. Those women didn’t have anything stopping them from committing these sexual acts with such a new found freedom. The first guy that Connie comes into contact with when she leaves her friend during the story, it was the first sign of how the rest of her search for independence is going to pan out.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More