When the character, Arnold Friend, was introduced I did not expect that he would play the role of the enemy in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” When he arrives at Connie’s home, I began to question my hypothesis. Similarly, Connie’s view of the mysterious man is reformed as Arnold’s true nature is revealed. The realization begins when he discloses all the information he knows about Connie and the whereabouts of her family. This is when I, the reader, and the character begin to suspect that Arnold is not a respectable guy. She then notices his eerily pale skin, aged appearance, unsettling remarks, and seemingly stuffed shoes. These suspicions were confirmed once he spoke of his intentions.…
While self-absorption is one example of a danger Connie experiences while growing up, Oates also exemplifies that not having close and personal relationships with others is another hazard. Throughout the story Oates exposes Connie as being somewhat of a loner in a way, but of Connie’s own choosing.…
Charles Howard Schmid, Jr. also known as "The Pied Piper of Tucson," was an American…
“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?”…
Arnold Friend, is a middle-aged man that uses himself as bait to fool and befriend young Connie. His choice of appearance for himself to project as if he is the same age as Connie is, “light faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders.” With this appearance that Arnold Friend presents to Connie…
Modern society has many standards that people follow and accept: shake hands when meeting someone, do not pick nose in public, and bathe on a regular basis. Norms are just a few of the many different social needs in the world today. Abnormalities throw people through a loophole, cause confusion amongst each other, and contrast uniformity. Psychopaths lead to the death of individuals that conform to the standard and have no remorse for the action. They disrupt the flow of progress and end the life of another with no penalty of law. Psychopaths work to change how society thinks as a norm, such as a psychopath in “Cask of Amontillado,” “The Lottery,” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.”…
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…
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…
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” should not be read through a fantasy/allegorical lens, but through a lens of reality. Reading it through the former limits the potency of the story. Everything that takes place in the story is believable, and in fact, many details of the story are based on real events.…
Music is one of the symbols mentioned in this story. The author mentions the music played in everywhere in the story. The author says that "The Music was always in the background". The music comes from restaurants, homes and cars. Music symbolizes the feeling and the emotions of the characters. For example, music for Connie is a pattern for romantic relationship. When she is happy, she hears music in everywhere. On the other hand, when she is sad, she couldn't hear the music at this distance. The music in this story provides a lot of component such as the effects of popular cultures, the romantic relationships, and the psychological manipulation.…
In the short story “Where Are You going? Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates. The use of the symbolism of Connie’s clothes, her fascination with her beauty, Arnold Friend’s car and Arnold Friend himself help to understand the story’s theme of evil and manipulation. The story, fill with underlying tones of evil. In this short story, Oates write about 15-year-old Connie, the protagonist of the story, a pretty girl who is a little too into her own attractiveness, which eventually gets her into trouble with a man named Arnold Friend. The story is liberally full with symbolism, from the way Connie dresses to the shoes on Arnold Friend’s feet. In “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” As i was reading the story, I picked up on some of the symbols very easily, while others needed deeper thought. The subtle hints of symbolism throughout the story create a fascinating tale that draws people in. Connie finally surrender to Arnold Friend at the end of the story, it then becomes obvious that he represents the devil and the symbolism of her clothing and Arnold’s car all tie together to create a better understanding of the story.…
Connie knew she was pretty, and that’s why she had a “giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (752). Her beauty brought power over boys. She chose to talk to only the ones that she thought were cute or popular, and she made a point of ignoring the more common ones. “It was just a boy from high school they didn't like. It made them feel good to be able to ignore him” (753). The narrator observes that the world she lived in was a familiar one. Everything was safe, but one single day made her it all…
Her confidence is only shaken when a man tries to oppress her in a sexual way. It is then when Connie realizes that she was not as strong as she thought she was. Due to the panic, Connie started to confuse reality from fantasy. Arnold Friend, takes advantage of Connie’s naïve personality, and tries to control her by threatening her. Joyce Oats describes oppression here as a form of sexual oppression, where woman are constantly being sexually assaulted because society has portrayed and symbolized women as sexual…
Oates characterization of Arnold Friend shows how Connie’s perspective of Arnold and his looks leads to the deception of who he really is. Connie was at home alone one day and a car pulled into her drive way that she didn’t know, and it…
In every person's life they experience a transition from childhood to adulthood. This transition is significant in a person's life and it can be different for men and women. Not all transitions to adulthood are peaceful; they can violent transitions as seen in Richard Wright's The Man Who Was Almost a Man and Joyce Carol Oates' Where are You Going, Where Have You Been. These two stories reflect how males and females are represented differently in society through the protagonist violent transition to adulthood.…