Preview

Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
875 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Analysis
“[Connie] had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right.” (1) In the story “Where are you going, where have you been?” the author Joyce Carol Oates, deliberately shows us the level of innocence of the protagonist Connie, as well as the similar features an inexperienced young girl who lived in 1966 compares to those of a young girl who is raised in our era. Young teenage girls in 1966 are no different than those now in 2018, as one day I too was a teenage girl myself, who cared a lot about how would see me. In the story Connie was described to be prepotent when she talked about her family. She described June, her sister, as a nerd who by the …show more content…
Arnold Friend who was introduced at the middle of the story as an insignificant character, turned out to be one of the most hated and feared character in the story. “Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed.” (46) This psychopathic man’s obsession to having Connie all for his own was extremely unprovoked. Connie’s rebellious behavior gave him no reason to approach Connie in such way. When arnold friend appeared at her house while her family was out for a barbeque, Connie seemed delighted and perhaps flirty because she knew he was someone she had seen previously, it impressed her to know she had grabbed someone’s attention to look for her and the home she lived …show more content…
Our brains have been trained to an emergency of this matter, “don't open the doors to strangers, call 9-1-1. Don't leave your child unattended.” and for this reason there has been many incidents that have been avoided. I know that if this would have been my case, my mother would have returned to pick me up to leave with her for the barbeque, as my mother she would know that deep down that’s what I wanted. The evolution to scenarios like this might continue, but not much with strangers, but with people who you surround yourself with. The way Connie reacted to this unfortunate scenario would have been the same way I would have reacted, for the simple reason of trying to protect my family. Arnold Friend had no reason whatsoever to manipulate her as his puppet, but she had no choice than to leave with him since he correlated her to the extreme of not knowing what to do with her own life. Although Connie was always portrayed as a strong, rebellious, and careless young girl, Connie had a heart, she cared and a whole lot, but she didn’t deserve to leave with someone who had no sense of his acts despite her rudeness

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

    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.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arnold Friend, obviously, finds Connie very much appealing. She is a beautiful young teen. Then again, Arnold also realizes that Connie is vain and that she can be controlled by utilizing her vanity to draw her in, which he does. He can sense this is her strongest weakness, one that he can use to get to her. Shockingly, Connie realizes that the vanity she has will be a piece of what causes her inevitable death on account of Arnold Friend. He can, without much of a problem, get "into her head" once he gets into the house. He has Connie paralyzed with fear. The way he words what he is advising her is master like. He coaxes her every now and again, verging on like one would coax a puppy to take after one out of a doorway. It is unpleasant and…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Arnold Friend is a mysterious character and nothing is known about what happens to him and Connie after the story ends, but their short interaction could be compared to long-term abusive situations in relationships, friendships, and families. When Connie first interacts with Arnold he seems like a…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story consists of two primary focus scenes: the world in which Connie flourishes in and the day that everything in Connie’s world changes. The beginning of the story introduces the reader to the protagonist who is young Connie and the central point of the story. Connie is described by Oats as being a…

    • 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

    Arnold Friend Analysis

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    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…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    She was her own person and was nothing like her sister June; she’d only wished her mother would see that. Connie mostly kept to herself while at home and often listened to music; listening to rock music was Connie’s way of escaping from the real world into her fantasy world. It set her at ease rather than listening to all the bickering and nagging. While out with friends her persona was totally different; Connie was very gregarious, “she had a high, breathless, amused voice” (Oates 200). Connie’s father on the other hand, was a workaholic, mostly absent; he never really did tell Connie what to do. Being that Connie’s mother always compared her to her sister she felt worthless; but when she went out, she felt a sense of belonging and worthiness. Connie became rebellious; while going to the “movies” with her friends, she was really going to the drive-in where the older kids hung out. Her appearance changed when her parents weren’t around. Clothes would be changed or modified. For example, when Connie would leave her house with her friends, she would be dressed appropriately in a pull over jersey; but when she would be out, where there were no parents around, the jersey became shorter than normal being brought up…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arnold Friend Maturity

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Teenagers have always been very rebellious, independent, and felt the need to mature faster than they’re supposed to. These traits were very frequent in Connie from Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been. Connie continued to disobey her mother and go out in town to try and prove to herself that she is mature. She is a typical teenage girl trying to explore her sexuality through her looks, boys, and her friends. Since Connie was very rebellious and trying to become independent, she came to realize that she is not as grown up as she thought she was. She was acting very far out of her maturity level and she was brought into the reality of adulthood harshly when a horrifying event occurred with the first person that treated her as a mature…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Better Essays

    Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have you been?” is a coming-of-age short story that depicts the virtually invisible barrier between adolescence and adulthood. Connie is a feisty fifteen-year-old girl that doesn’t intend to ride in the backseat for the duration of her younger years, unlike her older sister June, who her mother tends to favor throughout most of the story. Her mother causes most of the friction in the house between the two, mainly because “[e]verything about [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oates 552). One critical attribute Oates gives Connie is her undeniable infatuation to sexual curiosity and her willingness to explore. Oates paints Connie identical to average…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The setting affects the narrator in the same way that was stated earlier. Connie is often living two different lives; she has to pretend to be one person at home, and an entirely…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Time passes by in seconds, minutes, and hours. Calendar tears by days months, and years, but something that will stay with us forever is a good parenting responsibilities that we encounter in every family whether they are rich or poor. Good Parenting is the main moral essence of each and every parent’s life because that same essence will pass on through their children as they become parents. This story is about “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is perfect example of a middle class typical family living in small home written in 1970 dedicated To Bob Dylan.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays