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

The line comes from the Joyce Carol Oates' story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? " I believe the author is referring to how her family and her friend perceive here. Connie sees herself while at home as dull and quiet compared to the rebellious and outgoing look she presents to her friends. It appears that that neither groups, family or friends, know who she really is. I believe its natural for you to act one way with you friends and another way with your family.

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

The story states that, “She was fifteen and she 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” (Oates). This statement foreshadows the character's vanity and gives some insight into the character's behavior. The young girl goes by the name of Connie and her older sister June was everything that she wasn't. Her mother admired June, and her only wish was that Connie would turn into her sister. Not only was Connie vain, but she also had a rebellious attitude and behavior.

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, is a one where the idea of how girl who struggles with wanting to be a mature woman, faces her demon full form. The protagonist of the story is Connie, a 15-year-old rebel girl, obsessed with her look; and through fault of her own, meets the antithesis of herself, the antagonist of the story, Arnold Friend. Connie seeks to be a mature adult and desires an emancipation from her family. Seeing herself as mature woman through the desires of her attraction by other boys and men, as well as her mother. Its this same desire which acts as the main fault for her character.

Due to hormones, teenagers are moody and may even lash out at their parents when their parents try to control them. This is the same situation for Connie, even as a girl in the 60s. She wanted to be an

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.

(Oates 12), which means that Connie falls asleep after her family left. Then right in the same paragraph, Oates also tells us that “when [Connie] opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was... She shook her head as if to get awake.” This line shows that Connie is at the start of her dream because the only time we don’t know a place is when we is

(86) He worked a lot and when he came home, he wanted to eat supper, read the paper, and go to bed. Connie’s relationship with her sister, June, was probably the most stable, although it still wasn’t very healthy. Connie had ill feelings toward June because she wasn’t as pretty, worked at the same high school Connie attended, and was favored by her mother.

Connie does this because she needs to be reassured that she is in fact pretty. On top of this, Connie acknowledges that her beauty is “everything”(1). This statement implies that if perhaps Connie was not beautiful, she would have nothing. Furthermore, when Arnold Friend pulls up at Connie’s house, her heart begins to pound not because there is a stranger at her door, but because she is “wondering how bad she looked”(2). Even when faced with possible danger,

In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie is a fifteen-year-old girl, who does not necessarily get along with her family. During the week, she often times goes to a shopping plaza with some of her friends. However, they sneak across the highway to go to a popular diner where the older crowd hangs out at. At home, Connie is often times arguing with her family. One day her family is invited to her aunt's barbecue but Connie refuses to go.

“But now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.” (Oates ). Also, there is another opportunity for friendship within the family, between Connie and her sister, however, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility. “Her sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters.” ( ).

Carol Joyce Oates’ “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” presents how falling into temptation leads to giving up control and innocence. Though her mother is unapproving of her actions, Connie spends her time seeking attention from male strangers. Home alone, Connie is approached by a compelling creature who convinces her to leave her life and join him on his unknown journey. Through disapproving her family, having multiple appearances, listening to music, and her desperation to receive attention from boys, Connie gives up control of herself losing the purity of adolescents and contributing to her detrimental fate. It is imperative that one should not be controlled because of a desire to impress others.

Connie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).

Teenage girl’s desires to be beautiful and desired, feminism, and adolescent sexuality are a few of the issues Connie, along with others, faced during this time period (and some can argue today). Connie was responsible for her actions (obviously) but it only partially to blame for what happened to her. If she had never left her friend to go sit in some random guy’s car, maybe Arnold Friend would’ve never seen her, or had taken a liking to her. I’m not stating that what happened with Arnold Friend was her fault, he’s the pedophile that should’ve known better and not threatened her, but it could have been prevented if she had never ditched her

Connie was unable to see the men's true personality until they removed their glasses, which like Connie, a person who has multiple sides. They use similar expressions throughout the story, for example, “Christ” and the use of the word “dope” this further links the two characters personalities. At the end of the story, after Arthur stops Connie from calling the police, she willingly joins the two men. This shows Connie ignoring her superego- calling the police- to succumb to her id (8, 9). Connie once asks, “how come we never saw you before?” to which Arthur replies, “Sure you saw me before… You just don’t remember” these lines also illustrate the tendency for a person to repress their ultimate desires (5).