Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Connie Character Analysis

Tragically, I think Connie is separated from her family toward the end of Oates' story. She is power to run with Arnold Friend and Ellie far away in the Country. She comes to ensure her family. Arnold Friend may sexually abuse her. I trust this due to the accompanying quote, "We'll go out to a pleasant field, out in the nation here where the aroma is so pleasant and it's sunny," Arnold-Friend said.

Imagery is a big part in the story, Joyce Carol Oates uses powerful imagery to show Connie’s uprising panic. From comparing Connie’s fantasy to her powerless state when she had to listen to Arnold trying to convince her to come out and what he wants to do to her. Oates focus on Arnold Friend’s physical form, implying the words “thighs”, and “buttocks” to show his sexual nature and how Connie thinks of him. “ She recognized most things about him, the tight jeans that showed his thighs and buttocks and the greasy leather boot and the tight shirt, and even the slippery friendly smiles of his-”, her repletion on the word tight focus on his physical form and his “slippery friendly smile” by saying it’s creepy, his appearance doesn’t suit Connie

“Connie asks ‘where?’ (237), and states ‘I never said my name’ (237). Once Arnold tells Connie that he is supposedly 18, she becomes really suspicious of this boy. Arnold continues to get closer and closer to the door where Connie is standing. Connie starts to get aggressive and issues threats such as “Get the hell out of here!”(240), and “I’m going to call the police.”(240).

Her mother and she have tension and her father rarely sees her, he works and sleeps “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you’re so pretty” (Oates page 4). Connie mostly keeps up with her own personal life more than

The problem lies here in that Arnold, as a man, recognizes Connie less as a human, and more as a toy for him to play with. This is common in many men with misogynistic ideologies, wherein it is believed that a woman’s goal is only to be beautiful. This leads to a large issue, where women who are not ‘beautiful enough’ for the patriarchal society, are treated as lesser, and are not given the same treatment as women who are. Arnold is clearly a manipulative person, who is able to talk to someone who he feels is lesser than him with confidence. When Connie eventually ‘gives in’ and goes with Arnold, this provides him with a power trip that will eventually lead to the repetition of this cycle of abuse.

At first glance, we are made to believe that Connie is a static character through her infuriating naivety and cliché persona. When we delve into the story we see the altruistic and sincere characteristics, which

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.

Connie in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” desperately wants to be independent from her family, while Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” pathetically yearns for inclusion. In this story, Oates pays special attention to the mother-daughter relationship and the lack of meaningful communication between them. Connie's mother is an image of the future Connie doesn't want – the life of a domestic housewife. Connie has a love-hate relationship with her mother, with whom she identifies, but at the same time she has to distance herself from her mother in order to establish her independence. On the other hand, The Metamorphosis, a story by Franz Kafka, is about a man who has been transformed into a giant beetle

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, to some, the story of Connie seems that of a naïve girl turned into a heroine, where she gives herself to Arnold for her family to be unharmed. To others, like Tom Quirk, Connie leaves with Arnold in a form of rebellion against society. It could be both, depending on how the reader takes in the words. Nonetheless, this rebellion that is mentioned by Quirk is apparent in most youth and it’s mostly displayed as defiance against the norms. This way of acting is all led by influence.

Throughout the story, there are many instances: the illogical time and settings, the similarity between Arnold and Connie and the unrealistic events show that the meeting between Connie and Arnold Friend is a dream. The dream is also a preparation for Connie before she steps onto the stage of being an adult. Connie’s dream begins when she refuses to go to her aunt’s house for barbecue party. She stays home, and under the warmness of the sun, she begins her day dreaming about love and the boy she has met the night before. In the beginning, the author writes “Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun…”

Suddenly, Oates allows Arnold’s malicious side to peak through ever so slightly after Connie tells him that he and is friend better leave, and Arnold replies “We ain’t leaving until you come with us.” (6) In the beginning of the story, the author writes that Connie has two different sides and now she is showing that Arnold has two different ones as well. At this point, Arnold begins to threaten to come in the house if Connie tries to call for help. He even indicates that if she doesn’t go with him before her family returns he will harm them.

This interpretation of the story explains how Connie simply fell prey to the common theme of men acting as predators in society. Therefore, Connie had no say in her fate, so she just decided to go quietly with him. However, this theory completely disregards the psychological disorders that Connie has. Connie did not go quietly with Arnold because he was a dominating male. Instead, Connie left due to her numerous unconscious mental problems.

Another reason why Connie why wants to be independent from her mother is because she does not want to be like her. “Her mother went scuffling around the house in old bathroom slippers…”( paragraph 11). Connie’s mother is an image of the future Connie doesn't want -the life of a domestic housewife. Lastly, you can see that Connie has a love-hate relationship with her other, with whom she identifies, but at the same time she has to distance herself from her mother in order to establish her independence; “Sometimes, over coffee, they were almost friends, but something would come up – some vexation that was like a fly buzzing suddenly around their heads – and their faces went hard with contempt.” ( Paragraph

Through the duration of their “conversation”, Arnold was able to make her completely give up her free will to him. Connie gives up everything she had ever owned to him, even her “pounding heart [is] nothing that [is Connie’s]” after Arnold takes control of her. (Oates 11). Willingly doing whatever someone says regardless of consequence is enough to classify someone as a victim on its own. But not only was Connie doing whatever Arnold said, she was even giving herself to him.

In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main protagonist finds herself in a very hostile situation. With an all most fateful encounter with a man known as Arnold Friend. Forcing her to choose whether to run off with him or taking her by force. This man known as Arnold Friend to the reader comes off as almost a demon. A person who uses many temptations, word play, and threats to take advantage of the young protagonist Connie.