In Joyce Carol Oates "where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" the reader is left with a chilling feeling as they read it 's haunting content. In this short story, the theme of fantasy vs. reality is explored through the protagonist Connie 's journey of self-realization as she leaves behind her naive self. Though the story follows Connie closely the third person omniscient point of view allows for developed story as Oates writes a warning to young girls everywhere. When first reading the reader is met with a dedication before the story begins, “To Bob Dylan.” Though it seems like a silly dedication by a simple fan of his work it is actually apparent once reading the story that the influence of Bob Dylan added an extra layer. Joyce Carol His character serves as a reminder that as humans reality is inevitable no matter how much we attempt deny it. Oates shows this with Arnold knowing that nothing is standing in his way as he tells Connie so and goes about toying with her much like how we feel life toys with us at times. The symbolism in Arnold 's appearance shows how false he is and symbolises how misleading reality can be, “shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig” (Oates,) This description leads one to start to see Arnold 's false persona. His car serves as a direct extension of himself, adding another reminder of the falseness of the fantasy world she is painting in comparison to reality. His car was, “a convertible jalopy painted gold,"with teenage, almost childish, paintings decorating its exterior. On the front fender of the car red “Man the Flying Saucers” which was described as something teenagers the year prior would say. Fear is all Connie can feel as her dream world is crashing around her and the music is gone. She becomes sentient and realizes her situation with a sense of maturity that scares her “she cried out for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it was something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness” (Oates) The moment Arnolds age is hinted at her fantasy dissipates and despite her attempts to
Arnold Friend takes advantage of Connie’s teenage innocence for something of a much more sinister purpose. Connie thought she had it all figured out until Arnold Friend came into her life and up her driveway on one summer, Sunday afternoon and made her realize how big and scary the world can be. Arnold embodies everything that Connie has dreamed about in a boy, but is in the most malevolent form of Connie’s dream boy. She always wanted to get away from her family because she has always felt as if she didn’t belong and Arnold can make this possible just in the most predatory way. She always thought sex would be sweet (and consensual) and that she would be in charge of how it progressed, Arnold strips her of the authority she’s held in any other encounter with a boy. The moral of the story is always be careful what you wish
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” clearly illustrates the loss of innocence adolescents experience as they seek maturity, represented by Connie's dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie symbolizes the many teens that seek independence from their family in pursuit of maturity. Connie’s great desire to grow up is apparent from the beginning of the story, as she experiments with her sexuality. However, it is clear that Connie is not interested in pursuing a relationship, but relishes the maturity she feels after being with the opposite sex. After following a boy to his car, she was “gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place” (2). This suggests that Connie's exploits
Joyce Carol Oates intrigues readers in her fictional piece “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by examining the life of a fifteen year old girl. She is beautiful, and her name is Connie. Oates lets the reader know that “everything about her [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere but home (27). When Connie goes out, she acts and dresses more mature than she probably should. However, when she is at home, she spends the majority of her time absorbed with daydreams “about the boys she met”(28). This daydreaming behavior is observable to the reader throughout the story. From theories about dreams, theories about subconscious thought, and the clues that Oates provides, the reader is lead to believe that Connie’s experience with Arnold Friend is a nightmare used to awaken her to the consequences that her behavior could result in.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing about Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. By Frank Madden. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 436-48. Print.
Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is about a young girl's struggle to escape reality while defying authority and portraying herself as a beauty queen; ultimately, she is forced back to reality when confronted by a man who symbolizes her demise. The young girl, Connie, is hell- bent on not becoming like her mother or sister. She feels she is above them because she is prettier. She wants to live in a "dream world" where she listens to music all day and lives with Prince Charming. She does not encounter Prince Charming but is visited by someone, Arnold Friend, who embodies the soul of something evil. Arnold Friend symbolizes "Death" in that he is going to take Connie away from the world she once knew. Even if she is not dead, she will never be the same person again, and will be dead in spirit. With the incorporation of irony, Oates illustrates how Connie's self-infatuation, her sole reason for living, is the reason she is faced with such a terrible situation possibly ending her life.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Oates wants to show a more intellectual and symbolic meaning in this short story. Oates has many symbolic archetypes throughout the short story along with an allegory. Oates uses these elements in her story by the selection of detail and word choice used. Oates does this because she wants to teach her audience a moral lesson.
Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" written in the late sixties, reveals several explanations of its plot. The story revolves around a young girl being seduced, kidnapped, raped and then killed. The story is purposely vague and that may lead to different interpretations. Teenage sex is one way to look at it while drug use or the eerie thought that something supernatural may be happening may be another. The story combines elements of what everyone may have experienced as an adolescent mixed with the unexpected dangers of vanity, drugs, music and trust at an early age. Ultimately, it is up to the reader to choose what the real meaning of this story is. At one point or another one has encountered, either through personal experience or through observation, a teenager who believes that the world is plotting against them. The angst of older siblings, peer pressure set upon them by their friends, the need for individualism, and the false pretense that at fifteen years of age, they are grown are all factors which affect the main character in this story.
”Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, which explores the life of a teenage girl named Connie. One of the issues this story divulges is the various stresses of adolescence. Connie, like so many others, is pressured to conform according to different social pressures, which displays the lack of respect female adolescents face. The music culture, young men, and family infringe upon young female minds to persuade them to look or act in certain ways, showing a disrespect for these girls. While some perhaps intend their influence for good, when put into practice, the outcome often has a negative effect. Moreover, this can lead young women to confusion and a lack of self-respect, which proves
Oates, Joyce Carol. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. Backpack Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2006. (323-336). Print.
Rubin attempts to convey the idea that Connie falls asleep in the sun and has a daydream in which her “…intense desire for total sexual experience runs headlong into her innate fear…” (58); and aspects of the story do seem dream like - for instance the way in which the boys in Connie’s daydreams “…dissolved into a single face…” (210), but the supposition that the entire episode is a dream does not ring true. There are many instances in which Connie perceives the frightening truth quite clearly; she is able to identify the many separate elements of Friend’s persona - “… that slippery friendly smile of his… [and] the singsong way he talked…” (214). But because of the lack of attachment with her own family, and her limited experience in relating deeply to others, “…all of these things did not come together” (214) and Connie is unable to recognize the real danger that Arnold Friend poses until it is too late.
“He wagged a finger and laughed and said, “Gonna get you, baby.” The quote foreshadows future events in the story because of the fact that Arnold says, “Gonna get you, baby.” There’s no actual reasoning behind why he chooses her, but it states he might try something later on. Oates also uses small wording to kind of hint at the readers. “Her mind was filled was all filled with trash daydreams.” (Oates 1). This quote tends to shape the short story. This quote leads readers to the possibility that Connie’s experience with Arnold could have all been a foreshadowing to a trashy daydream. In the article “Oates’s Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by David K. Gratz, he also points out the quote. “Both Rubin and Winslow note that seems to be falling asleep just before he arrives, and Rubin points out the nightmare quality of her being unable to act in the end.” (Gratz). This article more or less solidifies the fact that Connie might of fell asleep and dreamed up the whole encounter. In all, Oates uses multiple accounts of foreshadowing to further the possibility of the encounter being all just a bad dream of
Oates, Joyce Carol. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Backpack Literature. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
Gale Kozikowski, Stan. " The Wishes and Dreams Our Hearts Make in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'. " Journal of the Short Story in English. 33 (Autumn 1999): 89-103.
Connie’s clothes and infatuation with her own beauty symbolize her lack of maturity or knowing her true self, which in the end enables her to be manipulated by Arnold Friend. Connie was enamored with her own beauty; in the beginning of the story Oates states that Connie “knew
Mrs. Carrie Watts, the main character in the movie, personifies the three common dilemmas of old age, e.g., “Where will I live? How will I cope by myself? And, What should I do about money” (Solie, 2004, pp. 91, 95, & 99). Having lived most of her life in the wide and open field of the town of Bountiful, Mrs. Watts cherished the thought of coming home to Bountiful. There had been several attempts in the past, that were all foiled by her over-protective son and overbearing daughter-in-law. Time and time again, she would express to her son, her desire to go back to Bountiful. The son, for the practical reason of employment opportunity, always decided against the idea of going back to Bountiful. It was a toss