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.
Oates is accused of "producing too much" (676). This story is no different. Her exposition is painstaking. She sets the scene by making the main character and protagonist, Connie, parallel to an average girl in the sixties. Oates' narrator introduces Connie using elements of description which puts emphasis on the vanity of the main character. Connie's mother is quickly introduced and is used by the narrator to reveal how much disdain her mother has for her vanity. The narrator uses the main character's mother to introduce her sister, June. One is led to believe that sibling rivalry is one of the many causes that lead to the demise o...
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... the devil, with his partner, Ellie, as the devil's advocate. His voice changes from one time to the next as expressed by Oates, as she states, "He had the voice of the man on the radio. It was the same voice, Connie thought" (671). Later in the paragraph, Oates states, "'Maybe you better step out here,' he said, and this last was in a different voice (671)."
Even though there seems to be many translations of this story which all seem to be slightly different, they do seem to come together in some odd way. The story does not have to mean one thing or the other. It can have multiple meanings depending on the point of view of the reader. This could be a tragic story of rape and murder. It can be a social commentary on the evils of drugs and rock and roll. It could be a fantasy which is fueled by drugs, or it can be a lesson on life and who we should trust.
In Stegner’s depiction the purpose seems to be the successful overcoming of obstacles that a child, specifically a boy, has to go through in order to become a man. Chet is able to prove that he is indeed mature and capable because Stegner wants to show how bravery and hard-work lead to a positive outlook of adulthood. In Oates’ depiction the purpose seems to be to show how trying to grow up too soon can lead to harsh and brutal consequences. There is a juxtaposition between the fantasy Connie has of adulthood and the abrupt push into the adult world that Arnold represents. Both authors effectively wrote stories reflecting the transition from childhood to adulthood, but while Stegner chose to exhibit the positive consequences to this transition Oates chose to display the negative
In the story, Oates presents the main character, Connie, as a somewhat bratty teenager that does not have a close relationship with her mother or sister. Her mother shows envy towards her daughter making comments to her such as, “ Stop gawking at
Connie's character plays a big role in what ultimately happens to her. Connie is a vain girl that thinks the way you look is everything. She plays the stereotypical part for girls in today's society. She thinks that as long as you are pretty and dress a certain way then you are everything. This comes across when Oates writes "Connie thought that her mother preferred her to June because she was prettier" (980). By flaunting her looks she could easily give a guy like Arnold Friend perverted ideas about her. It could make them see her as easy, which he did.
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.
One of the main characters of the story by Joyce Carol Oates is a fifteen year old girl Connie. She has a conflict with her mother and tries to ignore all comments about her personality. The girl likes to look in a mirror at her face and think that she is pretty. Despite the opinion of her mother, she is really cute. Connie has a long dark blond hair, which is always stacked into a nice hairstyle, and a lovely smile that attract the attention of everyone on the street. The girl was looked like her mother, on the photos where she was young and beautiful. The girl may seem imperceptive and immature because she cannot opposes anything to the reproachful speeches of her mother.
”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
The tragic situation of Connie relates to the real life chain of murders in Tucson, Arizona. Tom Quirk iterates that Oates seems to get her creative imagination from “real criminal and real crime”, the irony is the story of Connie is sadly all too familiar in society (Quirk 413). The characters of Eddie and Ellie Oscar are figures that are not particularly familiar to readers. The lack of dialogue from these characters tend to neglect their significance, however studying them may actually connect a few dots that Oates purposely leaves for the reader to wonder. The comparison of Eddie and Ellie inclines that they are actually the same person. From research into Ellie’s appearance and mysterious motivation to remain unnoticed by Connie hints at the notion that instead of young teenage boy named Eddie accompanying Connie at the restaurant, it was none other than Ellie disguising himself. Although some find it bizarre that Connie could not see Eddie/Ellie for who he was while spending hours with him, one must take into account that Connie was more into herself rather than the boy she was with. Along with Connie’s natural infatuation with herself, the drive-in restaurant presented distractions such as the bright lights and loud music which aided Eddie/Ellie. The main antagonist Arnold Friend makes various statements and questionable actions that support the theory that Ellie has already encountered Connie at some point in time, thus providing the explanation as to how he knew so much information about
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, “SmoothTalk”. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that is consumed by evil, the theme. In the story evil is projected through the eyes of the characters.(Weinberger 207) Joyce Carol Oates has been labeled by many as a, “writer of psychological realism”(Wegs 69), which is seen in this story. Tied in with the theme are three particular literary elements that interlink all of the scattered details, leaving the readers in awe at the end of the narrative. The three literary elements contributing to the short story are irony, imagery and symbolism. Irony is an important element in “Where Are You Going, Where HaveYou Been.” The title itself is ironic since it is two questions that Connie is never asked. No one has ever asked, where she was going, nor has anyone ever inquired where she has been.(sullivan 535) What is also ironic is that although she is the victim in this tale, she actually welcomes and invites this demonic provocation.(Hurly 64) Her fears that have always overtaken he subconscious self drive her into distorted separation of mind and body in which sher ealizes that her unconscious self has betrayed her.(Wegs 70) Something else somewhat ironic is when Arnold Friend says,” I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to getaway or pretend anything because you’ll know youca...
The whole story concentrates on two main characters, which is a young girl, whose name is Connie, and Arnold Friend the evil character. Oates presents Connie as a fifteen year old girl, that is really concerned by her looks. She is adware how pretty she is
Connie has the need to be viewed as older and as more mature than she really is, all the while still displaying childlike behavior. She shows this childlike behavior by “craning her neck to glance in mirrors [and] checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates 323). This shows that Connie is very insecure and needs other people’s approval. Although on one side she is very childish, on the other side she has a strong desire to be treated like an adult. This longing for adulthood is part of her coming of age, and is demonstrated by her going out to “bright-lit, fly-infested restaurant[s]” and meeting boys, staying out with those boys for three hours at a time, and lying to her parents about where she has been and who she has been with (Oates 325, 326). “Everything about her ha[s] two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oates 324). Even her physical movements represent her two-sided nature: “her walk that could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearin...
This short story is about a girl trying to be an adult while still being a child. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie tries to grow up too soon. Through setting Connie’s true self is revealed by characterization and figurative language through the house as a metaphor.
Oates’ use of the way Arnold looks and acts so similar to the devil, her use of the words on the car meaning something foreign and her subtle symbolism with Connie’s attire make the story’s theme of evil and manipulation stand out so much more. Connie’s clothing symbolizing
However, as I continued to read the story I began to wonder if maybe Connie’s life was not in any way parallel to my own. I have a younger sister where she has an older sister, but that is where the similarities end. Her mother is always telling her that she should be more like June, her older sister. It seemed to me that June living with her parents at her age was unusual, but the fact that she seemed to enjoy this and was always doing things to h...
be a young woman. Most importantly Oates shows the human tendency to be independent at times and at others dependent. Each character won and lost a battle, expressing the human complexity of sometimes being able to be strong but then at other times weak. This shows that in a mother and daughter relationship each is needed for the other person because each person needs someone to be strong.