Analysis of Connie’s Character and Her Demise There are some stories that capture the reader’s attention and which keep us riveted from the beginning to the ultimate line of the tale. ‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’, a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966, is one of those. Inspired by the mythic song of the phenomenal singer Bob Dylan entitled ‘’It’s all over Now, Baby Blue,’’ the author describes the main character as a 15-year-old girl named ‘’ Connie’’, who is obsessed by her beauty and does not get along with her family. The heroine of the story ‘’Connie,’’ engages in an adolescent rebellion against her entourage by acting to appear older. This increases her vulnerability through the story and at the end leads her to a perverse person. A psychological approach of this teenager’s behavior would highlight some difficulties youth encounters in their mid-adolescent life. Some attitudes that she exhibits in her fantasy life are egocentric, superficial, narcissistic, sophisticated and provocative, and they should be considered responsible for her disappearance. Among the characters involved in the story Connie is undoubtedly the one that carries the most sympathy in the reader’s view. In the first place, her egocentric and her superficial attitude, which she seems to have because of her fragile and instable adolescence, is one of Connie’s weak traits. Connie blindly believes in herself. She is not conscious of her mother’s and her sister’s attitudes toward her. The relationship between her and the rest of the family suffers as a consequence of her megalomania. For example, when Connie’s mother notices the excessive way she pays attention to her appearance and attractiveness, she points out her concerns to... ... middle of paper ... ...arie Urbanski believe that Connie leaves with Arnold Friend because she is, ‘’bowing to absolute forces which her youthful coquetry cannot direct-absolute forces over which she has no control’’ (Clifford). To sum up, Joyce Carol Oates presents an image of young women who are insecure, hopeless and rebel against the norms of society. Those kinds of girls like Connie continue to exist in society and the shadow of people like Arnold Friend is always nearby for such women. Works Cited Henderson, Gloria Mason, Anna Dunlap Higgins, Bill Day, Sandra Stevenson Waller. Literature and Ourselves. 6th ed. New York: Publishing Services Inc., 2009. Print. Clifford J. Kurkowski. ‘’A Psychological Analysis of Connie’’: A Feminist Viewpoint of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Web. 17 Feb, 2012
As teenagers, we feel like we know all the complexities of life, and that the changes we experience during puberty are the ultimate variabilities of our lives, but the irony of this is that they still have so much more to learn. The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by Joyce Carol Oates, an influential, feminist author in the 1960s. The story was inspired by the real-life serial killer, Charles Schmid, also known as the “Pied Piper of Tucson”, who like the antagonist in the story, Arnold Friend, preyed on young girls as his victims (Sharma 5). An important element that influenced the story is that it was written in the 1960's, a period known as the Second-Wave of feminism, this was a time when women across America began to break free from the patriarchal system and assert their rights as citizens outside of the home (The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers
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.
The heroine, Mrs. P, has some carries some characteristics parallel to Louise Mallard in “Hour.” The women of her time are limited by cultural convention. Yet, Mrs. P, (like Louise) begins to experience a new freedom of imagination, a zest for life , in the immediate absence of her husband. She realizes, through interior monologues, that she has been held back, that her station in life cannot and will not afford her the kind of freedom to explore freely and openly the emotions that are as much a part of her as they are not a part of Leonce. Here is a primary irony.
In the coming-of-age short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, a fifteen year old girl named Connie has an incident involving a strange man, Arnold Friend, that causes her to grow up quickly and causes her to see the real world for the first time. Through this incident, the author shows how Connie’s vanity, love of music, and her life without a father figure lead her to not be able to handle situations where a person uses those qualities against her; therefore, she has a harsh and quick coming of age.
This line of text from the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates gives a brief overview into the life of Connie and Arnold. A charming yet mysterious man named Arnold Friend preys on a young girls gift of beauty, her feelings of seclusion and her desires. This passage highlights the moral and psychological issues young girls face.
Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” tells the tale of a fifteen year old girl named Connie living in the early 1960’s who is stalked and ultimately abducted by a man who calls himself Arnold Friend. The short story is based on a true event, but has been analyzed by many literary scholars and allegedly possesses numerous underlying themes. Two of the most popular interpretations of the story are that the entire scenario is only dreamt by Connie (Rubin, 58) and that the abductor is really the devil in disguise (Easterly, 537). But the truth is that sometimes people really can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Connie, a victim of terrifying circumstance will be forever changed by her interactions with Friend.
Additionally, Oates expresses the dangers of youth through Connie's rebellion against her family. The family has zero communication with Connie. Connie's dad is too busy working and sleeping to pay attention to his daughter. She lives two different lifestyles, one for when she's home and another for anywhere but home. Her family has no idea who Connie actually is and what happens when she goes out with her friends. Without communication, Connie loses the sense of trust with the people she is supposed to be closest to. This leaves her vulnerable to someone as manipulative as Arnold. Connie also isolates herself from her family. She perceives her mother and sister as enemies; it's Connie against the world. Connie wishes her mother were dead and
Everyone experiences transitions in ones lives. Some changes are small, like going from one class to the next. Other times these changes are major, like the transition between youth and adulthood. The author Joyce Carol Oates is trying to make one understand the powerful effect that the opposite sex can have on an adolescent girl, and displays the potential dangerous consequences that may result if one succumbs to their desires without even thinking about it. Oates dramatizes a real life wrong doing story to test and examine the decisive moment people face when at the crossroads between the illusions and innocence of youth and the uncertain future ahead of them. Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” tells a story of a teenage girl named Connie who is having a hard time transitioning from being a teenager to becoming an adult. She is a superficial and selfish teenager who ends up in a horrifying situation she must accept unless she wants her family to be in the same horrifying situation. Like most teenagers, Connie explores her surroundings and numerous temptations confront her along the way. Connie's mother and her own intuition attempt to protect her from the wickedness in society, but sometimes the allure of these enticements "cry 'to one' like a fire in the sun"(Dylan 613). The main characters name Connie is a fifth teen year old girl that is rebelling against her mother’s wishes. First off, Connie was not happy at home her father was away at work most of the time and didn't bother talking much to them according to the story so Connie didn't have a relationship with him. Connie found her happiness in fleeing with her friends by going to the plaza and daydreaming about boys. Connie usually goes wit...
Oates write this story with a purpose, as all short stories are written, yet she forces the reader to think of the ‘what ifs’ for each character. If Connie was not vain because of her family, she would not have made herself pretty to simply eat with her friends at the drive in restaurant. If Friend was not swayed at a young age that aggressive sexual actions and unsolicited pursuing are considered normal, he would not have been at that diner looking for a victim. No matter how much one thinks they make decisions for themselves, external and internal factors will always subconsciously shape the actions of an individual, and they will change the course of ones’
Connie exhibits two personalities in this short story. The way portrayed herself with her friends and with her family are two different personalities. When at home, Connie’s mother complains about Connie and implies that she is
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” follows a fifteen year old Connie, who acts like any rebellious teen her age. She is self centered and loves thinking about boys. One in particular is Arnold Friend, who catches Connie’s attention from the moment he drives by the restaurant. It was only a short encounter, but his gold convertible would stay in her mind. At first he seems like a normal boy just passing by in his convertible, but as the story progresses he shows his true self. He is not what and who he says he is. From the beginning Arnold seems to be a very scheming and assertive person. While this story is following Connie the person the reader should be paying attention to is Arnold Friend, a manipulative, controlling,
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
The reader goes through the process as Connie does from feelings of confusion to disturbed to fear. The story begins with Connie being a typical teenage girl, disobeying her parents instructions, and going to the drive-in to flirt with boys. This is an innocent action, and Connie is looking only for attention not anything sexual. “One night in mid-summer they came across, breathless with daring, and right away someone leaned out a car window and invited them over” (379). Connie does not realize how dangerous this could potentially be because she is just caught up in the idea of the being “where the older kids hung out” (379). She sees her identity as her physical attractiveness, so Connie uses these flirtatious nights to seek validation of this false identity. When Arnold Friend shows up at Connie’s house, she is confused but not yet scared. He is very charming at first and tells Connie she is cute. Connie thrives from this and “blushed a little....she couldn’t decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk” (381). Here, Connie is still stuck in her naive teenager mentality that this is nothing dangerous, and Arnold Friend is harmless. As the story progresses, Connie begins to realize that Arnold is not actually a teenager at all. “She could see then he wasn’t a kid, he was much older--thirty, maybe more. At this knowledge her heart
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
Simply put, Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is an ambiguous masterpiece, laden with text-based evidence to give significance to multiple interpretations. Perhaps, in addition to the story’s rich detail and its mark of literary skill, this is why the story is so widely read among the collegiate community. The story has caused numerous critics to put forth opinions about the characters, plot, and ambiguity; however, no one has largely agreed to accept all of them as a whole—as a single meaning or message.