One of the American prolific and versatile latest writers, Joyce Carol Oates focuses on the spiritual, sexual, and intellectual decline of modern American society. Joyce Carol Oates born on June 16, 1938, in Lockport, New York. She is the oldest daughter of Fredric and Caroline Oates’s children and is the only child in the family that taken reading and study seriously. She can tell a story by drawing the picture even before she knows how to write. Oates studied English at Syracuse University and earned her Bachelor degree in 1960 and the Master degree in the University of Wisconsin in 1961. Besides fiction, poetry, and short stories, Oates also wrote mysteries under Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. Her characterizes individual of American …show more content…
The main purpose of this story, like many of her short stories, is about main female character struggling with minority who finds herself in a dangerous situation, and she cannot get help from anyone. The story is about Connie, a rebellious fifteen-year-old girl, who lack of maturity and has no relationship with her family, and she always has conflict with her mother. Moreover, she always seeks out company of young man to flirts around with, her behavior had drawn Arnold’s attention. From the beginning of the story, she used her beauty to play everyone and did not think of the consequences that one day she will get herself into trouble that it will be too late for her to …show more content…
She always getting into a fight with her mother all the time about her beauty, because she has a habit of looking at herself in the mirror wherever she found one, “…she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into the mirror or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was alright.” (126). Moreover, her mother always compares her with her sister, June, which makes she feel even more hatred toward her mother, “Why don’t you clean your room like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed – what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.” (126). Her mother, whenever she gossips on the phone with her aunties. They always admire June over her, “June did this, June did that, she saved money and helped clean the house and cooked, and Connie couldn’t do a thing, her minded was all filled with trashy daydreams.” (126). To them, June is always the best, because she is good at almost everything and Connie cannot do anything right. Therefore, when Connie’s mother says something or complaint about her beauty, she rolls her eyeballs and wishes that her mother was
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 was tired of the life she was living and, she was ready to make decisions for herself and to deal with the consequences for them. She knew that if her parents found out about her going to the diner that she would be in trouble. Connie did not care about the consequences for her actions. She felt like it was time to grow up and be a woman. She wanted to start to experiment with her sexuality. Connie wanted boys to start to notice her and talk to her. Connie thinks that guys could be her savior by helping deliver her from the pressure and anxieties from her sister and mother. Her going out on her own makes her realize that she does not have to please anyone, only herself. When Connie and her friend went to the diner she met this guy Arnold. Obviously being with Eddie for three hours in a dark alley and diner was not the best first move for her. This is the one decision that will change her life forever. This was probably the first guy that gave Connie some attention. So obviously she is going to soak him up and just...
Mary Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, on March 25, 1925. Until she graduated in 1945 she was known as Mary Flannery. At this point she felt that Mary Flannery didnt seem suitable, on one occasion she described it as sounding like the name of an Irish washerwoman. From this point on, she was known as just Flannery OConnor. Flannery is most recognized for her short stories but at the same time had great interest in cartooning and drawing. She would paint over any cracks in the walls of her home so that her mother would not cover them up with paintings from relatives. As a student at Georgia State College for women Flannery displayed her interests in art by painting murals on the walls of the student union building. Flannery often accredited her father, Edward OConnor as being one of the first and most important influences in her life. Edward OConnor not only encouraged his daughter to write but to explore her artistic ability as well.
When the short story began, Connie was an extremely conceited girl. She expressed how pretty she was throughout the beginning of the short story. However, she didn’t get much praise at home about her outer appearance. In actuality, her mother seemed to hate that the most about her. Connie seemed to have no support around her. Unfortunately, her mother nagged at her all the time about how she thought she looked and a constant comparison to her older sister. Per in the short story, “Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn 't much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it. "Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you 're so pretty?" she would say.” "Why don 't you keep your room clean like your sister? How 've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don 't see your sister using that junk." (Pg.1) Therefore, her older sister received all the glorious praise from her mother. Subsequently, not only was her
The author of the short story projects Connie as a very independent, extrovert and libertine teenager, who just liked to hang out with her girlfriends, and meet boys. Her outgoing personality combined with her physical
For the majority of the story, Connie appears to be a static character who remains the same. The first sentence of the story immediately portrays Connie as someone who is very vain and conceited, “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 alright” (626). It is clear that Connie’s appearance is something extremely important to her. If she is not looking at herself in mirrors, she is looking for other people’s approval of how she looks. As Connie is trying to discover herself, she feels the need to constantly check her appearance. Connie’s static and vain character changes once she realizes the danger she is in, “He ran a fingernail down the screen and the noise did not make Connie shiver, as it would have the day before” (636). The narrator openly tells the reader that there has been a change in Connie. Previously, she would have shivered when hearing the sound, but now she no longer shivers. Also prior to her confrontation with Arnold Friend, Connie appeared to be someone who did not particularly enjoy her family’s presence. Connie also disliked the way her sister, June, was praised all the time by her other family, “Connie had to hear [June] praised all the time by her mother and her mother’s sisters” (626). Based on the negative tone of Connie’s voice, she feels hostility towards her family. Connie wants to be her own person which is why she disapproves of being compared to her sister. Not only does the way Connie speak lead to the inference that she does not like her family, but also her actions. When Connie’s family is going to a barbeque, Connie opts to stay home alone instead, “Her parents and sister were going to a barbeque at an aunt’s house and Connie said no, she wasn’t interested, rolling her eyes to let
There is a young woman name Connie she is very vibrant and confident. Connie big sister June was talked about all the time, so Connie was living under June shadow. Connie and her mother never got along and her dad did not even pay her attention. Connie just wanted attention from her family and someone to talk to her, but she starts drawing the wrong attention. In the passage Connie either a helpless victim or a hero saving her family. Connie is a young girl that just wants to have fun, but in the end it was no fun at all.
The main character’s teenage world, at the beginning of the story, revolved around beauty, curiosity, and independence from her family. Connie “was fifteen and she had a quick
One of the main themes is appearance and reality. When the story began, Connie wanted to appear as an older girl so she would attract men. Connie dressed, acted, laughed, talked, and walked a certain way to appear older. Once Connie began to receive attention from a grown man, reality set in. She soon realized that she was a child and she needed to be young men, not adults. She also realized she was not the confident flirt she thought she was, but a weak and powerless girl in the hands of a powerful and dangerous grown man. The second evident theme is victim versus self-inflicted conflict. When Arnold Friend shows up at Connie’s house to basically kidnap her, she wanted to play the victim. Connie also knows she brought this problem upon herself by talking to older men
Joyce Carol Oates uses the description of the characters to reveal their purpose in the story and their affect on others. June portrays the family environment Connie lives in and the differences between her and Connie. This leads to Connie’s need for attention from others and acknowledgement of her beauty. She desires attention and to be an adult, but she is stuck in between childhood and adulthood with her daydreams about fanciful romance supplied by music. Arnold Friend causes Connie to confront reality and her struggle between childhood and adulthood. Oates is able to portray Connie’s move from childhood and fantasy to reality and adulthood through her willingly leaving with Arnold Friend – sacrificing herself for her family.
Connie is a fifteen year old girl, who loves grooming and looking at herself in the mirror. Her mom tells her to be just like her sister June. Connie’s mom is against her looking in the mirror.
Connie's actions from being at home too with her friends or being in the house alone as is if she were three different people. Connie is depressed and wishes death upon her mother as she sits home and listens to all her mother's rules. She feels like she needs to rebel constantly against her mother making it hard for her and her mother to get along. Connie’s mother had lost her good looks and Connie thinks she is just jealous of her. While Connie is with her friends she is promiscuous and sexualized. Showing she can be an ‘adult” like her sister Jane she dresses older and shows more skins and Connie can't help but to feel like a little kid and cry for her mother when Arnold is in her house wanting to take her away. Although Connie is promiscuous
Oates, Joyce Carol. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been. Making Literature Matter. New York: St. Martin, 2012.
Like other teens, fifteen year old Connie also had that youthful coquetry that she could just not control and had to let out to feel that mental pleasure of her actions she was trying to obtain. Unlike her older sister who was living the “in-home and innocent youth” life which was expected to be the “normal” American tradition for women to act, air-headed Connie had that flame inside her to rebel and the only way she could extinguish that flame was to give in to the stranger, Arnold Friend. Connie’s conflicts with her family and efforts to make herself sexually attractive are part of her search for independence and exploration. But her out of control desires and goals to “mature” only lead her into the wrong path.
The story opens up with the introduction of Connie, a rebellious 15-year-old girl who seemed to only care about makeup, boys, and anything else that did not include her ‘dull’ family. She would frequent areas where older teenagers would hang out; her and her friends on the prowl for anything they were not supposed to do. One night, while the girls were at a diner, Connie makes eye contact with a boy across the parking lot, thinking nothing of it. Although, it was not until the next day when this character, aptly named Arnold Friend, arrives at Connie’s house. In summary, Connie, home alone, greets him, and after much argument leaves with him as well. This chilling story of the events leading up to a young woman’s murder has caused much deliberation,