Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates

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Recommended: A reflection about decision making

The decisions that you make throughout life can make or break you; you just have to make the right ones. In Joyce Carol Oates story “Where Are Your Going Where Have You Been?”, the main character is Connie. Connie had an older sister but she was nothing like her. Her older sister always pleased her mom, and Connie did not care. Connie and her friend hang out and go to the shopping center or the movies. One day they decided that instead of going to the mall they would go to the diner across the street. She met a boy named Arnold. After that night everything started to spiral down. “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” demonstrates a teenager who decided to cross the road and become a woman.
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...

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...ed to grow up and become her own person. She made a mistake that turned into an avalanche for her. She was tired of the life that she was living and she was ready to make decisions and deal with the consequences for them. You only have one life and you determine how you are going to live that life. In life there are a lot of up and downs, but always be strong and you get through anything. Connie chose what path she was going to take. You only have on life.

Works Cited
Caldwell, Tracy M. "Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?." Literary Contexts In Short Stories: Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?' (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: ,talk, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and
Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.

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