Connie's Repressed Thoughts

how Arnold Friend sees her and does not realize that she cannot see him or his motives. Arnold

Arnold found about about this information because he has been stalking Connie for a while. When Arnold pulls into Connie’s driveway, Connie describes how “Her heart began to pound and her fingers snatched at her hair, checking it, and she whispered ‘Christ, christ,’ wondering how bad she looked” (257). This shows how vulnerable Connie already is to Arnold Friend because her first instinct is not to check who is this mysterious person who had pulled into my driveway, but her first instinct is to check how she looks. This makes connie vulnerable because it shows how Connie cares so much about what others perceive her as, that he doesn’t even care about her own safety. Then Arnold comes to the door and starts talking to Connie, saying how cute she is and how he is going to take her out for a ride. Connie doesn’t really know how to respond, but loving the attention that she is receiving from this older man, Connie just can’t seem to shut the door on the stranger and go back inside to her house. Arnold Friend keeps trying to talk her up and Connie just cannot decide whether or not she should ignore this boy or go with him inside his car, despite her previously saying how ignoring some boys makes her feel good. This point in the story right here really shows how vulnerable Connie is to Arnold Friend because even though

Connie does not attend church on this Sunday, but the family does go over to a family member’s house for dinner. Of course Connie does not go with them and stays home alone instead of being around people that was not on her level. She always seems to be doing something that is out of the ordinary or against the rules. “Connie is once again described as lacking in breath and air…” (Slimp,1999). She has some unexpected visitors show up at her home. Connie’s rebellious ways and ugly behavior towards her family seems to have invited the devil to her home. ““Half-real” succinctly describes the satyr, half-man and half- beast, and the music that evokes intense feelings of pleasure in Connie becomes in his hands a share and sortilege” (Easterly, 1990 p.10). For the first time Connie finally shows her reacts to the situation before as a young girl scared and crying out for help. Slimp states, “… that Connie has at last developed a soul, has in the way that most human beings do- through the experience of suffering and a proper ordering of world (Slimp, 1990). Connie calls out for her mother when things took a turn for the worse, but it is a little too late for that. Connie showed bravery and love for her family and accepted her fate head

The Importance of the Plot in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The progression of the plot throughout “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates reveals many interesting things about the characters of Connie and Arnold. As the story goes on, more is revealed about the character’s personality and nature. The conflicts, climax, and resolution ultimately reveal Connie’s self-obsessiveness and Arnold’s two-faced nature to the reader. The conflict between Connie and her mother in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” identifies Connie’s self-obsessed personality and sets up the climax.

She repeatedly makes it clear that she does not want anything from Arnold. Sometimes she even finds herself feeling close to her mom, and when she was about to give herself up to Arnold, she wished her mom would come home and save her. This vulnerability challenges Kurowski's assertion of Connie's independence, as she ultimately submits to Arnold out of fear rather than any desire for the life he offers. While Connie often crosses the highway to escape her home life, she remains unwilling to completely abandon it. Her home is where she feels the safest, and Arnold’s intrusion across the highway disrupts that sense of security.

In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’, the main protagonist Connie is displayed as a person with split personalities. She defies the roles of being a daughter and sister, and acts as a “nice” girl to hide her sexual persona. A side of her that only shows when she is away from both her family and home. She’s your average teenager, mainly concerned about her looks, music, her friends, she flirts with boys, and even explores her sexuality. Because of the fact that she is one way at home and an entirely different way elsewhere, when Arnold Friend arrived at her house both her personalities were forced to merge. By Arnold’s coming into her home, it is realized that Connie is not as mature as she believes she is, and once

The interaction between Connie and Friend start when Friend shows up to Connie’s house uninvited. The author Oates states “After a while she heard a car coming up the drive. She sat up at once, startled, because it couldn't be her father so soon. . . It was a car she didn't know,” (qtd. Oates. pg.2) Connie’s first reaction was to evaluate how good she looked instead of finding out whether Friend was somebody she knew or not. When they finally come face to face, she was met with flirtatious small talk from Friend, who exclaimed “Don’tcha like my car? New paint job,… You're cute” (qtd. Oates. pg.3) Connie is in awe of his faded pants and his huge black dark boots and actually considers getting in the car as he requested. The awe of the mysterious however, rapidly shifted as he makes demands and threats due to Connie’s refusal to get in the car with him. Alarmed, Connie tries to put a call. Arnold request that she come out of the house and if she doesn't comply to his demands she and her family are going to “get it”. Slowly, Connie begins to realize that there's something off about Arnold Friend. He looks to be wearing a wig, and he's

Analyzing Connie, the female protagonist in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” reveals the character’s journey of rebellion, a search for identity, and the protagonist’s psychological problems. Connie appears to be a seemingly normal teenage female during the first few sentences: fifteen years old, physically beautiful, and appears semi-narcissistic. As one reads on, underlying psychological issues begin to unearth themselves. Connie has a habit of needing to know that she is beautiful; she is continuously “…craning her neck to glance into mirrors…checking other people’s faces to make sure hers was alright.” (Perrine’s 487) Being a somewhat typical habit of teenage girls, always wanting to look at themselves, whether it is out of admiration or self-judgment, Connie is constantly aware of herself and appearance, despite her mother’s nagging. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” this appears to be an indication of a present insecurity, a lack of a sense of who Connie is. In the first paragraph, Connie describes beauty as “being everything” (Perrine’s 487); we are able to interpret the fact that without her beauty, Connie would be nothing. She continuously attempts to establish her own identity; she tests the boundaries with her parents, develops a separate persona when she is away from home, and searches out approval from older boys at the drive-in. This lack of self eventually plays a part in leaving with Arnold Friend, at the end of the story.

Barba Daley, a child psychologist, said “the way kids dress when they go to school is just beyond me. They come into my office barely clothed!” Connie was always looking in the mirror at herself and wanting to make sure her appearance was perfect. Arnold Friend, on the other hand, has “shaggy black hair” and he “wore sunglasses.” The author describes him as having a long nose and pale skin.

In Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, she paints the picture of a teenage girl whose mother is jealous of her, father is absent, and sister is twenty-four and lives at home. Connie is a fifteen year old girl who sneaks around with her friends, is a bit boy crazy and is very much a daydreaming teenager. The beginning of the story starts off rather innocent, then through a series of hints scattered throughout the story, takes a turn for the worse when Connie’s eyes are opened to a face of evil no girl should ever have to experience and no boy should ever become. Oates reveals how family relationships directly and indirectly affect the way teenagers act and how it impacts their search for self-identity.

On the side of the car was labeled 33, 19, and 17. Arnold goes on to tell Connie how he knows she is alone and that he knew her family was out at her aunt’s barbecue. Arnold calls out to Connie, trying to lure her out, and Connie becomes frightened of Arnold Friend after seeing his hidden appearance of his true age. Friend seemed to hide his old baby face with make-up and young-looking clothes. He continues to tell her how he promises to not go inside as long as she comes out to him. Connie decides to go back inside the screen door after being in complete fear of Arnold. He tells her how if she calls the police that he will then go inside and break his promise to her. After Arnold continuously scares the light out of Connie, she reaches for the phone as if she was going to call for help. He comes up to the screen door, but does not go inside keeping his promise. His final ultimatum to lure Connie out was to threaten hurting her family. She finally comes out and gives into Arnold Friend, fearing for her life.

At home, she kept to herself. She was very ostracized by her mother, for her mother didn’t like the way Connie acted. She was considered a child—a lazy child stuck in her own thoughts. In Connie’s eyes, her mother never had anything good to say about Connie because her June was always doing something right. Whether it’d be paying bills or cleaning up around the house, June was the praised child. By being put down so much it pushed Connie to isolation, which led her to think more of herself and do nothing but daydream. I think playing the role of the child didn’t bother Connie so much because she was the youngest of everyone; however, what seems to bother her more is how her mother views her. What we later see is that when Connie is being threatened by Arnold, she screams for her mother over the undialed phone which shows how terrified Connie is faced with a real-life

1st - The mother emotionally abuses her daughter although Connie does not see that at the moment and makes excuses in saying that she can see the positive within her mothers’ negativity.

Arnold Friend's façade gives the reader the feeling that something is wrong, as if Oates were trying to persuade Connie away from her impending doom. When Arnold first pulls into Connie's driveway, the reader is alarmed. Connie notices that he is actually much older than he appears and the reader knows that

The characterizations of Connie’s family members have great effects on Connie. And Connie’s mother’s characterization is the main motivator for Connie’s rebellion. She always compares Connie with June, who is the “ideal daughter” in her eyes, and blames Connie for some little things, such as improper dressing and not having a tidy room. Oates suggests that the reason for Connie’s mother prohibiting Connie to dress up like an adult is that “ Her mother had been pretty once too” (Oates 1), but now “her looks were gone and that was why she always after Connie” (Oates 1). Therefore, she is jealous about Connie’s beauty and feels uncomfortable when seeing Connie wear beautiful outfits. Meanwhile, she likes June so much because June is obedient and plain, which makes her feel that she is dominant in the relationship. In the short story, Connie’s father is not given much description by the author, but