Examples Of Internal Conflict In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

Her mother is always giving her negative comments, never anything positive, and always finds something to make her feel bad about. Her sister is nine years older than Connie, twenty four years old, and still lives in the house, yet her mother always compares Connie to her sister, using her to make Connie feel bad about herself. Therefore, because of this abuse that Connie receives from her mother, Connie says that she “wished her mother was dead and she herself were dead and it was all over” (254). In addition to the abuse from her mother, her father is very quiet and is never really present in Connie’s life. This difficult situation at home makes Connie vulnerable because she is always seeking positive feedback from someone to make herself feel better, because she never receives positive feedback at home from her mother, and even when her father goes to pick up Connie from the mall, he doesn’t even bother to ask how it was, or what they had done. This is a big factor as to why Connie is so vulnerable in the story. Oates might use Connie’s situation at home to convey insights about people in the real world who also have difficult situations awaiting them at home. Oates tries to use Connie’s family situation to try and make a connection to others in the real world who might have parents who are divorced or any type of situation at home that is similar to Connie’s that might make life

In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates shows heroism through imagery; “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewhere in the other doorway” (Oates). Oates delivers the reader a vivid image of how Connie feels giving herself up to Arnold Friend to show she is neither scared nor whining anymore.

Considering she feels rejected by her family, in that she will never share the same qualities as June, Connie desires that both her mother and herself were dead. As Connie states, “He [her father] didn’t bother talking much to them, but around his bent head Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over (664).” These repressed feelings of resentment that form against her mother unlock essential information into Connie’s differentiation of self. As Sarah Eden Schiff explains, “A person with a well-differentiated ‘self’ recognizes his realistic dependence on others, but he can stay calm and clear-headed enough in the face of conflict, criticism, and rejection to distinguish thinking rooted in a careful assessment of the facts from thinking clouded by emotionality (24).” Since Connie does not realize that she remains dependent on her mother, her differentiation of self is not formed to its fullest potential because she continues to think emotionally. Through emotional reasoning, Connie’s differentiation of self leads her to become vulnerable to outside

Deeper character analysis often provides a more critical thematic perception. Through understanding a character's physical appearance, words, and action, one can discover the inner aspect of the theme related to a work of literature. In Joyce Carol Oate's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," the main character Connie is characterized as attention seeking, open to the public, but secretive to her own family. These character traits enhance the theme of blame because Connie seeks attention from everyone, is not afraid to hang out with strangers, and is constantly lying to her family about her life outside the house. It is lucid that the kidnappers, Arnold and Eddie, had utilized her ignorant and absurd attempts to obtain attentions and explore her sexuality from boys.

If not thought about or read over more than once, the fact that Connie’s father was almost a phantom in her life might be missed. In this era, fathers in particular were not very active in their children’s lives, daughters especially; they were the mother’s problem. This same idea carries over to the father of Connie’s best girlfriend, who after driving them to the stores or movies “…never even bothered to ask what they had done.” (Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"), the name of the story is also a question that should be asked of any daughter by her father. The fathers in question here display a sense of total apathy to the question of what their daughters are actually doing. These fathers came from a time in the 40’s and 50’s when men worried about men things and woman issues were exactly that. Men and in particular fathers of that time made no effort to be involved in their daughters lives as they are today. Oates noticed that issue in society and attached it to her work in this story although minutely. The main conflict in Connie’s life is trying to balance a fine line between the way she acts at home in front of her mother, and her secret wild side which she only shows to her friends and the boys she meets. Oates’ characterization of Connie is that of a round character, one of intense

In her sorrow for the behavior of her daughter Connie, the mother often expresses a bit more appreciation and consideration for the older sister June. She declares somewhere in the story, ‘’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’’ (Henderson ). It is well-known that anything in excess is harmful, but Connie does not seem to have been aware of this. Connie’s behavior, far away from doing good to her, exposes her to her sexual predator as an easy prey.

In the story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, the author, Joyce Carol Oates, digs into the reality of meeting new people and having it go the wrong way. As Connie, the main character, is growing into a beautiful teenager, she wants to explore the

"The place where you came from ain't there anymore, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out. This place you are now—inside your daddy's house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time. You know that and always did know it. You hear me?" 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.

The characterizations of Connie’s family members have great effects on Connie. And onnie’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 his characterization has an effect on Connie as well. The irresponsible father spends little time with family and seldom has conversations to his daughters. When hearing his wife’s complain about Connie, he just bends his head with saying nothing, which makes Connie feels ignored and lonely. Urbanski states that “The father, who spent most of his time at work, is weak” (Urbanski 200) to reveals the father is not an active figure in his daughter’s life. Therefore, lacking of the company and communication of family members, Connie becomes upset. In addition, Connie’s sister June, who has the opposite characterization, is also one of the reasons for Connie’s rebellion. In Connie’s eyes, June is a

Connie is a pretty girl, and “her mother had been pretty once too”, but she is not so much anymore and almost anything Connie does aggravates her (Oates 369). This rigid relationship pushes Connie further away the older she gets. Everything about Connie has “two sides to it,” her shirt “would look one way at home and one way when she was away from home”, she was not fully herself anywhere she went (370). This act shows the way Connie lacks a sense of self. She feels as though she has to behave differently when she is with her family compared to when she is with her friends. The fact that Connie does not have a positive relationship with her mother has a direct effect on how she acts as a young woman. The lack of support and positive attention from a female role model leaves her seeking it out from other

One of the reasons Connie acts the way she wants is because of her family. She is an outcast of the family, her mother cannot stand her, her sister can do no wrong, and her father works all the time so he does not matter. The reason Connie and her mother do not get along is because the mother loves the sister June more. June is more of the innocent child where she does as the parents say. June is not as pretty as Connie, so she has no other choice then to do whatever her parents tell her to do. Connie is like the pretty younger sister that wants to rebel and do her own thing because she can. Connie is more of the promiscuous type that hangs out with the bad crowd and is always into trouble. An example from the text to show how Connie and her mother interact is “Why don’t you keep your room

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about a 15 year old girl who doesn’t get much attention from her loved ones and is trying to escape into a fantasy world. It seems like Connie and her mother have difficult relationship and have hard time talking to each other. From what I have read, the difficulties in their relationship comes from her mother's jealousy. It looks like her mother sees herself in Connie, and misses her youth. That’s why she’s being hard on Connie without realizing it. Besides that, her father is always working and has no time for Connie or anyone else. Connie didn’t get enough love from her father whom was always gone, so she had to find male attention somewhere else. Her sister, June is a perfect daughter. She works in school and helps out in the house while Connie is totally opposite of her. Their mother is always comparing them, and shows how great June is over Connie. That fact doesn’t discourage Connie that she’s the favorite daughter because of how pretty she is. Because of Connie’s family issues, she has nobody to talk to. Connie is looking for attention and understanding from other places. As she said, she has two identities, one in home, and another one somewhere else but home.

Oates used 15-year-old Connie to represent the teenagers of the 1960’s who were negatively affected by cultural changes. Connie was a narcissistic being. She was enchanted by her own appearance and was observant of other girls to make sure her own looks were acceptable to society. She believed her own mother was jealous of her physical display. Connie’s mother scolded her for being so vain on a daily basis. Oates announces in the passage that “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old complaints and look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was right at that moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything” (pg 1). Being attractive was all that mattered to her. Connie also found amusement attracting other teenage boys. She had a habit of teasing boys through dates, but in the end, ended up rejecting any further

“Where are you going, where have you been ?” is a story written by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story the author talks about the significant moment people face when they reach a certain age. This story is about a teenager name Connie, who is sunk in her own world full of trashy dream. She has absorbed the lesson of the pop culture she lives in. In her world, being attractive is everything for a woman. Her mother is constantly criticizing her about her look, meanwhile her father can care less about the family. Like Joyce Carol Oates’ message of life and changes is best understood when the reader brings his or her imagination to meet with the author’s events. It is necessary that the reader has a solid response to Oates’ efforts to fully understand the message. The reader can argue that the theme is: Analyzing a teenager’s mind of her sexuality, insecurity and the difference in appearances and reality. One can argue that being a teenager is one of the toughest phases in life for a woman, during teenage years insecurities are present and rife; in truth overcoming self-doubts is a major part of growing up and maturing into adults. Teenagers years are challenging in many ways. It is the time of great changes in life, and with the changes come pressure, worrying, uncertainty, and fear. Each of us experience transitions in our daily lives. Some of these changes could be small like moving from one city to another, other times these changes can be major like the transformation between

In the start of the story, the reader learns very early on that Connie identifies herself separately from her family, even though this piece is through a heterodiegetic narration. The reader learns through the descriptions and inputs by Connie and her family solidifying the notion of how different the sisters are. Just by reading the way the sisters are described, “Her sister June was twenty-four and still lived at home. She was a secretary in the high school Connie attended, and if it wasn’t bad enough—with her in the same building— she was so plain and chunky and steady,” (670). While Connie is described, “Connie had long dark blond hair that drew anyone’s eye to it, and she wore part of it upon her head and puffed out and the rest of it she left it to fall down her back,” (670). Stark differences in how each sister is