The Unknown : The Analyzation Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Connie is viewed by the readers as being in a state of unconsciousness, which is actually a nightmare, and it shows her the reality of a life when girls desire to grow up too fast. In the beginning, the author, Carol Oates, describes Connie as “She wore a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home.

The short story “Where are you going, Where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates was published in 1966. The story was purposely written for Bob Dylan, who’s song “It’s all over now, Baby Blue” had a great influence on the story. story Oates gives us many descriptions of the characters to give the reader a better understanding of what the character is feeling, thinking, and shows their personalities through their actions. The story also includes many signs and a great deal of symbolism. In this analysis, I will explore is Arnold friend representing an evil entity or is he simply genuinely trying to be Connie’s friend. A character by the name of Arnold Friend could potentially be a symbol of a demonic force, or even the devil.

Joyce Carol Oates's “Where are you going, Where have you been?” tells the story of a young girl's journey to find her own identity. Along the way she uses her beauty and sexuality to create, in her mind, a feeling of maturity which ultimately becomes her downfall. She believes that by spending her summer days in the mall, dressing in a way that is different than what she would wear at home, and flirting with older boys, while finding pleasure in ignoring boys she knows, she is being her own person and is creating her own identity—one that is different from that of her mother's or sister's. It is not until the end of the story, when Arnold Friend comes into her house, that she begins to realize what is truly important. The title of the

In this essay, I argue that the main theme of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is internal conflict. The main character, Connie, struggles with multiple internal conflicts throughout the short story. Some of these internal conflicts include a search for independence, internal judgment, and fantasy versus reality.

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

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is essentially about a young woman’s strive for independence, which eventually leads to conflict. Oates portrays a social issue that relates to today’s society by using symbolism and characterization. She takes you on a journey throughout a teenagers life, tells about her thoughts and feelings while also relating to naïve girls today. Connie is a symbol of young girls who try to rush and grow up too fast. The ones who want to be popular with all the boys.

The teenage rebellion, which most of people experience during the puberty, always worsens the relationship between parents and children. Written by Joyce Carol Oates, the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the condition and consequence of a family whose child is rebellious. Through the characterization, plot, and dialogue, Oates successfully exhibits the thesis that Connie’s bad ending is the consequence of her parents’ attitude and actions.

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.

The language of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is sophisticated in narration, and colloquial, matched to the age of the characters, in dialogues and quotations. It spends much time on description of people, their feelings and emotions.

The author puts Connie out to be a bad kid but is she really? Yeah, Connie is not the most respectful or well-behaved kid but who is at the age of fifteen. The author shares some instances where Connie does not make the best decisions. The author shares, “She spent three hours with him, at the restaurant where they ate hamburgers and drank cokes…and then down an alley a mile or so away” (Oate’s. 109). The quote shows how Connie put herself in situations that a girl her age should have never been in. The author gives Connie the identity of not being confident in herself when she says, “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar 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.”

Joan Carol Oates states, “But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling, mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music and the humid night air of July” (Oates 483). Connie was not attracted to one particular guy; however, she was enticed by certain qualities that she would like in a guy. She wants a guy who will treat her like the singers of the music she listens to: a misunderstood man with a kind heart who will treat a girl like a princess. Tracy Caldwell’s essay explains “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” through various forms including: religious, historic, and scientific views. She connects music and sexual desire in the story by stating, “Connie's very life seems dependant upon the music she hears that serves as a drug to both exhilarate her and drive her dangerously into fantasy…” (Caldwell, “Joyce Carol Oates”). Connie’s love for rock music has pushed her to be attracted to a rebellious guy. She refuses to believe that the song is full of exaggerations within the lyrics. It incorporates the singer’s hopes and

"Where are you going where have you been?" is a short story about a young 15 year old girl who is trying to fit in with the rest of the world, and is very preoccupied with her appearance and living in this pop cultural fantasy. Connie is always ignoring her mother 's criticism about wanting her to be more like her older sister, June, who is no longer living a life of fantasy and has her act together.. One night, a boy named Eddie invites Connie to eat dinner with him, and Connie leaves her friend at the restaurant’s counter to go with him. As Connie and Eddie leave the restaurant, she sees a man in a gold convertible in the parking lot. He smiles at her and says, “Gonna get you, baby.”. Connie confused, walks away quickly confused not really knowing what actually happened, and Eddie notices nothing. They spend three hours of their night at dinner, and end up going to a nearby alley living in that fantasy of being that mature woman who knows what a man wants. One day, Connie 's parents and June leave her at home to go to a family barbeque leaving her all by herself. While she was at home alone, she was listening to her radio when out of nowhere she hears a car pull up to the front of her house. Startled, she looks out of the window to see

The short story where are you going, where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed in the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it and has no plan of the future. She argues with her mother and she thinks she is jealous of her. The start of the plot is not very dramatic rather it is more like an introduction. We get a good

Connie, the protagonist of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, is a character who goes through a traumatic experience in her life. Her encounter with the antagonist, Arnold Friend, permanently changes her selfish innocence and challenges her way of thinking. With an unsupportive family and shallow friends, Connie lacks a strong moral foundation and is self-absorbed. Connie’s character, by the end of the story, changes through her encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie transforms from a selfish, shallow character to one of self-awareness.

The teenage rebellion, which most of people experience during the puberty, always worsens the relationship between parents and children. Written by Joyce Carol Oates, the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the condition and consequence of a family whose child is rebellious. Through the characterization, plot, and dialogue, Oates successfully exhibits the thesis that Connie’s bad ending is the consequence of her parents’ attitude and actions.