Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

“We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality” (Murdock). However, fantasies can interfere with an individual’s belief system and can cause a confusion. In the narrative by Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where Are You Going, Where have you been?” The story takes place around the 1960’s. In fact, this was the same time a real-life American serial killer named Charles Schmin started to target females. The narrator admits that her story was influenced by the famous serial killer. What I interpreted throughout the passage is that Connie who is the main character is facing a conflict between fantasy and reality. When Connie leaves home, another side of her is shown to society. She knows she can attract older boys. The way she’s able to do so is because of her appearance and personality. Connie ends up staying stuck with Arnold Friend, who puts her into a horrifying situation. As you read the selection you can’t deny that the author uses symbolism as the main theme. The reason why Oats decided to use symbolism, allegory, and metaphors to demonstrate through Connie’s Sexuality, where she beings to lose touch with her senses.

In Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" it portrays the confusing nature of sexuality. A story set in the America of mid-1900s. A conflict of morals characterized this time, especially sexually related ones. There was a hot debate on the topic of sexuality among adolescents. The roles of women were being challenged and quickly changing. This story describes a psychosexual episode between a male predator and the protagonist, a female

Connie does not want to be the nice and innocent pretty girl. She wants to be known for being very sexual. In the story she makes fun of her sister June because she is very modest and not sexual and causes conflict with their family. Also June is overweight twenty-four years old and still living at home. But she also does chores and does them without complaining to her parents. While Connie is a way from home she has two totally different ways of acting. Be that as it may, Arnold friend ‘s landing in her home drives her two sides to consolidate fiercely. As it were, Connie is not completely sexual until Arnold's interruption into her home until then; her sexuality was something outside of her "actual" self, the self that she permitted her family to see. Arnold also has a friend named Ellie. While Arnold drives up to Connie’s house Ellie stays in the car and she listens to music while Arnold speaks to Connie. Also Connie’s mother shows a large amount of frustration towards her and the way she acts and dresses. Connie and her mother fight constantly. But towards the end of the story when Connie is attacked my Arnold she cries out to her

Many people live life in a “fantasy world” and sometimes when they dream, that fantasy could end up like it is really happening. In the short story,Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates there is a likely chance that Connie’s encounter was a dream. Through further analysis it is revealed that Joyce Carol Oates’ short story is merely a dream in which Connie’s odd wish is fulfilled, all of which is achieved through setting, characterization, and plot.

In the story, “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?” the author, Joyce Carol Oates, uses literary devices to convey a message about the loss of innocence. To be more specific, Oates’s characterization of the protagonist, Connie, specifically shows the actions leading to her innocence being taken from her. The literary device of characterization gives a clear picture Oates thoughts at the time she wrote the story, expressing concern for young girls who are at risk of having their innocence taken from them.

The Cultural Revolution and Sexual Desires in Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”

The main conflict Connie faces in the story is Arnold Friend himself, a satanic figure preying on the young and naive. Initially Friend seems desirable to Connie, he seems like a suave mature figure, from afar, but as he draws closer to her Connie begins to see his flaws and what lies

Through its contrasting reality and dreamlike scenes, Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” uses details from a true American horror story to convey a message about society, youth and a loss of innocence. Arizona native Charles Schmid murdered Alleen Rowe on May 31, 1964. Schmid was considered a serial killer and was subsequently arrested and convicted of the heinous crimes that he was accused of. The profile of Schmid as a short man who wore makeup, wigs and altered boots to make

In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the author sets the feeling of danger and uncertainty stemming from events occurring throughout the story with the utilization of themes from Thomas C. Foster’s “ How to Read Literature Like a Professor” specifically with references to seasons, the bible, and significant symbolisms.

In the short fiction Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? tells a story about a young 15-year-old girl named, Connie. Connie spends her time meeting boys, lounging around the house and going out with her friends. One night an unusual man makes a threatening gesture to her in the parking lot of a local drive-in restaurant. Until, one day the unusual man pulls up in her driveway in a gold colored car. The man introduces himself as Arnold Friend and asks Connie to join him for a ride. During their conversation, Connie is aware that Arnold is dangerous; his language becomes more sexual and violent, and he warns her that he will hurt her family if she calls the police. In the end, she leaves the house and joins Arnold. Connie is stuck between the lines of her sexual daydreams and reality up until she is entangled among by Arnold Friend and his infatuating music playing in his car. Everything about her had two aspects to it, one when she was at home and one for anywhere but home.

A short story titled "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" tells a tale of an adolescent girl who suffers consequences of growing up in the unsupportive environment and the society preoccupied by the media. It is considered to be the most famous work of Joyce Carol Oates, an American writer, the winner of many significant literary awards and a two- time candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The story was first published in the fall of 1966. It is dedicated "to Bob Dylan", as though, after having heard Dylan's song "It's all over now, Baby Blue" Oates got inspiration for the story. She was also influenced by the article about Charles Schmid, a twenty-

Connie is a young fifteen year old who cares about her sexual drive that men have toward her. “The 1960s unleashed the so called sexual revolution. It seemed more a source of comic relief and tragic nostalgic recirculation than political inspiration…” This revolution consisted of women demanding their own rights so they could become more and more independent. There were significant shifts in social attitudes, behaviors, and institutional regulations at the beginning of the 60’s and also lasted through the 70’s. The sexual drive increased majorly and the amount of women that had sex before marriage also sky rocketed. In Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been, Connie wants sexual attention from men, and that hurts her self-confidence and

In the short story "Where are you going where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oats and the song Wake Up by EDEN, the author and the artist both show the thematic concepts on how fantasies come to an end, and when reality hits, it hits hard.

Connie started to get frightened when Arnold starting saying telling all the things that he knew about her. There was no way he could have known those things because she didn’t know him. “I took a special interest in you, such a pretty girl, and found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long they’re going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friend’s name is Betty. Right?,” Arnold said. (157) This to me is where the tone in the story really changed. Eventually in the story Arnold threatens Connie that if she calls the police he is coming in and if she doesn’t come out he is going to do harm to her family. Connie is faced with a huge decision.

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.