Analysis Of 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

Urbanski, Marie. "Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Studies in Short Fiction 11 (1978): 200-03. Print.

Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where are you going? Where have you been?" 'runneth over' with Biblical allusion and symbolism. The symbols of Arnold Friend, his disguise, and the music that runs through the story contribute to an overall feeling of devilishness, deception, and unease.

“Where are you going, where have you been” has been surrounded in a veil of mystery since it was first written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. This is largely due to the uneasiness caused by the story’s premature ending. Many different theories have been developed to try to make sense of the cliffhanger.

Joyce Oats short story, “ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is a great read on many different levels. Oats displays the effects of youthfulness in a teenage girl named Connie. The story is a gripping story that unveils the weakness of a teenage girl. Connie could hardly validate fantasy from reality. She delights herself as a beautiful girl who understands the basic mores of life. Her need for boys attention makes her pride herself as a shinning example of beauty. Connie finds desire in her sexuality, listening to music and daydreaming her ideas into fantasies. Connie’s major dilemma in the story is Arnold Friend, which we will explore later. The importance’s of the music in this short story is pronounce, because I feel that music sets the mood for important events, that Connie deals with. The premise that flows through this story is that music is connected to the real world and weaves through Connie 's dream world.

In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” by Joyce Carol Oates shows the readers similarities to the epic tails of the past. It is to be expected that with the similarities between the story and the epics, that the story does not always end up in just the way the reader thinks they might. Most of today's readers want an ending in which the heroine of the story Connie, ends up getting what she deserves in just about everything. But, looking back to the epic tails almost nothing ever ends in the way the characters deserve to happen. The characters are put through hardships, trails, tribulations, and failings to show that the character is indeed just merely human. However, the journey in which Joyce Carol Oates takes Connie

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the author uses symbolism through Connie to explain Connie’s interests with all the material things that she likes. Connie is a young girl who is struggling to escape reality while defying her parents and portraying herself as an “adult” which she is not. Connie feels as though she is above everyone because she got the beauty in her family as oppose to her older sister. Connie just wants listen to music all day and live with her perfect dream guy. She messes around with older guys, but never actually has any real attachment to them.

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.

Oates’ Short Story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the abduction of a young girl referred to as Connie and entails the assumed rape of said girl. This writing only seemed to cause confusion for me. Why had she not put up more of a fight? How did he manage to not only tell her his intentions, but convince her to come by her own power, not necessarily of her own will?

She falls asleep in the chair dreaming about the boy she met last night. Soon after she falls asleep she hears a car pull into her driveway and thus, we see arnold Friend. Arnold is not real. He is a fine mixture for every male in Connie's life. From every age.

The main character in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a young girl named Connie. I strongly believe that this story was a new sort of “coming-of-age” tale that focused more on the harder aspects of being a teenager, instead of the cheerful and fun aspects that most of the stories focus on. At the beginning, the story mainly focuses on showing the readers how Connie wants to be separated from her family. In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, the author seems to explain how real life situations happen when involving making wrong decisions. She connects with the readers, in this case teenagers, in how they may feel at this time and age varying from how they feel towards their parents, the satisfaction and fear they can get from a few choices, and the sad true endings from these choices.

Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” neatly divides into two sections that detail the dramatic shift in Connie’s perception that ultimately relates to her maturation. The division between the two reactions coincides perfectly with the climactic moment of the story when Connie recognizes the truth about Arnold Friend. Indeed, this organization aids in the amplification of Connie’s transition from youth to adulthood. The childlike and adult perceptions of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is one of the most horrifying, highly anthologized short stories written in the 20th century. It’s a wonderfully composed work, where the tension amongst the characters is gradually established, where the elements of distress, darkness, and surreality are strongly displayed, and where signs of supernatural abilities are clearly portrayed. It fuses the best of literary fiction with the best in crime and horror, to devise a suspenseful and upsetting story. All the preceding attributes have made her beautiful work, remarkably successful and extremely popular across the literary world.

An happy girl who looks at her family with disgust, a man who comes across slightly creepy at first yet is much worse than predicted, and a man who simply listens to the radio while appearing to be some sort of henchman who’s character goes beyond a story and has deep rooted connections to a real world murder. In the short story “Where are You Going Where Have You Been” the author Joyce Carol Oates uses characterization both through dialogue and actions throughout the story to foreshadow the ending.

The irony of the story is quite simple. Connie tries so hard to be seductive and outgoing, but that causes her trouble with Arnold. She pretends “to fidget” and blushes “a little” (3) while trying to decide whether she liked him. Connie invited an opportunity for independence and control. She makes herself vulnerable to Arnold through this aspect. Her growing sexuality is both a source of social and cultural power. This acts as a weakness to Connie ad allows Arnold to manipulate her. He uses her willingness to engage in flirting to draw her into a dangerous situation. Connie has no way to resist since this is her only option. In the end, she sacrifices her

Life is a path of accomplishments and achievements as well as distress and confrontations. It has its own ups and downs. But every human being lives it and has to live it as there is no other option. What we learn as we age making right choices and using the support that we have around, like our parents, grandparents, and friends makes us who we are. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is a typical human being who has to deal with all the situations that come in her life. Situations like dealing with people whom she has never met and if gone out of hands, controlling the situation using intelligent methods. Even though Connie a normal teenager, who loved her friends, went to school, and enjoyed