Character Analysis Of Joyce OatesWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

11). Connie is fixated on her beauty and the role beauty plays in life. The first thing she thinks about when the two boys that she has never seen before pull up her driveway is how she looks. Some may say that because of the lack of control Connie possesses over her beauty, Arnold Friend, her eventual abductor, is attracted to her. He sees her naivety and sets forth to capture it.

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates we the readers see the conflict of a teenage, conceited, superficial girl when faced with a situation that brings her to an entire new understanding of life. We see Connie in the beginning without a care in the world other than looking good for the next guy she will hook up with. Oates explains, “She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit or craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates Web). I really enjoy Oates’s expression of how strong Connie’s arrogance is, especially because this totally changes by the end of the story. By the end of the story Connie is way less selfish and more aware

The encounter that Connie experiences with Arnold Friend involves a series of events that would lead someone to believe that he in fact was a figment of her subconscious, or a nightmare. Before their rendezvous, Connie had been sitting “with her eyes closed in the sun”, daydreaming (29). This is the first clue Oates presents the reader to show that Connie falls asleep. In addition to this, when Connie “opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was” (29). When a person is involved in a dream, it is common that they

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is based on a real-life event of Charles Schmid Jr. and the murder of multiple girls. The short story is designed around this historical event and has several key points that are comparable to both the story and the event. This story starts with a girl Connie who, like any typical teenager, is very flirtatious with a lot of guys; one person, in particular, Arnold Friend, is portrayed as a cougar. He shows up to Connie’s place, takes her somewhere and what's left is an inferred cliffhanger. The short story gives a more effective ending as it leaves the reader in a state of deep and complex thought in relations to the sudden and abrupt ending. Threats such as burning Connie’s house down, stopping her heart, and “going for a ride” are red flags that hint at Connie’s near future.

In the story Oates mentions about Connie that “everything about her has two sides to it” (1), by this Oates means the way Connie would act at home was completely different from the way she would act out in public and with her friends. In Connie’s home setting Connie was a very self-centered character. She believed “she was pretty and that was everything.” (1), Connie may be extremely insecure about herself, considering that she believes her looks are all she has to offer. Connie and her mother’s relationship was not the best. Her mother would continuously point out things Connie would do wrong and would compare Connie to her sister, June. In one

In the beginning, Connie’s character is one of innocence, self-absorption, and shallowness. Oates describes Connie as a fifteen-year-old girl who has “a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors and check other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates 157). In this description, Connie’s dynamic character acts shallow and is self-absorbed. She places her values on her physical appearance and in her friends’ acceptance. Connie “knew she was pretty and that was everything” to her (158). Connie bases her self -worth on her looks and in the values of her friends’ perception of her.

Connie’s life at home is described as a life of a typical teenager, she is very concerned about how she looks, being rebellious of her mother, listening to popular pop music, and day dreaming of boys. Connie is very conceded from the very beginning. As Oates said “She was fifteen and she had a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Kirszner 453). Connie’s first thought before everything is about how she looks. This habit is a hint towards still being younger than she is projecting herself to be because, she has not grown that confidence in herself. Connie’s mother is trying to shape her into a person like her sister who is described as “…plain and chunky…”(Kirszner 453). June is trying to be a responsible adult which is boring to a teenager. Connie’s mother is constantly trying to point out things to help her improve herself, however "…Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over. ““She makes me

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.

In the same vein, narcissism is another trait that characterizes Connie’s attitude. She obviously has the sophisticated mind-set of a young lady that she pretends to be although she is only an adolescent. It is easy to detect through the story that the protagonist Connie spends all her time acting and protecting her ego. So many passages illustrate that point of view. Connie is a two faced adolescent. She presents to the exterior world the image of a modest and well behaved girl whereas she has in her the hidden quality of sexual flirtation. To describe Connie, Oates mentions, ‘’Connie had long dark hair that drew anyone’s eye to it, and she wore part of it pulled up on her head and puffed out and the rest of it she left fall down her back. She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home’’

At first, Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been”, seems to be the story of a typical teenage girl, obsessed with boys, fighting for independence, and exploring her sexual identity. Far from typical, as the story unfolds, the reader realizes that this is not the story of teenage rebellion, but instead, is the story of a young woman who, in an effort to validate her self-worth, finds herself on a collision course with disaster. In the very first paragraph, we meet Connie, who admits that she is preoccupied with her looks. She declares that she knows she is pretty, and that being pretty is “everything” (Oates 1). We meet Connie’s mother, who, in her constant criticism of Connie, seems intent of stripping her of any vestige of self-worth.

In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," Joyce Carol Oates presents Connie, a fifteen year old teenage girl who lives her life pretty much in a daydream. Like many teenagers Connie is very self-absorbed and care nothing more than how pretty she looks. Connie’s, mother scolds her for being so arrogant of herself and naïve to the world around her. Her mom wants her to be more like her older sister June. Connie pretty much hates her life and is so miserable that she would rather be dead. Because of how much her and her mother argues, Connie often tries to escape by going out to what her parent think is just a trip to the mall with a girlfriend. Instead Connie and her friend are sneaking off to a drive-in restaurant meeting boys. Connie wants

As the story progresses, it is Sunday morning and her family is getting ready to attend a family bar-b-queue. However, Connie insists on not attending and is left alone at home. As she is washing her hair, she hears an unfamiliar car driving up to her house and her heart begins to pound for she does not want the visitor to see her undone. When Arnold Friend, a man she has seen at the restaurant before, but has never spoken to, shows up on her doorstep, she is someone curious as to why he is visiting her. Throughout the scene, he is attempting to persuade Connie into taking a ride with him and his friend Ellie. The more he speaks to her, he reveals to her that he knows many things about her such as her friends, her name, and family and where they are currently at. As the scene develops, Connie no longer has interest in Arnold for she now is scared and is fearful of what his intentions are.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” makes no exception. Standing as a monument to the rejoice of women’s sexuality, Oates exploits the oppressive power that religion holds over females. The biblical references, the historical context, and the personification of religion itself all negatively weave itself through Connie’s life, until finally, she is defeated. To blame Connie for her downfall is to reject arguably the most important takeaway from the story, which is the harmful implications that religion causes. Had Connie never been placed in such a desperate position for power, then she would have never abused her own innocence in exchange for romance, and would have never encountered Arnold Friend to begin with. Eventually, this acquaintance crescendoed into destruction of not only Connie’s innocence, but the identity that she holds over her own self. All in all, religious oppression forces individuals into choosing undesirable lifestyles, and although Connie’s “trash daydreams” may have seemed to be her utmost craving, her true reluctance was revealed with the arrival of Arnold, and Connie ultimately fell to the “patriarchy of men”. Hopefully, under the lessons of Carol Joyce Oates, feminist and advocates alike will not cripple to the same

He was telling her that he thought she was cute, and she said back to him, that she didn’t know who he was. He told her that his name was Arnold Friend, and he acted like she should know him. They kept going at each other, Arnold from the driveway and her from the house (behind the door). Arnold seemed to know everything about her family. He knew that they were out for the day and that they wouldn’t be back. He told her that he thought that she was cute and that she should come for a ride in the car. She told him flat out that she didn’t want to, but he told her that if she hadn’t done so that he was going to hurt her family. (Oates 367) He told her too that if she picked up the phone and called the police that he was going to come into the house, but otherwise he wouldn’t come in.Connie was terrified she didn't know what to do so she put the phone down “Cmon honey”. She put her hand to the door, and walked towards Arnold Friend. He said to her “My sweet little blue eyed girl.”(Connie had brown eyes)…Oates tells in the end “Connie had never seen so much land before and did not recognize it except to know that she was going to it.” (Oates 377) Arnold friend took Connie away……

Connie was living a double life and demonstrates this by wearing “a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home” (Oates 95). She was not necessarily the perfect daughter at home, but she was far worse when she was out with friends. It was evident that she dressed the way she did to get attention from young men. However, she had no idea what type of attention she was going to receive and from who. This appears to be a problem for her because she is completely unprepared for the kind of attention she receives. Connie is merely a young self-absorbed girl who had the “habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right”