Examples Of Identity In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

The story by Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?” published in 1969 and the film “smooth talk” 1985, explores the life of a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl Connie. Like normal teenagers, she’s at the age where they begin to explore their sexual desires and disrespect her parents. Her father is unconcerned and her mother is critical, Connie prefers to spend her time with her friends than her family. On one summer day, Connie chooses to skip a family barbecue and stay behind while her family goes out. A stranger later reaches to her at home and persuades her to go for a ride. Later Connie realizes the stranger is trying to rape her and probably kill her. She becomes scared and when she arrives home, she tries to mend her relationship with her mother and family (HANLON). The purpose of this paper is to critique the movie smooth talk by comparing and contrasting it to the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.

In the beginning of the story, the way Oates describes Connie’s behaviors help construct Connie’s state of mind as a doubtful and vulnerable young girl. The author perfectly capture the essences of Connie’s character by illustrates how Connie has, “a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right,”

The short story written by ,Joyce Carol Oates called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” takes place in the 50’s (possibly earlier/later) in a remote area where a young fifteen year old girl named connie learns she’s not as grown up as she thinks and needs the protection of her family when their safety is threatened.Connie is a wild teenager dressing the part,taking a liking to boys, and disobeying her parents.Her parents try to keep Connie tame using her older sister June as an example of what Connie should be.She has regular conflict with her mother constantly fighting because of her appearance and actions like lying about where she goes, and again her interest in boys trying to protect Connie from getting into trouble at a young age.Connie and her friends regularly go to the “mall” where they sneak across the street to a drive-in restaurant full of kids out of high-school over eighteen.Connie gets more than she bargains for when a man called Arnold Friend notices her and takes

In the American society, when individuals reach adolescence, they begin to search for their identity by exploring their interests and opening their mind to new notions and ideas. This is the psychological and physical human development that ultimately leads them to their adulthood. Joyce Carol Oates' short story depicts a fifteen year old girl with typical teenage concerns. She has to face the realization of the meaning of maturity in the American civilization when she is ripped out of her childhood by Arnold Friend. In the short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates suggests that when teenagers are in the coming of age, they are easily fooled and taken

Joyce Carol Oates plays upon the stereotypic female gender role through her adolescent character, Connie, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The story was written at a significant time in America’s history. It was a season when social and moral conventions were challenged. This period experienced the rise of women struggling for sexual freedom and gender equality in a patriarchal society. Oates portrays the protagonist, Connie, as naive, unaware and inexperienced; she has yet to find her identity and fully understand her place as a women in the world. She believes she has learned to play the game of the sexes and that she has the upper hand. This belief, though, is quickly subverted when she is confronted by Arnold Friend, a man who works to reinforce patriarchal standards by punishing Connie for acting outside stereotypic female role boundaries, she then realizes as a women, she has very little power.

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

The late 1950s was a time of cultural revolution which had a large influence on the American youth. “As the next decade drew near, issues such as civil rights, war, women 's rights, and the sexual revolution would deeply affect many American teenagers. The conservative family values and morals that predominated in the 1950s were just beginning to be challenged as the decade came to a close” (Moss and Wilson 3). As a result, many teenagers lost the conservative morals of the 1950s and became more independent. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie represents the result of this cultural revolution. Criticized by her mother for her promiscuity, Connie is an independent girl who often hangs out with her friends trying to attract boys. In doing so, she attracts a sexual predator named Arnold Friend who visits her at her home to try to get her to leave with him to presumably rape her. At the end of the story, Connie chooses to go with him. Connie gets into this dangerous situation because of a mistaken belief on her self-worth, the loss of morals by her and the adults in the story, and the influence of the 1960s popular music. Looking at “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about how the misconceptions on self-worth and the diversion of 1960s society from

The characterizations of Connie’s family members have great effects on Connie. And Connie’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

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

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.

Moral and social beliefs were being challenged and the youth of America, while coming of age, were rebelling against their parent’s ideals and creating their own culture. The birth of a social movement was upon the world and issues such as sexual freedom, feminism and other civil rights were hot topics during the years prior to Oates writing this story. It is these social changes and society’s interest in them that creates the foundation for the setting that breathes life into this story. Without this foundation, the coming-of-age story of Connie, not to mention American society, and her journey from the innocence of the 1950s into the bitter reality of the turbulent times of the 1960s would have been lost.

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’’

A short story by Joyce Carol Oates called “Where are you going, where have you been?” reflects the writer’s point of view of the way society looked to women in the sixties. The story takes place in the 1960’s when almost everything reached a turning point at that time. It talks about a teenager who wanted boys’ attention, but she ended up leaving her family house with a stranger. Connie represented most teenage girls, and their destiny at that time. The story can be looked at from many different points of view such as feminist, social, psychological and historical (Purdue (OWL)). The time this story had taken place is what makes it important. The story was written when the feminist movement was established, and the American society

Many of Connie’s feelings about herself directly result from her family life. With an emotionally absent father who is never there for her, one can assume that the idea of how a man should act to and around women alludes her. Connie’s relationship with her mother is everything but healthy. Connie and her mother are constantly at odds. In Connie’s eyes this is because her mother used to be pretty like Connie, and since her mother’s looks have faded, her mother makes it clear how she is jealous of Connie. Connie also shows bitterness and jealousy towards her older sister. Her feelings are no doubt an expected effect of her mother’s constant carping. A perfect example of her mother’s petty yet impactful and hurtful speech is when she says, "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." Her mother regularly conveys her blatant favoritism towards Connie’s sister, and Connie sees it.

Joyce Carol Oates is an American short-story writer noted for her depictions of violence and evil in modern society. In her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” , she blends a realistic treatment, with horrific portrayal of violence directed to the main character of the story; Connie. Fifteen-year-old Connie spends most of her time hanging out with her friends, and like any other normal girls, she cares for her appearance and seeks acceptance which she can hardly get from her family. Her mother always put her down and praises her sister; June. Her father ignores them in daily life. Connie never feels close to any of her family members, and she prefers life out of home with her friends where she feels free. One day, Connie meets a stranger in a restaurant that tells her “Gonna get you, baby”. Horrified by this encounter, Connie rushes back home and forces herself to forget about that act. On a Sunday, Connie stays at home while her family decides to go out for a barbeque. Connie is shocked to find the stranger who she met the other day, Arnold Friend, driving up to her house and asking her to go for a drive with him. Connie is startled and tells the stranger to go away, but he laughs and tells her that he knows a lot of things about her. The stranger, Arnold Friend, insists on taking Connie for a ride and threatens her that if she did not comply, he would do “terrible things” to her family. He becomes more threatening when he tells her that he would break