Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Thesis

“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.

Once someone crosses the redline, there is no way to go back. Peoples actions are not reversible, what is done cannot be undone. In both the short story by Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and the movie “Smooth Talk” directed by Joyce Chopra, the screen door is portrayed as a transition and a boundary although sometimes it is interpreted in different ways. If Connie crosses the boundary, it will lead to many bad consequences. When Arnold Friend reaches Connie’s porch, the conflict is between the protagonist Connie and the antagonist Arnold Friend who is trying to lure her out of the house to go for a ride with him. Arnold is taking advantage of her youth and vulnerability. The screen

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.

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

Joyce Carol Oates is an excellent writer who is well-known for her work. In her short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” she managed to deliver a piece that is pleasant to read, but filled with evil. This essay will discuss, the form which the evil takes, its origin, and how this story is aesthetically “beautiful” despite that evil.

“where are you going, where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story about a teenage girl named Connie. She lives a fairly normal life but then one evening she gets caught up with suspicious man who doesn’t want to leave her alone. The man who goes by the name “Arnold Friend” drives into Connie’s driveway, and after some very brief small talk he tries to coerce her into going on a date with him. the mood swiftly goes from uncomfortable to sinister.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Life is filled with tragedies, whether they be subtle or monumental. In society we are constantly surrounded by hardships and situations that test our own individual character, forcing us to react in order to move forward. The main characters in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates each react differently to the various tragedies they encounter, revealing their true identities that lie behind the (facade?)/version of themselves they present to the world. These tragedies that factor into all three works are both presented and interpreted differently in each story: In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard rejoices

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

Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” begins with the introduction of it’s main character, Connie, a fifteen year- old girl. Oates makes Connie’s vanity