Where Am I Going? Essay

“It's all over now, baby blue”. (Dylan 1965) The fictional story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? was written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966 and is dedicated to Bob Dylan. She stated that her short story was somewhat based off of the song written by Bob Dylan “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”. The short story is about a fifteen-year-old girl named Connie who is very troublesome. She captures the attention of a strange older man named Arnold Friend and he starts to stalk her. Connie’s family goes to town one day and her stalker drives up with another weird man and asks Connie to go with them. She ponders leaving with them until she realizes something is off, she becomes alarmed and goes back inside to call for help. The stalker then threatens her family so she goes with the mysterious men. It is assumed that she is to be abducted and violated. Connie’s character shows the qualities of being vain, immature, and naïve and does not change throughout the entirety of the story.

The Journey of moving west was a big deal back then do to transportation and technology. But have you ever wondered why people wanted to move west? Or why people were leaving the land they grew up on? A majority of people going west started in Missouri, other starting points included Nebraska and Iowa. The people that decided to go on this journey wanted to escape one of the many problems that was going on in the east. Some of the problems were economic and religious problems. Some of the people on this trip were runaway slaves looking to start fresh or a criminal that was running away from their crimes. Another reason people went to Oregon was to get there riches in gold by mining.

Changes in life can be tough to go through and sometimes they can be easy. Some of these things are harder than others and some can be a better choice. Like moving is one thing that changed my way i looked at people. Then there is growing up, growing up can be hard. Last but not least there is education. These things that you experience can change your perspective on how you look at life.

It was a small town in Cornersville, Ohio. Nothing much ever happened in this small town until one day. A new family moved in one afternoon. Everyone was surprised because no one even noticed the house being built. Everyone was still delighted that they moved in because the couple, Bob and Nancy, were very friendly. Bob and Nancy helped with all the activities in town and were very generous. A couple of weeks after they moved in, a lot of strange things began. Money started disappearing, the lights in the town went out every night except for Bob and Nancy's lights, even people's pets went missing. One night, everyone's lights went out at 11:30 as usual, except there was an extremely loud noise. The neighbors went outside to see where all the

      Each of us experiences transitions in our lives. Some of these changes are small, like moving from one school semester to the next. Other times these changes are major, like the transition between youth and adulthood. In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", the author dramatizes a real life crime story to examine the decisive moment people face when at the crossroads between the illusions and innocence of youth and the uncertain future.

While reading Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where are you going, where have you been?” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” readers will dismiss the idea of the existence of any similarity in the stories of a fifteen year old girl and a grandmother. However, upon closer inspection, it is easy to appreciate how these two seemingly polar opposites are actually structured to invoke the same feelings in readers and to explore the same concepts. A close examination of “Where are you going, where have you been?” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” reveal similarities in the portrayal of violence, the destructive effects of innocence and naiveté, and the the reality of evil in the world.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve known what I wanted to do. I am one of those people who was blessed enough to realize my passion at an early age. As far back as I can remember, I’ve wanted to become a teacher. I can remember as a child sitting in my room, surrounded by my stuffed animals (or students, as I saw them) and forcing my younger brother to sit still and quietly do the work I assigned him. I even had two baskets which I kept on my little wooden desk; one for my “students” to turn in work, and the other for more work which needed to be graded. I spent many afternoons

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie, who is constantly keeping up with her appearance and trying to appear older and more mature than she is. Her mother was always looking for a reason to yell at Connie and always compared her to her older sister June. The only reason why Connie is allowed to go out with her friends is because June does. Connie’s friends father usually drives the girls to the shopping plaza and doesn’t pick them up until late. Until then, the girls usually cross the highway to a drive-in restaurant to meet older boys. One night she spends a few hours with a boy named Eddie. As she walks through the parking lot, a man in a gold convertible

The theme of any literary work is without a doubt the single handedly most important aspect of that work. As readers it benefits us greatly when we not only analyze the authors motives behind the work but also the underlying message as well. As Ernest Hemmingway implored, all works of literature are best looked at as ice bergs; where the appearance is just a mere portion to the real magnitude and message of the work. Joyce Carol Oates', "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" is one literary work that has a theme that requires the reader to look beyond just the story and to analyze all aspect of the work in order to discover the true meaning of her work.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in South Florida. I was six years old, playing by the pool with my new puppy. I loved swimming in the pool almost every day after school. I also enjoyed going out on our boat after school or crossing the street and going to the beach. My father came home one evening with some interesting news. Now, I do not remember exactly how I felt about the news at that time, but it seemed like I did not mind that much. He had announced that we were going to move back to my birth country, Belgium. I had been living in Florida for five years and it was basically all I had known so I did not know what to expect. I had to live with my mom at first, and then my sister would join us after she graduated high school and my father

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, “SmoothTalk”. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that is consumed by evil, the theme. In the story evil is projected through the eyes of the characters.(Weinberger 207) Joyce Carol Oates has been labeled by many as a, “writer of psychological realism”(Wegs 69), which is seen in this story. Tied

Moving away from all of your best friends can be a real tragedy in a sixteen-year-old teenagers life. It’s hard to get up and go eight hundred miles away from everyone you know and everything you grew up around. I had this happen to me about three years ago and it is the largest change I have ever had to adjust to in my life. It wasn’t the changes around me that I was bothered by; it was that I did not know one living soul for hundreds of miles and all I wanted was a friend.     

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that in my future I wanted to become a teacher. I always looked up to my teachers, especially the ones I had in elementary school. I even played 'school' with my friends and pretended I had my own classroom. I loved being in charge. During a summer, I was given the opportunity to work as an Energy Express mentor and work with a group of eight children. This was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever been through. I was a mentor to help guide the children, and by the end of the summer I felt as if I had really accomplished something. I am planning to pursue a career in elementary education. I love children, and just knowing that as a

I. Personal Profile: As I ponder over my thoughts and reflect on where I am in my journey of spiritual growth, all I can do is just thank God for all He has done. My spiritual journey has been full of ups and downs, but I would not change any of it because I had to go through the things I have went through to get to where I am today. Before I started living fully for Jesus, I was just existing and living my life without a purpose. I was lost and was seeking validation from everyone but God. My spiritual journey did not start until I realized that I was searching for happiness in all wrong places, and that my happiness was found in God. Once I discovered that and began building a relationship with God, my love began to increase for Him and all He has done. I began to see things clearer and God started removing toxic people out of my life and molding me into what he created me to be. In this season of my journey, I believe God is taking me through the pruning phase. In john 15:2 it says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it do that it may bear more fruit.” Jesus is stripping me from everything that no longer serves a purpose in my life. He is setting me apart and preparing me for my purpose on earth. God is changing everything about me from the inside out, and removing anything that is not of him and making me more like him. He is making me very uncomfortable, so that I have no choice but to learn to fully

I grew up on a small farm in a small town. My parents are both educators at the school I grew up in. To my surprise my parents were not thrilled when I told them I had a passion for education. Their first words to me were, “are you sure,” “don’t you think you are wasting your intelligence,” and “you’re not going to make very much money.” This was discouraging coming from the two people I thought I would look up to going into my future career. I was at a loss for some time, until I sat down with my grandfather one day after church. He asked me if I had decided what I wanted to do after college. To this I replied, I want to be a teacher. Expecting the same response as my