Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis

The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century

makes strategic use of the word "love", reinforces the tragic reality of domestic situation, and

The door is extremely thin (used for protection against insects and weather) suggesting that the boundary between Connie and Arnold is very thin, fragile and could be broken down easily. After Connie’s family went out for a barbeque, Arnold Friend shows up at her porch, they talk for a while but she starts freaking out because she notices that he is odd and much older. She starts shaking and “ rushed forward to lock the door” (p.55). She wants to lock and close the door to stay safe inside the house to call the police but Arnold Friend reminds her that the screen door provides no physical protection when he says, “Why lock it… it’s just a screen door” (55). Arnold is not afraid to break the screen door and go in if he has to but he is trying to lure her out her house into his arms. Connie tried to stay safe by going back in her house instead of in front of the door but Arnold pushed her back to the screen door as if he has a magnet. He tries to seduce her by talking with a rhythm as if he is singing a song that she knows and that song is about “a girl rushing into her boyfriend's arms and coming home again” (55). This is exactly what Arnold has been trying to tell Connie, he wants to take her for a very long ride as if he is the boyfriend and he is waiting for her to jump right into his arms so they could

In the short story “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is a great deal of literary elements used to enhance the story. For example, imagery is used to draw the reader 's attention further into the story by having them see it happening in their head and allegory is used to pull the reader away from the story by referencing things that happened somewhere else. While these two literary elements are both used to magnify different parts of the story, as well as counterbalance each other, the literary device that this essay will be focused on is symbolism. While it appears in many parts of the story one of the most obvious uses of

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

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.

In the short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates and the novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley unique gender/sexual roles and disobedient actions portray through the main characters’ to defy the cultural status quo. Irony, juxtapositions, and foreshadowing are being used in each piece of literature to help the reader comprehend and compare what the author is saying about the characters and their motives now and in the near future. Connie in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, can compare to Bernard and John in Brave New World, because all are ignoring the rules, whether it is society for Bernard and John, but her friends’ parents for Connie. Each character wants to be with the opposite sex and experience life, even if they are being told otherwise. The authors each make these protagonist characters appealing to the reader because we feel as if we can connect to them and perceive their desire to oppose what the rules are and how they want to be divergent from what their controlling forces are telling them to do, whether it is parents or society.

How many women and young girls have experienced any form of harassment in their lives either if they innocently provocated it or not? As a matter of fact, we often hear on the news issues that happend, most of the time, to women such as sexual harassment or kidnapping. In Joyce Carol Oates's ''Where are you going, Where have you been?'', innocence comes with serious harassment consequences. This is shown through character, symbol and dialogue.

Sexual Revolution and Changing Adolescence The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates can be viewed as both a metaphor of the sexual revolution and its consequences on youth in the 20th century and a thematic image of the struggle to understand sexuality and vanity as an adolescent in modern society ruled by sexualized media. Oates published this short story in the 1960s, in a climate of post-war celebration and sexual revolution with the rise of birth control and the decline of sexual abstinence due to a less uber-religious America. This world context gives insight to the extended metaphor that is this story and also shows how this seemingly horrific story of a pedophile attacking a young woman is not what it appears.

Joyce Carol Oates plays upon the female gender stereotypes through her victimized adolescent character, Connie, in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been. Naivety and inexperience are two characteristics that portray Connie as a weak teenager, desperately seeking to find her identity in a world where women are expected to act a certain way. Connie falls victim to the advances of a man because she lacks masculine guidance in her life, and falls prey to the stereotypical female role of sub ordinance. I think that this is a solid initial thesis because Joyce, through her lead character, is able to show the weaknesses associated with the stereotypes of women.

In Joyce Carol Oate’s, “Where are you going, Where have you been”, a young teen by the name of Connie is in a stage of what appears to be rebellion. Along with many other teens, Connie’s parent’s oblivion to what she does outside of the house allows it to continue and worsen. Since Connie not being held accountable for her actions, it leads her down paths of destruction. Are Connie’s bad decisions really her fault? Typically, teens do not rebel for fun but there is a deeper meaning behind the actions. In this story, Connie goes out and rebels in search of better things than what she has at home.

In the novel, Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, the author uses many literary

Connie started to get frightened when Arnold starting saying telling all the things that he knew about her. There was no way he could have known those things because she didn’t know him. “I took a special interest in you, such a pretty girl, and found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long they’re going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friend’s name is Betty. Right?,” Arnold said. (157) This to me is where the tone in the story really changed. Eventually in the story Arnold threatens Connie that if she calls the police he is coming in and if she doesn’t come out he is going to do harm to her family. Connie is faced with a huge decision.

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