‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’ Essay examples

Where Are You Going, Where have you been? is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The 75 year old American author and professor at Princeton University, introduce the story of 15 year old Connie who is rebelling against her mother’s whishes. A very arrogant and selfish girl that in her world the only thing that matters is how many heads she can turn when walking into a room. Through the story life gives her a test, to confront Arnold Friend, the antagonist of the story; who possesses a nefarious…

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…

Joyce Carol Oates' Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Joyce Carol Oates was born in 1938 in Lockport, New York. She started writing very young and that the age of fifteen she submitted her first novel, but it was rejected for being 'too dark';. This style of writing is common on many of her works including 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'; Oates graduated from Syracuse University and then went on to get her master's degree from the University of Wisconsin. Oates 'turned…

The short stories “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates and “The lottery” Shirley Jackson both explore deception by concealing the true reality of the situation and then slowly revealing information to surprise the reader. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” explores the ideas of violence, sexuality and family, which all slowly emerge as the protagonist slowly finds out the trickery of a mysterious man she just met. On the other hand, “The Lottery” also advocates…

Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? In the short story, "Where are you going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie flaunts her beauty to receive attention from the opposite sex and is lead to temptation. The antagonist Arnold Friend, who symbolizes the devil, shows how simple it is to take away your safe haven through sinister acts. Connie is split between how she acts and portrays herself at home, and how she acts whenever she is with her group of friends. Connie refuses to…

Where there is desire, there is hope, despair, and struggle. Joyce Carol Oates illustrates animatedly the asphyxiated struggle of desire in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The story narrates the life of a young girl, named Connie, and her fated and enigmatic confrontation with a strange man. Feeling trapped in her own home with her own family, Connie, a self-conscious and rebellious teenager, tries to figure out a way to identify herself with the world around her. Her…

In the short story "Where are you going where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oats and the song Wake Up by EDEN, the author and the artist both show the thematic concepts on how fantasies come to an end, and when reality hits, it hits hard. "Where are you going where have you been?" is a short story about a young 15 year old girl who is trying to fit in with the rest of the world, and is very preoccupied with her appearance and living in this pop cultural fantasy. Connie is always ignoring her mother…

Comparison of Smooth Talk to “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oakes’s short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written in 1966 and twenty years later was made into a movie entitled Smooth Talk, winner of the 1985 U.S. Film Festival for best dramatic picture. The writing by Oates is loosely based on a true story described as “the tale of Charles Schmid, a twenty-three-year-old who cruises teenage hangouts, picking up girls for rides in his gold convertible”…

Psycho, Demon, Dreams, Oh My! “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story about a 15-year old girl named Connie that falls in the trap of Arnold Friend. There are many interpretations to this short story, and many arguments have fought back and forth to find out the true inside meaning to find out what the reason was for Joyce Carol Oates to write this story. There are hundreds of analyses for this story out there, but I am going to just be talking about three;…

The Cultural Revolution and Sexual Desires in Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” 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…