Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates

how Arnold Friend sees her and does not realize that she cannot see him or his motives. Arnold

In conclusion, the search for independence caused the world to change in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. With many things going on with drugs, alcohol, and sex, it is easy to see why Joyce Carol Oates chose this theme for Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Connie fell in to the trap of the sexual desires that she wanted for herself, only with it ending badly. Her maturation along with sexual radicalism and capitalism sexually repressed the masses in the interests of its life negating and exploitative goals. With all of this

Connie’s identity is shown at the end of the story, but who she was at the beginning of the story differs to who she became at the end of the story. To start, Connie was a fifteen year old girl who was beautiful and adventuress, but failed to acknowledge and grasp the idea of a real family. Connie’s family or her mother is not the exact loving and caring mother some people have experienced. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Connie sated “Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn 't

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been is a short story originally written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was first published in 1996 and immediately faced sufficient criticism and public discussions. This story involves both surreal myth and deep psychological realism which obviously distinguish this writing among other works of the author. In the center of the narration is a young girl named Connie. She is fifteen years old and is experiencing quite a turbulent period of her life. Her mother constantly compares her to her older sister and this factor only intensifies Connie's feeling that her mother does not understand her. In the story, the world of Connie is quite contradictory as well as her character itself. Nevertheless, it remains interesting to explore until the very last page of Oates' writing.

“Then because she liked the way he was dressed, she does not immediately urge Arnold to leave her driveway, and she continues talking with him, thus allowing him time to create a physical space of psychological terror from which she cannot escape” (Korb 10). She shows her immaturity when she continues to talk to Arnold at the door. “He invites her to come riding with them, and Connie is mesmerized and dizzied by his incantatory words” (Barry Manni 5). The way Arnold dresses is appealing to Connie she thinks she has seen him before because he is dressed as a typical 1960s boy.

As Latta notes, “Arnold proceeds to try and convince Connie to come for a ride with them, using a combination of music, charisma, and gradually increasing threats.” Connie’s worlds of fantasy and reality intertwine, drastically impairing her judgment and causing for unexpected events to follow. Arnold ignores Connie’s weak requests to leave and overpowers her in a scene that becomes a massive blur. Holmen writes, “After all, it is not as though Connie does not realize that Arnold Friend is a dangerous man; she is immediately wary of his presence when he shows up in front of her house.” When Connie becomes dizzy and finally comes to the realization that this man would cause her more harm than good, she cries out for her mother – a surprising act given the context of their distant relationship.

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” the short story by Joyce Carol Oates, the setting takes place in the suburbs in the 1960’s. During the time period when the story was written, the world was perceived as being more innocent and nobody was as aware of the evil that surrounded them. In the short story, the main character, Connie, spends her summer admiring herself, going out with her friends, and acting way older than her age when she isn’t home. When she comes face to face with her mysterious follower, Arnold Friend, she soon realizes that her way of acting has landed herself into a troublesome situation. The short story is important to read because it shows that even though times have changed, teenagers now still act the way Connie does in the story. Teenagers still sneak around, do things they aren’t supposed to, and have a different personality at home than they do in public.

As the story progresses, it is Sunday morning and her family is getting ready to attend a family bar-b-queue. However, Connie insists on not attending and is left alone at home. As she is washing her hair, she hears an unfamiliar car driving up to her house and her heart begins to pound for she does not want the visitor to see her undone. When Arnold Friend, a man she has seen at the restaurant before, but has never spoken to, shows up on her doorstep, she is someone curious as to why he is visiting her. Throughout the scene, he is attempting to persuade Connie into taking a ride with him and his friend Ellie. The more he speaks to her, he reveals to her that he knows many things about her such as her friends, her name, and family and where they are currently at. As the scene develops, Connie no longer has interest in Arnold for she now is scared and is fearful of what his intentions are.

     Does she take the chance on calling the cops? Or should she get in the car with Arnold Friend? Either way I think she knew that the outcome was going to be death. The story ends with Connie on her way out to the car. She put out her hand against the screen. She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back sage somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited. (164) Why does Connie make this decision? The story does not say, but as the reader I think that Connie was thinking if she stayed that he would harm her and her family, but if she went with

He was telling her that he thought she was cute, and she said back to him, that she didn’t know who he was. He told her that his name was Arnold Friend, and he acted like she should know him. They kept going at each other, Arnold from the driveway and her from the house (behind the door). Arnold seemed to know everything about her family. He knew that they were out for the day and that they wouldn’t be back. He told her that he thought that she was cute and that she should come for a ride in the car. She told him flat out that she didn’t want to, but he told her that if she hadn’t done so that he was going to hurt her family. (Oates 367) He told her too that if she picked up the phone and called the police that he was going to come into the house, but otherwise he wouldn’t come in.Connie was terrified she didn't know what to do so she put the phone down “Cmon honey”. She put her hand to the door, and walked towards Arnold Friend. He said to her “My sweet little blue eyed girl.”(Connie had brown eyes)…Oates tells in the end “Connie had never seen so much land before and did not recognize it except to know that she was going to it.” (Oates 377) Arnold friend took Connie away……

"The place where you came from ain't there anymore, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out. This place you are now—inside your daddy's house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time. You know that and always did know it. You hear me?" This line of text from the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates gives a brief overview into the life of Connie and Arnold. A charming yet mysterious man named Arnold Friend preys on a young girls gift of beauty, her feelings of seclusion and her desires.

In the short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been written by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character Connie finds herself in a dangerous situation with a deranged man named Arnold Friend. After Connie decides that a family barbeque is the last place on earth she would like to be, she isolates herself from her family at home. Out of the blue, Arnold and a man that she had first previously met the day before, shows up in her driveway on a mission. With criminalistic intentions, Arnold begins to try to convince Connie to get into his car and go “for a ride” with him: a ride that would likely be her last. At first, Connie is blind to the fact that Arnold is not who he says he is because she is more worried about her looks, but over time she begins to realize that she is alone and in extreme danger.

Throughout our lives, we are told to ‘never judge a book by its cover’, this mostly happens when we are young because our parents want to teach us to be nice to others no matter what they might look like. Once we grow older this phrase is not so much about judging because of their appearance, but about judging people’s self-esteem because of what they portray. Throughout the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, we can see that Connie, the protagonist, seems as though she is so happy about her life, mostly because that is what she shows others with her big smile and sparkly attitude this is shown when in the story it is stated, “…she knew she was pretty and that was everything.” (Oates 176). What this story makes us wonder is how happy was she really? And how does her misery depict throughout the story? Although happiness might be drawn from the smile one shows daily, there could possibly be darkness and sorrow hiding form within; not only from others, but from oneself altogether. The irony and imagery used in this story helps the reader catch beyond what is said to show how much a person can hide behind a smile.

First the author uses Connie's characterization to foreshadow that she is taken advantage of. Connie's character is flamboyant, naive and vain, all which make her vulnerable. When first being introduced to Connie's character the author emphasizes that she is very concerned about what other people think of her She is a flamboyant character constantly seeking attention.. “She had a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was alright.”(Oates1) Connie is always trying to make herself look better to fit in. Whether she is underdressing to look alright for her family or dressing up to go out with her friends. She wants to make herself noticed. This makes her get more attention. Because Connie is looking for attention the reader can only assume that by the end of the story Connie will be receiving

“Where are you going? Where have you been?” was composed by Joyce Carol Oates, this story indicates us over the fate of Connie who has absolutely no control in life since her dearest has not offered any meaningful reassurance to aid into her youth. She just understands about social lifestyle and not the results that occur with it. Lacking the knowledge of a right way to encounter difficult situations, Connie is faced by Arnold Friend who has intentions to achieve a few outrageous deeds to her. This clash connecting them sources a dominance conflict linking them that brings Connie ruination near to a possible end. A scarcity of knowledge to handle complications or humans like Arnold can influence the thinking procedure into creating a sensible resolution; hence, executing actions beyond deliberating what can occur ultimately.