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 the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Connie, the main character, is already struggling with many things in life and sneaks her way to date guys. There was also conflicting between her and her mother due to her mother favoring her sister, June and describing her as someone who is a good example of what she wants Connie to be. Her father is never at home due to work and when he is home, the girls do not relate to him. Arnold Friend is described as a dangerous figure with his pale complexion and his slick black hair looking like trouble by not presenting himself in a pleasing way to Connie, by not walking properly. This was an indication on how he was not in the right state of mind and how Arnold shouldn’t be near Connie. There was one scene in the story where Arnold Friend shows up, uninvited, notifying Connie that he is not a friend, but has come to take her away from her home to possibly kidnap her. "Connie felt a wave of dizziness, rise in her at this sight and she stared at him as if waiting for something to change the shock of the moment, make it alright again”. Connie feels safe in the house and does not come out until Arnold convinces and demands her that she come out. Things took an unpleasant twist when Arnold tells Connie not use the phone or he will break his promise of not coming in the house

In, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, by Joyce Carol Oates and “Eveline”, by James Joyce, two characters prove to be completely different but share few similarities as well. In both short stories, the main characters, Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and Eveline in “Eveline”, are both teenage girls who face problems at home. Connie and Eveline who are both caught up in their own cultures in different times are Both girls seem like they have it all going for them but what they conclusively share in common is their final decision bringing them to their downfall. The theme in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and “Eveline,” possess and unyielding insecurity which stems from their family lives. Everything had two sides to it, one for one home and one for the other. Each of the girl 's home lives was oppressive and restraining. Making them both have to grow up faster.

Not every story is 100% original. Many stories are inspired by older stories, fairy tales, archetypes, real life events, etc. There are thousands of stories in the world, so newer stories will likely be like at least a few of them. One such story is “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, a man who calls himself Arnold Friend tries to victimize another character, who is a 15-year-old girl named Connie. The inspiration for this story is clear. Arnold Friend is very similar to The Big Bad Wolf from 2 different fairy tales, “The Three Little Pigs,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” for various reasons, including threats, acting, and disguises. Evidence of this is interspersed throughout the story.

“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.

Adolescence, the part of life we are most willing to forget. The awkward years of being stuck between, not yet an adult but certainly not a child. These years, however awful they maybe, are essential to the character that later develops. During adolescence we make decisions that shape the course of our life, from the personal interactions between friends and family to the academic decisions that impact future career, choices you make as a young adult impact you forever. Partially due to the importance of these short few years, it is not surprising how often children can make poor choices that derail their entire life. Increasing at startling frequency, these stories foretell of a dismal future. Due to this cautionary tales of adolescence have been rising in pop-culture. One of these is “Where are you going? Where have you been? By Carol Joyce Oates. This story tells of Connie, a young adult trying to make the leap to adulthood. Connie in her attempt to breach the gap ends up in drawing attention of Arnold Friend sealing the fate of her poorly executed coming of age. Connies ill fated coming of age in “Where have you been? Where are you going?” by Carol Joyce Oates acts as a cautionary tale about modern perils of adolescence.

Throughout the text, Oates shows the reader Arnold Friend’s characteristic sinister ability to draw in Connie and manipulate her through what she loves the most. The data reveals, “He lifted his friend’s arm and showed her the little transistor radio the boy was holding, and now Connie began to hear the music. It was the same program that was

Before we can analyze Connie’s interaction with Arnold Friend, we must first look at how immaturity affects her behavior on a daily basis. Since she is only able to focus on her social status, Connie often acts vain. She is consistently glancing back at her reflection to make sure is still pretty. She wants to remain young and beautiful, two qualities that are important to her. This demonstrates her immaturity by illustrating how she is afraid to become an adult. As Connie turns to check her appearance in every mirror, she is looking back into the past rather than the future. She is

The abduction of Persephone through Hades mirrors that of Arnold Friend. Joyce Carol Oates, Author of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a short story with themes that consist of search for self as well as identity. Through the use of imagery, dialogue, and characterization Oates displays similarities between the Greek myth, “Persephone and Demeter” to “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”.

The interaction between Connie and Friend start when Friend shows up to Connie’s house uninvited. The author Oates states “After a while she heard a car coming up the drive. She sat up at once, startled, because it couldn't be her father so soon. . . It was a car she didn't know,” (qtd. Oates. pg.2) Connie’s first reaction was to evaluate how good she looked instead of finding out whether Friend was somebody she knew or not. When they finally come face to face, she was met with flirtatious small talk from Friend, who exclaimed “Don’tcha like my car? New paint job,… You're cute” (qtd. Oates. pg.3) Connie is in awe of his faded pants and his huge black dark boots and actually considers getting in the car as he requested. The awe of the mysterious however, rapidly shifted as he makes demands and threats due to Connie’s refusal to get in the car with him. Alarmed, Connie tries to put a call. Arnold request that she come out of the house and if she doesn't comply to his demands she and her family are going to “get it”. Slowly, Connie begins to realize that there's something off about Arnold Friend. He looks to be wearing a wig, and he's

Everyone is perceived differently, and the way that people are perceived is caused by a variety of factors. People judge people based off of their actions, their words and their background. In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story, “Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been?” the main character Connie is perceived to be very vulnerable to Arnold Friend, who ends up becoming her kidnapper. Arnold Friend sees Connie as a young, attractive fifteen year old girl who is an easy target. Connie is such an easy target for Arnold Friend because she is always looking for attention from older boys. Arnold takes notice of this and starts stalking Connie, trying to figure out how to get to her. Arnold stalks Connie without her even noticing because she

Joyce Carol Oates has kept her true inspiration behind “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” in order to create a willing suspension of disbelief between realism and fantasy. The short story by Oates was released soon after the newspaper published the murders committed by Charles Schmid Jr. in 1966. The story displays numerous resembling details that match the real-life murder case involving “The Pied Piper” of Tucson Arizona. Many writers have written literary pieces on the story expressing inverse views in search for their own figurative meaning. While there are many interpretations of this story and they all include valid points, the

such as " I toldja shut up, Ellie," and "your deaf, get a hearing aid,

In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where are you going, where have you been?” a fifteen year old, Connie, is venturing to find herself on the way to independence and thereby adulthood. Ever curious about boys and sex, she was often out with friends at a shopping mall or restaurant vying for attention with her striking looks. Until one afternoon, a devious man called Arnold Friend pulled up in her driveway seducing and threatening her to come out of the house and ride away with him. However straightforward this may seem, Oates writes this story in a way that leaves room for several possible interpretations of the characters and dialogues in regard to the whole message in her work.

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates is told from Connie’s point of view. Connie, the main character of the story, is fifteen years old who is preoccupied with her appearance. Her mother usually scolds her for her behavior and restricts for everything she like to do. She even wishes sometimes that she and her mother were dead. This restriction motivates Connie to become even more desperate for her freedom. When she got chance to go outside, she often sneak across highway to restaurant and meet boys.