Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been By Joyce Carol Oates And Rocket Man

Connie, the main character in Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been" is a fifteen-year-old girl, just realizing her beauty. It is summer vacation, and she is spending her time either with boys or daydreaming about them. Connie is a typical teenage girl with a desperate need for independence. She does not get along with her mother, and her father is seldom around. He works a great deal of the time, and when he comes home, he likes to eat and go to bed. Connie has a girlfriend who she enjoys going to the mall with. While at the mall, the girls like to meet boys and watch movies. It is a place where the girls can express themselves in a way different from the ways in which they portray themselves at home. The story's

boys to live out her childish delusions of romance and allows herself to be swept away by this

“Where are you going, where have you been,” by Joyce Carol Oates, narrates the story of Connie, a young egotistical and independent, girl, who faces the consequences of adulthood. She lives in the pop culture society where she spends most of her days daydreaming about romance. Connie’s impudent actions throughout the story causes her to face the harsh realities of manipulation and emotional abuse.

The short story written by ,Joyce Carol Oates called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” takes place in the 50’s (possibly earlier/later) in a remote area where a young fifteen year old girl named connie learns she’s not as grown up as she thinks and needs the protection of her family when their safety is threatened.Connie is a wild teenager dressing the part,taking a liking to boys, and disobeying her parents.Her parents try to keep Connie tame using her older sister June as an example of what Connie should be.She has regular conflict with her mother constantly fighting because of her appearance and actions like lying about where she goes, and again her interest in boys trying to protect Connie from getting into trouble at a young age.Connie and her friends regularly go to the “mall” where they sneak across the street to a drive-in restaurant full of kids out of high-school over eighteen.Connie gets more than she bargains for when a man called Arnold Friend notices her and takes

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.

Joyce Carol Oates's “Where are you going, Where have you been?” tells the story of a young girl's journey to find her own identity. Along the way she uses her beauty and sexuality to create, in her mind, a feeling of maturity which ultimately becomes her downfall. She believes that by spending her summer days in the mall, dressing in a way that is different than what she would wear at home, and flirting with older boys, while finding pleasure in ignoring boys she knows, she is being her own person and is creating her own identity—one that is different from that of her mother's or sister's. It is not until the end of the story, when Arnold Friend comes into her house, that she begins to realize what is truly important. The title of the

In the story of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the main character Connie, is always caught up in her appearance. She is nothing like her sister who is said to be the “perfect” child. The mother always says how she wishes she could be like her sister, and Connie wishes that she and her mother were dead. Connie’s friend’s father drives them to a shopping plaza but they always end up going to a restaurant and meet with boys. She then finds a boy named Eddie where she eats with him and goes to an alley with him, where Connie sees a man say to her, “Gonna get you,

Analyzing Connie, the female protagonist in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” reveals the character’s journey of rebellion, a search for identity, and the protagonist’s psychological problems. Connie appears to be a seemingly normal teenage female during the first few sentences: fifteen years old, physically beautiful, and appears semi-narcissistic. As one reads on, underlying psychological issues begin to unearth themselves. Connie has a habit of needing to know that she is beautiful; she is continuously “…craning her neck to glance into mirrors…checking other people’s faces to make sure hers was alright.” (Perrine’s 487) Being a somewhat typical habit of teenage girls, always wanting to look at themselves, whether it is out of admiration or self-judgment, Connie is constantly aware of herself and appearance, despite her mother’s nagging. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” this appears to be an indication of a present insecurity, a lack of a sense of who Connie is. In the first paragraph, Connie describes beauty as “being everything” (Perrine’s 487); we are able to interpret the fact that without her beauty, Connie would be nothing. She continuously attempts to establish her own identity; she tests the boundaries with her parents, develops a separate persona when she is away from home, and searches out approval from older boys at the drive-in. This lack of self eventually plays a part in leaving with Arnold Friend, at the end of the story.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a popular short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, a well-known American writer born in 1938 who is well-known for her literary works in various genres (“Joyce Carol Oates”). In her short story, Oates depicts Connie, a self-centered teenager, being pursued by a mysterious and potentially dangerous individual who claims to be named Arnold Friend. At the end of the work, Arnold finally convinces Connie to allow herself to be abducted by him and his friend which could lead to Connie’s death. Throughout Oates’ piece, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” hidden intent is continually observed, resulting from the mentions of Arnold Friend’s mirrored sunglasses and his mask-like makeup, which both symbolize masks.

When the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates was first published, there were many controversies to the theories and interpretations regarding the story. According to the author Oates, the inspiration of the story was based on “the tale of Charles Schmid, a twenty-three-old from Tucson who cruised teenage hangouts, picking up girls for rides in his gold convertible. Eventually, he murdered three of them, while other teenagers served as accomplices” (Coleman et al. 211). With knowing such fact of where the author got her inspiration, there is a clear understand to why many critics have suggested that the antagonist in the story, Arnold Friend, represents: feminist allegory, fear of the adult world, rebellion against the conformity, and symbolism of monster or even Satan.

Throughout the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is a conceited young girl who tries to portray herself as a sexual persona, though she is a young woman who is attempting to seem older than she is. The story portrays her in a negative feminist lens as well as an archetypal lens because of the recurring events that happen.

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is essentially about a young woman’s strive for independence, which eventually leads to conflict. Oates portrays a social issue that relates to today’s society by using symbolism and characterization. She takes you on a journey throughout a teenagers life, tells about her thoughts and feelings while also relating to naïve girls today. Connie is a symbol of young girls who try to rush and grow up too fast. The ones who want to be popular with all the boys.

In the short story, “Where are you going, where have you been”, by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie’s family refuses to accept her attempts to create an identity different from her older sisters; ultimately causing her to form repressed thoughts regarding her family and herself. These repressed thoughts become the motivating force behind Connie’s daydreams and implementation of her defense mechanisms, when confronted by Arnold Friend and Ellie. Once Connie recognizes her repressed thoughts regarding Arnold Friend, she undergoes reality anxiety. Although her efforts to escape Arnold Friend are futile, she uncovers the truth behind her newfound: that it was hollow and self-centered. Therefore, the short story, “Where are you going, where have you been”,

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

In Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, she paints the picture of a teenage girl whose mother is jealous of her, father is absent, and sister is twenty-four and lives at home. Connie is a fifteen year old girl who sneaks around with her friends, is a bit boy crazy and is very much a daydreaming teenager. The beginning of the story starts off rather innocent, then through a series of hints scattered throughout the story, takes a turn for the worse when Connie’s eyes are opened to a face of evil no girl should ever have to experience and no boy should ever become. Oates reveals how family relationships directly and indirectly affect the way teenagers act and how it impacts their search for self-identity.