Joyce Carol Oates Essay

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

psychological and physical human development that ultimately leads them to their adulthood. Joyce Carol Oates' short story depicts a fifteen year old girl with typical teenage concerns. She has to face the realization of the meaning of maturity in the American civilization when she is ripped out of her childhood by Arnold Friend. In the short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates suggests that when teenagers are in the coming of age, they are easily fooled and taken

Sydney Lopez English 1302 MW Professor Golden February 1, 2016 Compare & Contrast between Movie and Story The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates is very much different from the movie Smooth Talk directed by Joyce Chopra in many ways. The story and film were both made to relate to the real life serial killer Charles Howard Schmid Jr. and his crimes committed, while also reflecting a passage from the Old Testament that states “Whither goest thou? and whence comest

Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where are you going Where have you been?”is about a teenage girl who tries her hardest to put up a front outside of her home. Instead of having great connections with girls in her life, “her relationships with other women are weak, her days are filled with vague, saccharine fantasies about boys and love”(Teran, themes). Connie’s world is not a “feminist world”. She is living in two worlds. In her home she behaves one way but when she is out with friends and such she is totally

with relief that you’ve finally have made it. For many, our minds play tricks on us when we feel a moment of fear, however for others it may turn out to be their worst nightmare. In the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, a young girl is forced to make a decision

In “Where are you going, where have you been”, Joyce Carol Oates presents a theory to the reader that undeniable affects the way you read the short story. Throughout the texts you are given many reasons to believe that the main character, Connie, is in a dream or that she is having an out-of-body experience. Her incident almost seems like a cut out of a horror movie, and although it seems to like a dream, but to me it is to real to be something imagined. Starting off from the beginning, Connie

Joyce Carol Oates’, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” discusses the theme of sexuality through multiple different methods and characters. One main character that is constantly characterized with such a trait is Connie; Connie seems to be ahead of her age group by always wanting to get the attention of older males. She has a different persona while with her family and while she is with her friends. In many occasions, the reader is given the interpretation of Connie to be overly sexual at

Matthew Moreno WRIT-201 Professor October 7, 2016 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

while interpreting the story of,” Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” by Joyce Carol Oates. Oates wrote this short story to create suspense. It really leaves you on edge. The most suspense would have to be at the end of the story. Oates leaves you falling off of a cliff as to what would happen to Connie and her family. It makes me ponder if this was just a dream or reality to them. At the end of the story, Oates writes in the last paragraph,”There was so much land that Connie had never seen

“Where are going, where have you been?” is a short story that was written by Joyce Carol Oates. She is an American author born in the year 1938 in Lockport, New York. Oates has published a number of novels and many books of poetries, short stories, and nonfiction. The main character in the Carol’s story is Connie, even though there are others, such as Connie’s mother, Connie’s sister called June, Arnold Friend, who is a friend of Ellie, and Ellie, who is a friend of Connie (Gratz 55). Connie is