Summary Of The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

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Start your $7 for 7 days trial now!search-imgsearch-imgFIND MY ESSAYSummary Of The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'1182 Words5 Pages

Where Are You Going Rudyard Kipling once said that “[if] history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Many authors leave an impressive impact on the world through their works of fiction, but when an author can craft a fiction story that contains truth, it is a work of genius. This method allows people to retain the knowledge easier, and allows the impact to be lasting. This is just what Joyce Carol Oates did in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by using parallelism, allegories, and symbolism. Joyce lived a modest life with her parents and two siblings in Lockport New York. According to an article on Biography.com entitled “Joyce Carol Oates,” she always loved reading, and even before she …show more content…

Connie hangs out with her friends at the local burger shop and encounters a young man with “shaggy black hair.” This young man appears to be the same age as her and her friends. The story then goes on to say her family left for a barbecue, and she decided to stay home. Connie, home alone hears a truck pull up and looks outside to see a “gold jalopy” in her driveway. This golden truck belongs to a man that goes by Arnold Friend. He steps out of the truck and proceeds to engage in a conversation with Connie. At this point she recognizes him as the man from the night before. They conversation leaves Connie feeling discombobulated. When she tries to escape his presence he comes into her home and the “nice guy” facade begins to crumble. The story ends with Connie being taken by Arnold into a land she had always looked at, but never truly seen. She obliged to leave so that her family would not suffer. Throughout the conversation between Arnold and Connie, she noticed Arnold wears makeup and stuffs his boots to appear younger. He also tries to relay a younger age by using the same slang as the youth of that time. At first, the facade holds and she feels comfortable around him, but when she notices the cracks in his appearance, she becomes anxious and

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Carol Oates's Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

359 Words | 2 Pages

Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” represents the devil who arrives to bring Connie to the underworld. For example, his unusual appearance implies that he is an inhuman being, unlike what he wants to lead on. As he struggles to walk from his car to the front door, Connie notes that “his whole face was a mask... tanned down to his throat...as if he had..makeup on..but had forgotten about his throat”(5). Arnold Friend covers his demonic features in order to pass as a teenager with the intention of deceiving Connie into leaving with him.

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Arnold Friend Character Analysis

1137 Words | 5 Pages

However, this is countered when Connie notes that “he was much older—thirty, maybe more” (315), a fact that frightens her. What Arnold is to Connie is a challenge of her want to be an adult, and a trail of her ability to deal with adult issue. Such as a man who singles her out sexual reason. Her wish to be an adult is something she seeks while passively avoiding it. Her avoidance is marked by day dreams of puppy love romance, like a typical teenager; yet, her attractive flaunt to be mature is presented as if she seeks to be an

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Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1181 Words | 5 Pages

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by the author Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. Oates describes her idea for the story after briefly reading an article about the real-life murderer, Charles Schmid, who lured and murdered three teenage girls (Kirszner & Mandell 523). She uses this idea to create the character, Arnold Friend, and his victim, Connie. Connie is a typical teenage girl portrayed as naïve and self-centered. The short story appears realistic, given that the conflict in the story is based off of real events.

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An Analysis Of Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?'

596 Words | 3 Pages

Connie was unable to see the men's true personality until they removed their glasses, which like Connie, a person who has multiple sides. They use similar expressions throughout the story, for example, “Christ” and the use of the word “dope” this further links the two characters personalities. At the end of the story, after Arthur stops Connie from calling the police, she willingly joins the two men. This shows Connie ignoring her superego- calling the police- to succumb to her id (8, 9). Connie once asks, “how come we never saw you before?” to which Arthur replies, “Sure you saw me before… You just don’t remember” these lines also illustrate the tendency for a person to repress their ultimate desires (5).

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character

890 Words | 4 Pages

Arnold Friend was there to take Connie away; away from her childhood and home, which never quite felt like home until her fantasy world deteriorated and reality set it. The next moment is pivotal, this is when Connie forgets her hedonism and becomes something of much more substance. Before Connie studies Arnold Friend’s abnormal personality and erratic behavior she is fascinated by him and even worries that she is ill prepared for this

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Joyce Carol Oates Use Of Foreshadow

321 Words | 2 Pages

as you touch the phone I don 't need to keep my promise and can come inside...anybody can break through a screen door and glass and wood and iron or anything else if he needs to, anybody at all.” No matter what Connie says or does, Arnold keeps talking, and yet he reveals nothing about himself. His words to Connie are mean, and forceful, there is not a single question Arnold asks Connie just demanding her what to do. Friend has 'shaggy black hair that looked crazy as a wig.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis

694 Words | 3 Pages

Oates’s biography explained her fiction writing as a mixture violence and sexual obsession. The writing style definitely fits the plot point of this story with both of her literary ingredients being present in not only Arnold Friend but in Connie as well. The Protagonist Connie is presented in a very self-centered way. She is obsessed with her looks and often fantasizes about all the boys she meets.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Analysis

817 Words | 4 Pages

Reluctantly, her parents allow her to stay home alone. A few hours later, a familiar gold jalopy pulls up to her house. The driver announces to Connie that his name is Arnold Friend. His unusual physical appearance, his tone of voice, and what he may symbolize frighten the Connie.

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Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1203 Words | 5 Pages

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl named Connie who is in the mist of her adolescent rebellion. She wants to prove her maturity to others and herself. In the story, Oates describes that Connie always lets her mind flow freely in between her daydream. She even creates and keeps dreaming about her ideal male figure in her mind to make her happy and satisfied. Oates allows the reader to step into Connie’s “dream world” through the appearance of Arnold Friend.

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Martin Luther And Corruption Of The Protestant Reformation

125 Words | 1 Pages

The Protestant Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. Martin Luther exposed the wrong doings and the corruption of the catholic church. The reason of reformation being sparked was clerical immorality, pluralism, simeny, ignorance. The church officials were too powerful and ignorant The catholics believed the pope and church officials decided the interpretation of the bible. So Luther spread the belief of self interpretation.

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Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

984 Words | 4 Pages

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is about a teenager named Connie who is trying to come to terms with her transformation from childhood to adulthood. Through this process, Connie attempts to act older than she is an tries to gain the attention of boys. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as obsessed with men to symbolize how one’s obsession and narcissistic attitude can cause danger to seem surreal. In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.

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Examples Of Allusions In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

854 Words | 4 Pages

He mysteriously knows where Connie lives and invites himself to drive over to her house. Arnold assumes Connie’s friendship by convincing her that he knows everything and everybody, “I know your name and all about you” (Oates 201) when she never told him her name in the first place. He knew her friends, their names as well as what she did the night before. He also knew exactly where Connie’s family was, at a BBQ at Connie’s aunt Tille’s.

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Literary Devices In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

804 Words | 4 Pages

In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.

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Compare And Contrast Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

693 Words | 3 Pages

In John Updike’s “A&P” and Joyce Oates’s “Where are you going, where have you been” there are multiple intriguing similarities and differences between both protagonists. Both stories involve an adolescent 's main character who goes through a type of struggle, however, the severity of their struggles differ greatly. “A&P” includes a young man named Sammy who loses his job grows an attachment to a small group of girls that are regular customers at the shop he works at. The situation in “Where are you going, where have you been?” is much more grim for the protagonist, a young teenage girl, Connie. She is put into a set of circumstances that put her life in danger.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme Analysis

1255 Words | 6 Pages

Connie uses her attitude and appearance to attract boys. But she is not aware of the reality of the society in which she lives. Connie is living in a fantasy world, but when she gets trapped by Arnold Friend she is put into a scary reality. There

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