Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essay

In her short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates presents us with a well known maxim: children cannot wait to get older. Tired of her boring and powerless childhood, Connie, the main character, searches for cheap thrills she likens to adulthood. Thus, Connie’s surreal experience (Arnold Friend’s sudden and unwanted appearance in his car) represents a suppressed fear of the inevitable and unknown - growing up. Connie, a stereotypical fifteen year old girl, views her

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a twisted short story that showcases the theme of inescapable guilt and shame through the psychoanalytical lens of dreams. In the story, a young girl, Connie longs for maturity and male attention while ignoring her family. Connie wants the lifestyle of being thrilled and feeling wanted since she doesn’t get that attention at home, therefore, her demeanor at home is the polar opposite of her demeanor on evenings out. However, it could

Figuring out who you are as a teenager can be very difficult. In the story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates this is evident with the main character Connie. Connie, a young fifteen year old, has a split personality that while at home seems like a normal teenager, yet outside of her home she is very sexual; she manages to keep them separate until Arnold shows up at her home unwelcomed. In the story Connie is a young girl who is trying to feel alive and be popular, in

Hurst 1 Allison Hurst Professor Ben Mayo English Comp II 30 April 2011 Analysis of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates In 1966, Joyce Carol Oates published her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. Oates was inspired to write this story after reading about a serial killer that was referred to as “The Pied Piper of Tucson”. Oates was disturbed by the number of teenagers that this killer was able to persuade to help him and keep his secrets

Innocence In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” and the two poems “We Are Cool” and “When I Was One and Twenty” innocence was taken and naivetés, evilness, disobedience, and rule breaking play a role in these three works of literature. When breaking down the short story and poems, it is clear that each author included the influences that evil had on innocence and naiveté. It is also clear that these different works of literature all have the same naïve atmosphere. “Be

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?”. Through the use of imagery, the similarities between “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and “Persephone and Demeter” are evident. Oates

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: The Realities of Imagination There are a lot of times in life when things turn out not to be what one originally thought it was. Tons of people come up with ideas in their head of how something is supposed to be or appears to be. They do this without sitting and taking the time to think about how something truly is which can create problems in the future. Sometimes people do come to realize the true side, but it may be too late. In Where Are You Going

Cure and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? In the short story An Ounce of Cure the unnamed female protagonist, who is going to be referred to as “the girl”, struggles with her emotions as she gets the first taste of what having a significant other is like. After a devastating breakup with her two month old boyfriend, the girl becomes lost and numb in her own little world becoming severely depressed and not wanting to seek any outside help. She is from a small southern town where it is looked

thousands of years there have been many different writers, while being unique and talented in their own way. Joyce Carol Oates, the author of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is no exception. However, while writers may be talented and unique in their own way, the readers will have their own opinions about the stories. It is rare for a reader to read a story without having a critical outlook on a few of the stories elements. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that lacks

hook the reader and get them interested. In this essay, the use of suspense in two short stories and how it affects the conflict and resolution will be addressed. The two short stories are, “Button Button”,by Richard Matheson and, “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”,by Joyce Carol Oates. Both of the authors use suspense, which creates tension in the reader and keeps them intrigued. The Suspense in these stories is very effective. One example in “Button Button” Norma says “Reaching out she pressed