Arnold Friend Theme

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In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the essence of one of the themes Joyce Carol Oates addresses is the coming of age of our main character of Connie. Connie is struggling with her own sexuality and nature of how sexuality works. Looking at this time in history in the 1960’s and 1970’s, this period is included in the Sexual Revolution, basically a social liberation movement that challenged the ideas of sexuality and behaviors in the Western world. This correlates to the story, because the theme of sexuality, as you’re going from preteen to teen is a pretty unpredictable time in an adolescent’s life and this time sexual modes where being questioned. Connie free time that she isn’t in school has her head always revolving boys. In …show more content…
With Arnold’s line the attitude has come off to be aggressive and demanding all ready, with Connie trying so hard to grow up and find herself through sexuality, in modern times most women would see this detrimental in the beginning of a girls sexual life, commands and aggressive language does nothing to improve a women self-confidence, but when vulnerable like Connie may seem like the attention that she has been looking for in reality can put her in a dangerous position for her. When she hears the car coming toward her house the reading can see that Connie isn’t fear but too look at herself in the mirror to make her wonder how the driver would perceive her. Finding out it’s the shaggy haired boy from the restaurant the other day, Oates makes sure to have Connie show no pleasure or interest even though the reader can see that she is intrigued but the boy. A little later we find out Connie likes the way Arnold looks as she describes his clothes and some of his physical features but keeping them pretty general and then adding “familiar face” is a generalization that one can conclude Oates wants the audience wants to connect the way Connie describing “all men in general.” However as Arnold keeps talking his language becomes more sexual and more vulgar saying he will come inside her and he will love her, repeating love in different ways getting more aggressive and dangerous the more he talks and the more she pulls away. Arnold is representing the rape type of culture and sexual violence he isn’t asking to do any of the sexual deeds to her everything is an exclamation point to the point no what she wants or what she is comfortable
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