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

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Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about a young, egocentric girl named Connie who gets into an unexpected circumstance. One night Connie and her friend were at a diner when a strange man started to stare at Connie. Connie didn’t think anything about it until one Sunday afternoon when her family goes to a barbeque but Connie decides to stay home by herself. While alone in her house, a strange man named Arnold Friend approaches up her driveway and starts to prey on Connie. Arnold is the same man that was watching Connie at the diner the other night and is now at her house. When Arnold gets out of his car he commands Connie to get in his car so that they can go for a ride. While Arnold keeps bombarding Connie,

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

We all have at least one time experienced that there are some entities in life that we have to figure out on our own. If it is just to put our finger into hot water to see if it is hot, although our parents told us not to do that, because it will burn our finger and hurt. But we will remember that lesson easier when we experience it on our own, than somebody telling us that the water is hot, the experience…

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Compare And Contrast Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

Stories are not meant to share certain common aspects among each other. They might share common points if they were written with the same style of writing or same author. Time periods and author's own life experience play a major part in their writing style. The stories of “ Where Are You Going Where Have You been” by Joyce Carol Oates and “You'll Never Know Dear” by John Updike shares a few common aspects between these two stories. In both stories the main characters were facing the situation…

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Nothing: Joyce Carol Oates and Humid Night Air Essay

While there is not as much character development of Queenie in John Updike's "A & P" as there is of Connie of Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," both girls represent rather superficial teen-aged girls who become aware of their new sexuality. Their behavior also exhibits a certain rebelliousness and egotism. In Oates's story, Connie is not concerned with the feelings of the boys who admire her, only perceiving them as vehicles for her "trashy daydreams." With her friends…

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

is a reality. Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” has been interpreted in abstract ideas. However, all these abstract ideas take away from the plain realism Oates bases her short story on to draw attention to the public awareness of teen predators. To interpret Oates story in realism contributes…

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Final Essay

Since the publication of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” many critics have attempted to analyze Joyce Carol Oates’ story. One of the most debatable things about the story is whether it is a work of realism or surrealism. Some critics agree that the story is an actual event while others argue that it is a dream. I think the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a work of realism. The “consistent naturalism” throughout the story proves it. Coulthard expresses, “[a]bsolutely…

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Joyce Carol Oates and Arnold Fiend Essay

Literary Studies I 15 February 2015 What is the Truth in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Arnold Fiend is the biggest dilemma that this story has and who he actually is. Is he The Pied Piper of Tuscan? Comparing the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, to the background information of “The Pied Piper of Tuscan” I could not have seen a more clear resemblance of the two. Don Moser tells the story about a 23-year-old murderer, Charles Schmid and how he cruised…

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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

between parents and child. Readers see the same communication gap between Connie and her parents in Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” Oates, in her story, gave the ultimate valuation of such a gap through Connie’s surrender to the devil Arnold Friend (Oates). Oates left readers to guess Connie’s fate in the hand of devil Arnold Friend. Joyce Carol Oates in a high and loud voice urged the community that the society cannot afford another child to repeat Connie’s…

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

In the story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, we read about two characters, a girl and an American man. The two have short conversations between them, and these conversations can hint of many clues about them and their relationship. In the story, we discover what the characters are like, through what they say, and also through the things they don’t say. The short story “Where are you going, Where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting…

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The Impact Of The Feminist Movement In The 1960's

society during the 1960’s. These include television, literature, and music. In the beginning of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie is the typical 60’s girl. She has defiant, rebellious side that captures the Feminist movement perfectly. Near the end of the story, Connie does something entirely unexpected according to society. She gives in to Arnold Friend’s commands. This would not have happened during the Feminist movement of the 1960’s. It is hard to put a definition on Feminism…

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Arnold Friend Essay

(Probably) the Devil Fantasy versus reality, and how the line between the two can be so easily blurred, is a common theme amongst fictional pieces of literature. In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the line between the two becomes decidedly blurred somewhere around the beginning of the second half of the story, which takes on an almost dreamlike quality. The arrival of the bizarre Arnold Friend signifies the shift from reality to fantasy. Many of Arnold’s characteristics can…

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