Where Are You Going Where have you been moral lesson

The main themes of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” are appearance versus reality, the embodiment of evil, and self-sacrifice. Appearance vs. reality: Both Connie and Arnold have two-sided natures, presenting an appealing self when necessary and withholding another.

What are some possible themes of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

• Appearances and Deception. …
• Agency, Control, and Manipulation. …
• The Presence of Evil. …
• Music and Romantic Fantasy. …
• Loss of Innocence.

What is the social issue in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Acquaintance rape. Rape was one of the most serious of feminist issues emerging in American society during the 1960s. Although the term “acquaintance rape” had not yet been coined in 1965 when Joyce Carol Oates wrote “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” the story portrays this type of offense.

Where Are Going Where Have You Been symbolism?

“[The] story is clearly an allegory of the fatal attractions of death (or the devil),” Oates explains. “An innocent young girl is seduced by way of her own vanity; she mistakes death for erotic romance of a particularly American/trashy sort” (source).

What is the purpose of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

In “Where Are You Going . . . ,” Oates explores this social upheaval in miniature: Connie, one young woman out of a country of young women, must confront her own questions and anxieties as she transitions into adulthood. Her separation from her home and family is violent, and Arnold Friend is by no means a savior.

How does Arnold Friend manipulate Connie?

Friend seems to know that he can control Connie with his words: if she simply listens to him for long enough, the desired effect will take hold. … Friend’s use of manipulative language makes her believe she not only has no other option than to go with him, but that she has chosen to go with him.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been essay conclusion?

In conclusion, the character Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” whose various psychological problems have been discussed in this paper, meets the ending that she does in the story because of her insecurity, her low self-esteem, and her fear of intimacy.

Why is music so important to Connie?

Music Symbol Analysis. From the outset of the story, music symbolizes Connie’s inner life, specifically the pleasure she takes in romantic relationships and romantic ideals themselves. Whenever she goes to the plaza with her friends, music is always playing in the background.

What does Arnold friend want Connie?

Arnold Friend: A mysterious figure who visits Connie while her family is not at home and continuously demands that Connie to get in the car and go on a ride with him.

How is Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been a coming of age story?

Oates has described “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” as slipping and sliding between genres. She suggests the terms “psychological realism” and “realistic allegory” (source). The story also fits within the coming-of-age genre as it follows its adolescent protagonist as she faces some tough decisions.

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What is the authors purpose in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Author’s Purpose This story was written during a time of upheaval in the role of the American woman. Women were starting to set their own goals and do what they please without the permission of a man.

What does Connie do at the end of the story?

Connie is compelled to leave with him and do what he demands of her. The story ends as Connie leaves her front porch; her eventual fate is left ambiguous.”

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been feminist allegory?

He argues that “Where Are You Going?” is among the earliest of Oates’s stories to show “explicitly feminist concerns.” Indeed, according to Johnson, the story is a “feminist allegory” in which Connie is “surrendering her autonomous selfhood to male desire and domination.

What does Arnold Friend's car symbolize?

Arnold’s Car Arnold Friend’s flashy gold car, with its outdated phrases written on the sides, is an extension of Arnold himself: extreme and not entirely right. … Once Arnold’s true, violent nature comes through, the car becomes a symbol of all that is dark and ominous about his character.

What does 33 19 17 mean in Where Are You Going Where have you been?

When Connie asks him what the stuff painted on his car means, Arnold goes through the various sayings and eventually comes to the numbers 33,19, 17. … Harold Hurley posits that the numbers carry a sexual connotations because when added together they equal 69, a sexual position.

Do the descriptions of Arnold Friend his face his clothing his dialogue have symbolic meaning is his name symbolic?

Why is music so important to Connie and to the story as a whole? Do the descriptions of Arnold Friend–his face, his clothing, his dialogue–have symbolic meaning? … This whole story is an allegory for temptation by the Devil. Connie is vain, and the Devil targets vain people.

What were Arnold's first words to Connie?

The first words out of his mouth are “Gonna get you, baby.“

Where do Connie and her friends go when they leave the shopping plaza?

Connie and her friends enjoy being dropped off at a shopping plaza without adult supervision, wearing ballerina slippers and charm bracelets. Often after being dropped off, they run across the highway to a drive-in where older kids gather.

What does Arnold represent in Where Are You Going Where have you been?

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. … Arnold Friend covers his demonic features in order to pass as a teenager with the intention of deceiving Connie into leaving with him.

What color eyes does Connie have?

She has a prominent nose with black eyes with thick eyebrows and has dark brown puffy hair that varies in length. From her debut to “Dewey Wins”, Connie’s hair was waist-length.

What role does music play in Oates story?

Oates also uses music references as a means of conveying Connie’s vulnerability. The music in the story does not have a specific title or description. … From this, the reader realizes that Connie is excited by the music, and that to her it functions as a substitute for religion.

Why does Connie act like an adult?

“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.

How does Connie lose her innocence?

Loss of Innocence Theme Analysis. … Friend forces a heightened level of sexual awareness upon Connie—and then presumably rapes her, forcing her to give up her sexual innocence.

Who is Arnold Friend based on?

Oates has described how she based the character of Arnold Friend on the real life serial killer, Charles Schmid, who also wore makeup and stuffed his boots in order to alter his appearance, and was known for preying on teenage girls—taking three of their lives in Tuscon, Arizona the 1960s.

Where did Connie go in Grapes of Wrath?

” This upsets Rose of Sharon, and she storms away to sulk in her tent. When she settles down, she realizes that Connie is gone. Al tells the family that he saw Connie heading south and presumably back to Oklahoma. Connie was never seen or heard from again.

What's this about the Pettinger girl?

Having children outside marriage carries a social stigma for the mother. Some critics suspect that when Connie’s mother asks her daughter,’ ‘What’s this about the Pettinger girl?,” she is alluding to a rumor that a schoolmate of Connie’s may be pregnant.

Is Joyce Carol Oates a feminist?

Oates also calls herself a “feminist” although she does not like the restrictive title of “woman writer”; rather, she prefers being described as a woman who writes. In her exploration of character and relationships, the nature of love and sexual power are frequently at issue.

What would the kitchen symbolize in the story?

Kitchens. In Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, kitchens symbolize the natural, repetitious rhythms of life, which is often what pulls the protagonist, Mikage Sakurai, out of a moment where she feels overwhelmed by the presence of death…

What is the irony of Arnold friends name?

Arnold Friend’s name is example of verbal irony because he is anything but a friend to Connie.

What do cars symbolize to teenagers?

To teenagers, cars can represent anything from maturity to freedom to being ‘cool’. To Connie, it initially represents the unknown as well as her own vanity: It was a car she didn’t know.