Where Are You Going Where have you been coming of age theme?
| Themes. The short story is a coming-of-age tale, or—Joyce Carol Oates herself once noted—a “fairy tale gone wrong.” Its themes center on Connie and her longing for and eventual change from child to adult.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been main conflict?
Connie Vs. Arnold Friend– The main conflict in this story, Arnold Friend and Connie clash. Connie is playing the scared, traumatized role while Arnold Friend is aggressor. He is making all the moves to get closer to kidnapping Connie.
Who is Eddie in where are you going?
Eddie is a teenager, slightly older than Connie, who picks her up at the drive-in restaurant and with whom Connie spends an evening. Ellie Oscar is Arnold Friend’s older, charmless sidekick whose primary interest is his radio and who volunteers to disconnect the telephone in Connie’s house.
Where Are You Going Where have you been important quotes?
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? | Quotes
- She knew she was pretty, and that was everything.
- Connie couldn’t do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams.
- Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead.
- Sometimes, over coffee, they were almost friends, but something would come up—some vexation …
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been symbol?
The Car (Symbol) In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” it is notable that men drive and women are passengers. When Arnold Friend offers to take Connie for a ride, he is seeking to gain control over her and her movements. As an instrument of control, his car stands as a symbol for his whole persona.
Is Arnold Friend real?
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 Are You Going Where Have You Been title meaning?
The allusion parallels Connie’s decision to sacrifice herself so that Arnold Friend will not harm her family. The title also points to the strained relationship between Connie and her parents, who nag her about her behavior but do not question her actions.
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.”
How is Arnold friend’s name symbolic and ironic?
How is Arnold Friend’s name symbolic and ironic? Arnold’s name is ironic because he is the opposite of a friend, symbolically showing that those.
Who does Connie see at the drive through?
The girls often sneak across the highway to a drive-in restaurant and meet boys. One night, a boy named Eddie invites Connie to eat dinner with him, and Connie leaves her friend at the restaurant’s counter to go with him. As they walk through the parking lot, she sees a man in a gold convertible.
What does Ellie Oscar represent?
In her 1990 journal article published in Studies in Short Fiction entitled “The Shadow of a Satyr in Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” literary critic Joan Easterly posits that the name “Ellie Oscar is a parody of the name of the Greek god of mercy, Elios.” This is a highly defensible theory of the …
Why does Connie have Arnold friend?
Due to her insecurity and low self-esteem, Connie is just gullible enough to believe that it really is “all over for [her] here.” She is willing to go with Arnold Friend not because she actually wants to, but because she thinks he is right; Connie has nothing keeping her, not her friends, her family, or any of the …
What does Arnold friend look like?
He wears mirrored sunglasses, has translucent skin, and has hair that is so wild that it looks like a wig. When he walks, he wobbles, as though his shoes don’t fit properly. Some critics suggest that his unsteadiness hints at the possibility that his feet are actually hooves, as the devil would have.
Is Connie dreaming in where are you going?
In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the reader can conclude that this story is Connie’s realistic dream. The narrator leaves the reader to decide Connie’s fate, which is waking up from this awful nightmare relieved that her dream was not reality. Works Cited. Oates, Joyce Carol.
What are Connie’s two sides?
Connie has two sides. On one side Connie fights with her mother, ridicules her sister and hides her sexuality. On her other side she is only concerned with her sexuality. She goes out with her girlfriends, flirts with boys, wears her clothes differently and behaves more adult to attract the opposite sex.
How is Arnold Friend the Devil?
Arnold Friend clearly symbolizes the devil through his physical traits, his knowledge of Connie, and his power over her kind of like he was hypnotizing her to go with him. First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan.
How does Connie change in where are you going?
Connie is in the midst of an adolescent rebellion. She argues with her mother and sister, June, and neglects family life in favor of scoping out boys at the local restaurant. She tries to appear older and wiser than she is, and her head is filled with daydreams and popular music that feed her ideas of romance and love.