Just a Dream
There are many ideas and opinions floating around about Joyce Carol Oates' story, "Where Are You Going, Where have You Been?", stating that Arnold Friend is a real or wholly imagined character, or Arnold Friend represents the devil. Oates' story clearly shows that Arnold Friend and his erotic behavior are nothing more than Connie's fantasies in Connie's dreams. If one was to look at Connie's personal life, her mother would constantly nag at her, and her father never seemed to be into Connie's life. When her father is home, he would immediately want dinner. At the dinner table he would ignore his surroundings and read a newspaper. After he is done with dinner, he would go up to bed (p 703). Connie doesn't have a father figure in her life. Young girls need attention from a man. If they don't get that attention at home from their parents, than it's easy for them to turn to fictional characters, such as Arnold Friend, in dreams. Not only is Arnold Friend offering her love that she desires, he also is an older man; a man in his thirties. He is practically old enough to be Connie's father. Besides Connie being deprived of a father figure, Connie lacks confidence.
Larry Rubin's conclusion that Arnold Friend and the whole scenario was a dream is very agreeable. When she supposedly opened her eyes "she hardly knew where she was, the back yard ran off to weeds and a fence line of trees and behind it the sky was perfectly blue and still" (p 705). She tries running to call for help but her fingers are shaking and she feels as if she can't do anything (p 710). Arnold Friend was in fact a man that she saw at the movies and Arnold Friend definitely had a trashy erotic twist to him. It's easy for Connie to portray herself as a hero in her own fantasy, her own dreams. Another event that happened in the story that supports a dream is when Connie feels helpless. Connie was dazing off into a sleep, again dreaming about the boys she met. Just like she couldn't remember what room she was in, even though a kitchen isn't hard to identify. It also had numbers printed on one side of the car. This leads to Connie being a dreamer. When one is running away from somebody, or one is trying to hit something, no matter how hard they try they can't do it. Connie would "check other people's faces to make sure her own was alright" (p 702). Only in her dreams would she make her self a hero. She constantly uses other people's flaws to make her feel important and flawless.
Common topics in this essay:
Arnold Friend,
Besides Connie,
Ultimately Connie,
arnold friend,
Lyddane ENG102,
Arnold Friend's,
Connie Dreams,
Carol Oates',
Furthermore Connie's,
Larry Rubin's,
connie's personal life,
connie dreams,
involved connie's,
connie dreamer,
connie's dream,
it's easy,
connie's personal,
oates' story,
self hero,
personal life,
|
Acceptance Essays
