American Fantasy Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" represents the stark realities of real life invading the American Dream. Connie, the victim, lives the ideal life of a rebellious teen. She cruises the town, goes on dates, and listens to music that ma...

During the years of adolescence one goes through a time of confusion and curiosity where finding themselves is inevitable. In the tale "Where Are you going, Where Have you Been?", Joyce Carol Oates uses a teenage girl named Connie, to tell a story filled with rebellion and freedom. At this...

Where are you going, Where have you been? A Feminist Allegory Biographer Greg Johnson interprets the story "Where are you going, Where have you been?" as a feminist allegory. This critical interpretation is accurate. The story of Connie, an attractive young woman, being enslaved into...

Joyce Carol Oates has an interesting way of writing, which is displayed in her stories. "Why Don't You Come Live with Me It's Time," and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" are two stories that share many important similarities and differences. Connie and Clai...

Joyce Carol Oates created a very provocative and interesting character when she created CONNIE in her well-known short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Sexual imagery, sexual dreams, innocence and a hormone-driven desire for sexual intercourse – all these elements help Connie s...

"Where are you going, where have you been?" is a short story written by Joyce Carols Oates, which describes a strange man named Arnold Friend who is obsessed over a young teenager named Connie. Arnold Friend is much older than Connie and cannot be said to be like a child, yet he lures Conn...

Joyce Carol Oates short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" takes up many troubling issues. Connie, the main charcter, who is fifteen exhibits the confusing, often superficial behavior typical of a teenage girl facing the difficult transition from girlhood to womanhood. She is...

Love is a complex emotion. It may encourage a person to write poetry or it may drive him to the point of murder. With emotions ranging from extremely positive to completely negative, love has turned into a rather complicated subject of debate and thus we often find authors and poets asking the criti...

Being a teenager is a difficult period in one's life. A teenager is no longer a child but not yet an adult. This state of turmoil makes the teenager's role in both family and society unclear. Joyce Carol Oates portrays a relatively typical teenage girl as the main character in "Wher...

Connie and the grandmother: a striking resemblance Two characters, one an adolescent and beautiful, the other aged and outdated, are distinguishably parallel and dissimilar in many ways. Connie is a naive, pubescent girl who is portrayed in Joyce Carol Oates' "Where are you going? Wher...

Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a short story that amplifies the importance of knowing where you are and what you are doing, especially your children. In this story the main character, Connie, is a 15-year-old girl who falls victim to a rape and murder by Arnold ...

In the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," by Joyce Carol Oates, many literary devices are used to convey the change from childhood to adolescence and sexuality. Throughout this tale, Connie, the main character, goes back and forth between innocence and maturity, showi...

The Transition to Adulthood Most people in society hold a stereotypical conception of most teenagers. Many individuals have the notion that all teenagers act before they really think of the consequences of what they are exactly getting themselves into. They think teenagers are self-centered and...

We have all experienced nightmares. Nightmares are very different from the everyday dreams that we have for many reasons. The feeling of utter helplessness is a major characteristic of a nightmare that seems to linger in our minds. No matter how fast you think you can run, how hard you think you ...

A famous short story is "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. This stunning story describes how the seemingly perfect girl, Connie, is terrorized by the most abnormal man, Arnold Friend. Some would argue that he is the devil. Any argument that Arnold Frien...

When "Where Are You Going, Where have you been?" was written in 1966, it was interpreted many different ways. Many feminist and women's rights groups saw the story as an symbol of violence against women. Others believed it was a demonstration of "pure realism" and the "grotesque." Joyce C...

The story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" was written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story is about a typical teenage girl named Connie who is obsessed with trying to act and appear to be a mature woman. Connie's age and her immaturity contribute to her tragic final end. She ...

Similar Meanings When looking at two stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, many similarities are seen. A possible reason for many of the similarities between the two stories is du...

Sympathy For The Devil? The Rolling Stones once sang, "Please to meet you, hope you guess my name, but what's puzzling you is the nature of my game." On a recent trip home from Macon, this song was playing on the radio. I was reminded of the story Where Are You Going, Where Hav...

The short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl named Connie. She was the typical teenage girl growing up in the nineteen fifties in the United States of America. She was at the age of sexual recognition. Connie has to decide weather or not sh...

Reasons for Arnold Friend being the Devil In "Where are you going, Where have you been?" the devil is masquerading as Arnold Friend, or that he is at least one of the devil's messengers. All the evidence during the corse of the story helps to support this fact. One cou...

Felicia Keka Jim Lyddane ENG102 04/22/04 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 th...

Who are we? conflicting desires In the story "Where are You Going, Where Have you Been," written by Joyce Carol Oates, we encounter a young girl, Connie, on the verge of the confusing adolescent years. Torn between who she is and who she wants to be, her conflicting desire...

Only Skin Deep In today's society, value always seems to be placed upon certain external qualities such as beauty and riches. Unfortunately, one's inner beauty is often overlooked. In the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" reflections see...