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...

Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski reflects on the parallels between a literary work and biblical suggestions in her essay "Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" (Studies in Short Fiction, 1978.) In her criticism, she compares the story of Con...

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 presents a description of an adolescent girl's disaffection with her family and rape by Arnold Friend in the short story "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Throughout the story the reader watches Connie, the central character, reject her family, friends and self in an a...

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...

Is Arnold Friend the Devil in disguise in Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" If one were to look at the facts surrounding the actual event this story was based on, any assumption that "Friend" was anything but a man would be thrown out due to logic. However, ...

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...

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 ...

Perhaps one of the great hallmarks of a great work of fiction is its ability to appear to have been written for the age during which it is being read, regardless of how far back in time it was written. In other words, Joyce Carol Oates' story might strike a contemporary adolescent or young...

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...

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 ...

Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" tells us about the life of Connie who has no guidance in life, because her family has not provided any moral support to help through her teenage life. She only knows about popular culture and not the consequences that come...

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 ...

We have read or heard many stories throughout our lives. We know that stories can vary in purpose: They can either teach a moral lesson or entertain. Some stories interest us; others do not. In order for a story to be interesting, it must be told in a way that does not bore or confuse the reader....

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...

Terry White introduces her article, "Allegorical Evil, Existentialist Choice in O'Connor, Oates, and Styron" giving the reader the impression that she intends to explain how Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and the camp...

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...

Chris Roberts 12-7-99 College Writing Ms. Dillon Comparisons of Real and Fiction While reading the book Theft by Joyce Carol Oates I found that often enough or for the whole time I did not think that the story was fiction at all. It drew me into its reality and then gave it an endin...

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...