【How-to】Where are you going where have you been theme

【How-to】Where are you going where have you been theme - Howto.org

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.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been theme of evil?

The Presence of Evil

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” fifteen-year-old girl Connie is confronted—and it’s implied, raped and killed—by a sinister stranger named Arnold Friend. As the story unfolds, Friend manipulates and terrorizes Connie to such an extent that he becomes an embodiment of evil.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been family theme?

The Search for Independence

Connie’s conflicts with her family and efforts to make herself sexually attractive are part of her search for independence. … She may go into an alley with a boy for a few hours, but no matter what happens there, she will eventually be driven back home to the familiarity of her family.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been theme loss of innocence?

The tragic impact of the story is rooted in how unwanted and irrevocable this loss of innocence is; by raping and murdering Connie, Friend takes away both her innocence and her young life.

What happens to Connie at the end of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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 thesis statements?

Thesis: ”Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism to portray youths’ desire for independence but overall gullibility to life’s illusions. III. When Connie is under Arnold’s gaze, when she meets him for the first time in the restaurant parking lot, she can’t help looking at him.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Connie character analysis?

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.

What is the main theme of Where are you going and where have you been by Joyce Carol Oates?

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.

Where are you going setting?

The Suburbs, Early 1960’s America

The story takes us on a tour of early 1960’s suburbia from the perspective of a teenager: drive-in restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, “ranch”-style homes.

Where Are You 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 romantic romance of a particularly American/trashy sort” (source).

What do the numbers 33 19 17 mean?

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.

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.

What is odd about Arnold’s hair?

What is odd about Arnold’s hair? like a wig.

What is written on Arnold friends car?

Arnold Friend arrives at Connie’s house in his car, and Connie notices that not only is it battered from a previous accident, but also that it is marked with sentences, such as “DONE BY CRAZY DRIVER”; Friend’s own name; and the numbers 33,19,17, which appear to reference a verse in the Bible, which reads “When he …

Why is Arnold Friend’s car gold?

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. The car gives Connie her first clues that there might be something wrong with or dangerous about Arnold.

What does Ellie offer for Arnold Friend?

Arnold’s companion, Ellie spends most of his time in the car listening to a transistor radio. His great dramatic moment is when he offers to pull Connie’s telephone cord out, at which point Arnold promptly shuts him up with a barrage of insults (133).

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 does Ellie Oscar mean?

Ellie Oscar

“Ellie” is a name which could easily be read as “Ally”. His last name, Oscar, has Irish roots just as Connie’s does, “Os” is a prefix which means “deer”, while “cara” means “friend”. Taken together, the phrase sounds like “dear friend.”