Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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“Where are you going? Where have you been?” Critical Analysis Joyce Carol Oates born on (June 16, 1938) in Lockport, New York spent her youth on her guardians' ranch. Lockport, a little provincial town, had battled financially since the Great Depression, yet it gave Oates a wholesome domain in which to grow up. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is viewed as one of Oates' most celebrated works. Initially distributed in the artistic diary Epoch in 1966, it was later included in the short-story gathering The Wheel of Love (1970). In the same way as other of Oates' short stories, it emphasizes a female hero battling with youthfulness who ends up in a risky circumstance. This story was adjusted for the 1988 movie Smooth Talk, featuring…show more content…
Connie got a kick out of the chance to go out and hang out with gentlemen. She got a kick out of the chance to hang out with diverse gentlemen, not the same one consistently. Fellows discuss young ladies like this and spread terrible gossipy tidbits about them. These gossipy tidbits presumably did not get away from the ears of Arnold Friend. So even before he saw Connie shockingly he most likely had the thought that she was simple. He said as much towards the end of the story when he began naming individuals she knew and advising her that they let him know things about her (Oates 983). This could have topped Arnold's enthusiasm for her on the grounds that he thought she was a simple target. At that point at the drive-in eatery, when he saw the way she took a gander at him, it could have issued him further motivation to pursue her. At the point when Arnold appeared to Connie's home she appeared to still be playing with him. Despite the fact that it appeared as though she was apprehensive about what he was doing there and how he discovered where she lived. It seemed like she enjoyed the way that he took such an enormous enthusiasm for her. Oates depicted this when Connie asked him "Where are we going" (982). Why might she inquire as to whether she wasn't intrigued or didn't care for the consideration? It wasn't until she acknowledged how old he was and that he stuffed his boots that she began getting…show more content…
He utilized his words to get her to leave the house. One may say that the reason Connie turned out was on account of he debilitated her crew. Be that as it may, she never remarks that she is frightened for her gang. When she chooses to go outside the main remarks that she makes is "I'm not going to see my mother again" (Oates 988). To start with of the story she needed her mom and herself dead. So it may be that she's not stressed over her mom, it appears like her wish for herself is working out as expected. Connie likewise did not battle her abductor hard. Arnold guaranteed not to come into the house unless she touched the telephone. She officially made sense of what was going to transpire, so why not attempt to do something? Why not close and lock the entryway where it would take him for a little while to get in and afterward go call the police? It is clarified that Connie is frightened to leave the room however why not attempt it? Why might she not go and lock herself in another room that would make it significantly harder for Arnold to get her? She was certain she knew what her definitive circumstance would be, so why not battle? Make him come into the house and utilize a weapon against him. It was as though, she understood, this was what she trusted would
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