Joyce Carol Oates

Why is Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been for Bob Dylan?

It was inspired by three Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine in an article written by Don Moser on March 4, 1966. Oates said that she dedicated the story to Bob Dylan because she was inspired to write it after listening to his song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”.

What does Connie name mean in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Connie, also, has been said to represent many things: Eve, troubled youth, or spiritually unenlightened humanity.

How does Its All Over Now Baby Blue relate to where are you going?

We know only that something is over: “The lover who just walked out your door / Has taken all his blankets from the floor / The carpet, too, is moving under you.” A powerful evocation of losing control, of losing everything. Essentially, the song is about mortality.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been based on true story?

Sources. Joyce Carol Oates based “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” on a true story of rape and murder in Tucson, Arizona, in 1965. Charles Schmid, a twenty-three-year-old man, was arrested for the rapes and murders of several teenage girls.

How old is Connie in where are you going?

Connie. The fifteen-year-old protagonist of the story. 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.

Who is Arnold Friend based on?

Oates has described how she based the character of Arnold Friend on the real life serial killer, Charles Schmid, who also wore makeup and stuffed his boots in order to alter his appearance, and was known for preying on teenage girls—taking three of their lives in Tuscon, Arizona the 1960s.

What out of date expression is painted on Arnolds car?

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. He tells Connie, “Now, these numbers are a secret code, honey” (1007).

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.

What is the setting of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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.

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Where do Connie and her friend go when they leave the shopping plaza?

Connie Timeline and Summary One night she and her friend are dropped off at the local shopping plaza. They run across the highway to a drive-in where older teens hang out.

What does Connie House represent in the story?

Slowly, both Connie and the reader come to understand that if she leaves the house, Friend will take her away with him and rape her, perhaps even murder her. The house, then, comes to represent Connie’s adolescent innocence and the safety both her family life and status as a child provides her with.

How is Arnold Friend characterized by the external description?

Arnold Friend, with his suggestive name that hints at “Arch Fiend,” is an ambiguous figure who may be either demon or human, fantasy or reality. Arnold makes a grand entrance at Connie’s house in his gold convertible, but beyond his ostentatious car, his appearance is less than impressive.

What does Arnold friend's car symbolize?

Arnold’s Car 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. … Once Arnold’s true, violent nature comes through, the car becomes a symbol of all that is dark and ominous about his character.

Which serial killer did Oates find inspiration for the character of Arnold friend?

In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates uses characteristics of serial killer Charles Howard Schmid Jr. to develop her fictional character Arnold Friend. Charles Howard Schmid Jr. was convicted of murdering three girls in the mid-sixties.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been movie Laura Dern?

Smooth Talk is a 1985 American film directed by Joyce Chopra, loosely based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966), which was in turn inspired by the Tucson murders committed by Charles Schmid. The protagonist and main character, Connie Wyatt, is played by Laura Dern.

What did Connie do instead of go to a barbecue with her family?

Connie spends the summer avoiding her mother’s prying questions and dreaming about the boys she meets. One Sunday, her parents and June leave her at home alone while they go to a family barbeque. Connie washes her hair and dozes while she lets it dry in the sun.

Who is Ellie in where are you going?

Arnold Friend’s sidekick, Ellie is passive and quietly disturbing character in the story. He sits in the passenger seat of Friend’s car holding the transistor radio. Connie observes that while, like Friend, Ellie is also older than he originally appeared, he is also strangely undeveloped and completely submissive.

Who is the antagonist in Where Are You Going Where have you been?

Arnold Friend is Connie’s antagonist.

Is Connie a narcissist?

In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.

In what ways would you characterize Connie as a typical 15 year old?

Her concerns are typically adolescent: she obsesses about her looks, listens to music, hangs out with her friends, flirts with boys, and explores her sexuality. She takes great pleasure in the fact that boys and even men find her attractive.

How many siblings does Connie have in Where Are You Going Where have you been?

Outer characterization. The girl’s outer characterization presents her as a teen of fifteen who has an older sister, Jane, and two parents with whom she does not relate well.

What does Connie do at the end of the story?

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.”

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).

Where are you where have you been symbols?

• Music. From the outset of the story, music symbolizes Connie’s inner life, specifically the pleasure she takes in romantic relationships and romantic ideals themselves. …
• Connie’s House. …
• Arnold Friend’s Car.

What were the numbers on Arnold friend's 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 …

Where Are You Going Where Have You Been foil character?

In Joyce Carol Oates ‘ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce serves as a foil for the character of Connie. A ‘foil’ is a literary term for a character that the author uses as contrast against another character; in this particular short story, Oates uses…

Why does Connie go with Arnold and Ellie?

This fear, this defense that Connie has developed, is another reason that she ends up with Arnold Friend in the end. … Her insecurity, her low self-esteem, and her fear of intimacy all aid her in her unconscious decision to leave her house and go with the devious Arnold Friend in his gold convertible jalopy.

How is Connie naive in Where Are You Going Where have you been?

But, the boys who pay attention to Connie, whom she enjoys ignoring, fade from a face to “an idea.” Her complacency in her beauty leads the naive Connie to lose touch with reality because “[S]he knew she was pretty and that was everything.” In her delight with the materialistic world in which beauty is so highly valued …

Where does Connie live in where are you going?

In the story, Connie was a 15 year old girl, and lived she out in a rural area. She lived with her parents, and her sister June.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been how old is Arnold Friend?

The stranger identifies himself as “Arnold Friend,” and he insists that he’s 18 years old. Initially calmed by his smooth-talking, Arnold asks for Connie to accompany him on a ride to a far away location. He also introduces her to his partner, Ellie, who was eerily silent about Arnold’s intentions.