Analysis Of Joyce Carol OatesWhere Are You Going, Where...

Dreams can be really realistic. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† is a fictional short story by Joyce Carol Oates, in which Connie is visited by Arnold Friend in a dream. Through plot, characterization, and setting, Joyce Carol Oates successfully proves that Connie dreams the entire visitation from Arnold Friend. Joyce Carol Oates uses plot to prove that Connie dreams the entire visitation from Arnold Friend. (Introduce your quote) â€Å"I know your name and all about you, lots of things† (Oates page 4). Connie is feeling lonely in her life, and what she wants deep down most of all, is to have someone that she can open up her heart to. Arnold Friend fulfills this wish by saying, ‘I know you. You can open your heart to me’.. However,†¦show more content†¦Her mind does not know any limits while sleeping, so she creates aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Joyce Carol OatesWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?1030 Words   |  5 PagesEve ryone goes through a stage in their life where sexuality is explored. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. Throughout the story, the author develops the protagonist’s sexuality with the use of narration, plot, and characterization. The way the author portrays Connie through her third person omniscient point of view, the reader sees that Connie lives a mature life. It states that, â€Å"Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed Analysis Of Joyce Carol OatesWhere Are You Going, Where... Everyone goes through a stage in their life where sexuality is explored. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. Throughout the story, the author develops the protagonist’s sexuality with the use of narration, plot, and characterization. The way the author portrays Connie through her third person omniscient point of view, the reader sees that Connie lives a mature life. It states that, â€Å"Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if it were a kind of love, the caresses of love, and her mind slipped over onto thoughts of the boy she had been with the night before and how nice he had been, how sweet it always was† (Oates 2). Connie is†¦show more content†¦As the plot develops, so does Connie’s sexuality. When Connie and her friend group are being observed by a group of older guys, â€Å"It made them feel good to ignore them† (Oates 1). Connie feels powerful when she rejects attention from random guys. Her beauty is her power and she knows how to use it to her advantage. All that Connie needs is a bit of reassurance to make herself feel better; once she receives that she feels as though she is superior. Connie believes that she needs to be attractive to gain attention. From an outside perspective, â€Å"Connie’s description of her beauty being ‘everything’ can be interpreted to mean that she would feel worthless without it† (Holmen). She does not know her own self worth. The attention that Connie is presented with by men and other male characters validates her own personal value. Connie has become dependent on the looks that she receives to build up her self confidence. Not only is Connie’s self esteem shown with the use of narration, but the reader also learns what Connie spends her time thinking about. It is shown that, â€Å"The rest of the time Connie spent around the house- it was summer vacation- getting in her mother’s way and thinking, dreaming about the boys she met† (Oates 2). Connie thrives when she is given attention. When she is home, she does not get that attention from anywhere. To make up for it, she fantasizes about all the time she has spent with every guy prior. Connie’s actions give away herShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Joyce Carol OatesWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?836 Words   |  4 Pagescan be really realistic. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† is a fictional short story by Joyce Carol Oates, in which Connie is visited by Arnold Friend in a dream. Through plot, characterization, and setting, Joyce Carol Oates successfully proves that Connie dreams the entire visitation from Arnold Friend. Joyce Carol Oates uses plot to prove that Connie dreams the entire visitation from Arnold Friend. (Introduce your quote) â€Å"I know your name and all about you, lots of things† (Oates page