Where Are You Going Where Have You Been - Essay Example

?Running Head: Where are you going and where have you been? Where are you going and where have you been? s name] [Date] Where are you going and where have you been? 1. What is the family dynamic of Connie's family (the inter-relationships and status of family members)?  Connie’s family include her older sister June, her mother and father. Her sister was a responsible and mature 24 year old. She is the complete opposite of Connie’s, which is the prime reason why Connie’s mother nags her and expects her to emulate her sister more. Their mother is a typical maternal figure and is the source of Connie’s distress, who sometimes wished for her mother to die. Whereas, her father was a busy man, who always worked and hardly had time to talk to anyone in the family. 2. How does Connie view her mother, and vice versa?  Connie views her mother as the primary source distress and frustration in her life as her mother always expects her to be more like her sister. They bicker almost all the time and in the story it is often hinted that her mother envies Connie’s youth and beauty both things that Connie’s mother has lost but Connie admires them in the mirror all the time. There is a lot of friction between the two characters and at one point Connie even wishes for her to die. 3. Why is the father's role so minimal in the story? How is this significant?  The story depicts a typical American family, with a mother, father and two children. The father is shown to be the provider and he takes care of all the demands and needs of the family. His role is largely minimal in the story because the author wants to point out the general role of a father in a domestic household, where the man works and the mother manages the household and is responsible for rearing the children. 4. What are the "two sides" of Connie's life? Why is she split this way?  The two sides of Connie’s life represent ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’. The schism between these two facets of Connie’s life is understandable, as reality depicts what Connie really is and her fantasy include what she wants to be. In reality, Connie is juts a 15 year old and though she is beautiful, she still has a very childlike view of the world and boys in general. She just pretends to act like an adult but when the time came to stand up to Arnold Friend she yelled for her mother, which showed her juvenile insecurity in her nature. The split in the two sides to her life came with the notion that Connie can never fir in to what she imagined herself to be. 5. How does Connie feel about boys? Sex? Is she a typical teen in her fantasies?  Connie for all her immaturity is aware of the beauty that she endowed with. She acts as an adult to convey a powerful sexual image but lacks the power to consistently carry that image due to her juvenility. Her sexual fantasies are largely based on the pop-culture of the society and wishes for a fairy-tale like sexual experience but when she goes with a boy for the first time in an alley, she realizes that life a has lot more to it than just fairytales. However, her immature fantasies are understandable because she is just a 15 year old girl and is just acting her age; hence, Connie is depicted as an archetypal starry-eyed teenager in the story. 6. What is the significance of Arnold's masquerade? (Car, clothes, boots, glasses...). Why can't Connie see through it at first? At what point does she begin to see through the mask?  There is a story motif attached to Arnold’s character in the story with his Gold convertible, expensive clothes and shades. He represents ‘desire’ for every teenager, because young people at some point or another all dream about more money and power. He even exudes certain amount sexuality that draws Connie towards him; which signifies the materialistic approach that every teenage girl or boy has at this age. However, she soon realizes that when he starts to threaten that he would harm her family that is when she realizes the scary face behind the glitter and glamour of the materials he possess. 7. Why does Connie go with Arnold, in the end? What does she experience the moment she leaves her house?  It is not clear what happens to Connie when Arnold barges in her house after her to stop her from calling the police. However, she goes with him because she is fearful of what repercussions her family has to face as a result of her resistance. The ‘stabbing’ can be taken as a metaphorical way to describe ‘rape’, which may have made her feel that she won’t be able to face her family. Hence, she decides to leave with Arnold and at the final moment she leaves her house, she realizes that she’ll never see her mother again. The previous aspect signifies Connie finally coming to terms with the harsh realities of life. 8. Most stories depict a process of change, even awakening, in the central character. This story could be described as a coming-of-age story. Does Connie come of age? Does she experience an awakening? Explain.  The process of change comes when she is confronted by Arnold Friend, a man of dodgy demeanor. Connie is first attracted towards him because of is wealth and powerful sexuality that he possesses. The part where Arnold “stabs” Connie can be taken as a metaphor for rape; this part actually represents her sexual awakening, whereas when she comes to term with the harsh reality and the excruciating pain that was inflicted upon her she now understood the gravity of her life and banality of her fantasies. She leaves her childlike wonder and fantasies behind when she leaves with Arnold and realizes that she’ll never see her mother again, which is symbolic of the fact that she will never be what she was used to be. She does mature by the end of the story but not like how the readers would have imagined her to be. 9. Did Connie get what she asked for? How do you judge her character?  It may not be right to say that Connie asked for what happened to her because being a typical teenager; she was just acting her age. This is exactly why Connie’s character can not be subjected to any kind of judgment on part of the reader. I think Connie’s mother was the main reason for shaping Connie’s character. Adolescents are already very confused and self-absorbed during their post-pubescent stage. Her mother’s nagging made her even more rebellious and self-absorbed that resulted in the harsh consequences that she experienced afterwards. Therefore, there was a reason as to why Connie acted the way she did, had she been guided right then Connie would have had a different turn to her life. 10. To what extent is this a dark fairytale? To what extent is it "real"? Is there a moral? It is a dark fairytale because there is an arch villain in this story, who has incredibly infernal qualities. The author gives all the qualities of a demon or Satan himself; however, instead of a happily ever after the story is no clear as to what happens to the protagonist in the end. The moral to this story may carry the very first lesson that every mother teaches her child that is “do not talk to strangers’ and further reinforces it for the readers. The story also conveys a strong message to its female readers to be more careful when hanging around the opposite gender because giving off a wrong message can lead to dire consequences. There is a reason why one must not flaunt their sexuality because there are countless predators, which are capable of committing the vilest and most despicable crimes. Reference: Oates, J. C. 1994. Where are you going and where have you been? Rutgers University Press. Read More