Connie´s Coming of Age - 1257 Words

M K Cantrell D. Hicks English 1102 6 November 2013 Connie’s Coming of Age In her famous short story, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,† Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connies unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl. Connie has the need to be viewed as older and as†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"As we learn in the story, being mired in the ‘eternal present’ carries with it dangerous and devastating consequences† (Theriot 59). Because Connie is only aware of the present, she does not see Arnold Friend as the tempter and trickst er he is. Many believe that Friend represents either the Devil or a satyr. According to Wegs, â€Å"Arnold is far more than a grotesque portrait of a psychopathic killer masquerading as a teenager; he also has all the traditional sinister traits of that arch-deceiver and source of grotesque terror, the devil’ (Wegs 68). An example of these deceitful traits would be him lying and tricking Connie with his young-faced persona and using this distraction to force her to face the horrible choice of sacrificing herself or her family. Another opinion of Friend is that â€Å"the Devil is usually presented as interested in possessing human souls†¦ [and]†¦ Friend, on the other hand, clearly desires a physical relationship with Connie. His motives echo those of satyrs, notorious for their lechery† (Easterly 539). On the other hand, according to Easterly, â€Å"the Devil is usually presented as interested in possessing human souls†¦ [and]†¦ Friend, on the oth er hand, clearly desires a physical relationship with Connie. His motives echo those of satyrs, notorious for their lechery† (Easterly 539). Whether Oates meant for Friend to represent the Devil or a satyr is not the main function of his character. His main purpose in this story is presenting Connie with theShow MoreRelatedComparing A P And Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been By Joyce Carol Oates Essay1224 Words   |  5 Pagesand Contrasting of Coming of Age Stories Throughout the short stories, â€Å"AP† by John Updike and â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† by Joyce Carol Oates there are a various number of similarities and differences between the two. Both Updike and Oates short stories focused on the sexuality of younger girls and force the main characters to make a life changing decision. Leaving their innocence behind, whether they like it or not, by the end of the stories, Sammy and Connie have come into adulthoodRead MoreComing Of Age : A Comparative Analysis Of `` Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?870 Words   |  4 PagesComing of Age in Fiction: A comparative Analysis of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?† and â€Å"An Ounce of Cure†. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?† by Joyce Carol Oates and â€Å"An Ounce of Cure† by Alice Munro share the common theme of â€Å"Coming of Age†, which depicts a maturation of the character/s going from a child to an adult. In both short stories, the female protagonist has a defining experience that changes the way they view the world or themselves. While both of these storiesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel An Ounce Of Cure 911 Words   |  4 PagesMunro, Alice. An Ounce of Cure. New York: Publisher Not Identified, 1986. 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Connie and Eveline who are both caught up in their own cultures in dif ferent times are Both girls seem like they have it all going for them but what they conclusively share in common is theirRead More Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates1563 Words   |  7 PagesCarol Oates story, a teenage girl named Connie was stripped of her innocence. Gonna get you baby( 497).This chilling line is what the devil said to Connie the first time Connie came in contact with him which foreshadows of things to come. This one comment clearly points to a situation where Connie would be taken from a safe haven of innocence. She would be TAKEN, not simply invited. Connie was a regular teenage girl set in the 1960s who wanted to rebel against her parentsRead MoreWhere Are You Going? 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Feeling trapped in her own home with her own family, Conni e, a self-conscious and rebellious teenager, tries to figure out a way to identify herself with the world around her. Her desire of escaping the reality fuels her struggle to enter adulthoodRead MoreVerbal Irony In Harry Potter1711 Words   |  7 PagesThe Oxford Dictionary of English defines irony as a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. Irony― the difference between appearance and reality ―is a literary device evident throughout all literature as either situational irony, dramatic irony, or verbal irony. Surprising readers, situational irony contradicts the expected outcome of the story. ForRead MoreCompare And Contrast Joyce Carol Oates And Where Are You Going Where Have You Been1519 Words   |  7 Pagesmolding ourselves to fit into the standards that society has brought upon us . Tillie Olsen; the writer of Tell Me A Riddle ; as well as Joyce Carol Oates; the author of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been; both wrote their stories in the 1960’s, however both capture an interesting topic that can be related to present-day situations. Both Olsen and Oates unveil to the reader the idea that intense yearning for societal approval comes from a lack of attention and acceptance from a loved one.Read MoreSummary Of Three Ways Of Meeting Oppression1722 Words   |  7 Pagesout in the 1970’s, the two radical sides of the story were the light and the dark. They consisted of those who do not believe in violence and those who do. These two sides have been at constant war from conception all the way until the new movies Disney is putting out; just as MLK said happens when people use violence. For episode 8 (technically 9 but this essay is not on Star Wars history. Although that would be awesome!) There is strong evidence from the mini series that episode 8’s title â€Å"The Last