Character Analysis in Joyce Oates "Where are you going, where have you been?"

Character Analysis in Joyce Oates "Where are you going, where have you been?"

In life there are so many different paths to take, which take us to many different ends. It is one's character that determines the destination and the forgoing of one's inevitability. However, in life there are so many distractions or forces that try to mislead us and eventually take hold of us. It is our weaknesses that allow those forces to be used against us without being conscious of them occurring. That is why society has far more powerful forces to understand and comprehend than we actually think. Therefore, after reading Joyce Oates' story of "Where are you going, where have you been?" it is shown that Connie who always strived for attention, turns to be the victim of a horrible tragedy. That it is why I feel it is crucial to understand the reasoning that lead to this undermining event and reflect upon it.

COREY OATES & EVANDER CUMMINS

English: Connie Nielsen at the 2009 Toronto Intern...

Connie's Country

The story of "Where are you going, where have you been?" is a third person narrative. The author writes this story using a lot of imagery and figurative language that provides us with more meaning than what is presented in the text. In addition, the critical point that is shown in the story is how Connie's mother was the negative force that corrupted Connie and led her to the dark side. Since the fact that "her mother had been pretty once too, if you could believe those old snapshots in the album, but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie." (Oates, 655) It is shown that indeed Connie does remind her mother of when she was young, but that beauty is gone, which unfortunately leads the mother...