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.
What is the author's purpose of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Joyce Carol Oates wrote her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” after reading about the 1950s serial murders of Charles Schmid, a story that was profiled in Life magazine. For one thing, she was concerned with the increasing fixation on sexual themes in the youth culture of the 1960s.
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.
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 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Arnold’s Car Arnold Friend’s flashy gold car, with its outdated phrases written on the sides, is an extension of Arnold himself: extreme and not entirely right.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.
What inspired Joyce Carol Oates to write the story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a frequently anthologized short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. … 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.
What happened to Connie in where are you going?
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 the title Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been mean?
In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, the title relates to Connie’s lack of focus and detachment from her family when she goes out with her…What is the meaning 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.
How old is Connie in Where Are You Going Where have you been?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.
Article first time published onDo the descriptions of Arnold Friend his face his clothing his dialogue have symbolic meaning is his name symbolic?
Why is music so important to Connie and to the story as a whole? Do the descriptions of Arnold Friend–his face, his clothing, his dialogue–have symbolic meaning? … This whole story is an allegory for temptation by the Devil. Connie is vain, and the Devil targets vain people.
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.
What does Arnold Friend look like?
He wears mirrored sunglasses, has translucent skin, and has hair that is so wild that it looks like a wig. When he walks, he wobbles, as though his shoes don’t fit properly. Some critics suggest that his unsteadiness hints at the possibility that his feet are actually hooves, as the devil would have.
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been short movie?
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, the film follows Connie, a 15 year old girl through her life and summer in 1966. Her summer comes to a halt one afternoon while her family is away from their home. She meets a stranger named Arnold Friend whose interest in her may not be what it seems.
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.
What would the kitchen symbolize in the story?
Kitchens. In Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, kitchens symbolize the natural, repetitious rhythms of life, which is often what pulls the protagonist, Mikage Sakurai, out of a moment where she feels overwhelmed by the presence of death…
What is the irony of Arnold friends name?
Arnold Friend’s name is example of verbal irony because he is anything but a friend to Connie.
What does Arnold Friend mean when he tells Connie?
Arnold Friend Symbolizes the Devil in Where are you Going, Where Have you been? … Arnold Friend clearly symbolizes the devil through his physical traits, his knowledge of Connie, and his power over her kind of like he was hypnotizing her to go with him. First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan.
Did Connie sacrifice herself for her family?
Self-sacrifice: Connie’s growth as a character occurs through her decision to sacrifice herself for the sake of her family’s safety.
What's this about the Pettinger girl?
Having children outside marriage carries a social stigma for the mother. Some critics suspect that when Connie’s mother asks her daughter,’ ‘What’s this about the Pettinger girl?,” she is alluding to a rumor that a schoolmate of Connie’s may be pregnant.
Where did Connie go in Grapes of Wrath?
” This upsets Rose of Sharon, and she storms away to sulk in her tent. When she settles down, she realizes that Connie is gone. Al tells the family that he saw Connie heading south and presumably back to Oklahoma. Connie was never seen or heard from again.
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been writing style?
Straightforward, Imagistic. The style of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is somewhat journalistic in the sense that there are few excessive stylistic flourishes or cumbersome sentence structures.
What does the code 33 19 17 mean?
The code, 33, 19, 17 has at least two meanings. First, the reader can discover the title of the story. By counting backwards in the Old Testament of the Bible, 33 books, you will arrive at the book of Judges. Go to chapter 19, verse 17.
Where do Connie and her friends go when they leave the shopping plaza?
Connie and her friends enjoy being dropped off at a shopping plaza without adult supervision, wearing ballerina slippers and charm bracelets. Often after being dropped off, they run across the highway to a drive-in where older kids gather.
What does 33 19 17 mean in Where Are You Going Where have you been?
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. … Harold Hurley posits that the numbers carry a sexual connotations because when added together they equal 69, a sexual position.
What is the meaning of the title Where Are You Going Where have you been Why is the title a question?
1. It sounds like the kind of question you might get from your parents on your way out the door or coming home after your curfew – which makes sense for a story starring a teenager. 2. It could be a bigger, more metaphysical question: how did you get to this point in your life and what are you going to do now?
What does Arnold represent in Where Are You Going Where have you been?
Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” represents the devil who arrives to bring Connie to the underworld. … Arnold Friend covers his demonic features in order to pass as a teenager with the intention of deceiving Connie into leaving with him.
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.
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).
What is something that Connie notices about Arnold Friend after she has talked to him for a while?
On her way to Eddie’s car, Connie feels overwhelmingly happy, a feeling she connects to the music playing more than her excitement at being with Eddie, and sucks “in her breath with the pure pleasure of being alive.” At that moment she notices a boy (later revealed as Arnold Friend) just a few feet away; he has “shaggy …
How old is Arnold Where are you going?
He seems to be around thirty (maybe even old enough to be your father), but he tries to look like a teenager. You’d pity him for trying so hard, except that he’s also threatening to abduct you.
