Literary Analysis the Following Short Story: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been (Term Paper Sample)

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TWO SIDES OF A COIN
Introduction.
Short stories are usually used to convey specific messages to the community or readers. The most convenient means of grabbing the attention of a particular audience is through the utilization of the third person in the narration; an aspect Oates exploits in her story “Where are you, Where have you been." The story setup revolves around the adolescent character Connie. A young, beautiful, and intelligent lady who is very arrogant to her family and the needy individuals in the community. Oates focuses on different localities to explain the various traits of Connie's relationship with her parents as opposed to that of her friends, hence making her resemble “two sides of a coin.” The essay focus on the theme, plot, character, and styles Oates uses to explain the young lady in her story.
Theme
Oates uses different characters and personalities in her story to display the theme on functions of a family and the need to accept one's nature and purpose in a family setup. The story has a funny way of shaping character in families, and explains why some individuals have strange behavior, and attitude toward the community an example is Connie the lead character in "Where are you, and Where have you been." The motif of a family set up by the author elaborates two distinct themes, acceptance and endurance of the community towards Connie’s character(Oates 3).
The mother and Connie fail to accept their roles in the family and at the same time, they endure each other's character. Connie being brilliant and beautiful goes out of her way to search for a comforting life without her mother’s approval. She spends the most of her time with friends and lacks discipline while at home. Connie is also very harsh to the poor and middle class because of her material needs. Her mother, on the other hand, refuses to accept that her child is growing up but continually shows her love through nagging Connie on her behavior.
Plot .
It is quite fascinating on the how Oates exploits the plot of the story. The setup is placed in four different locations loved by Connie. These sites are her parents home, school, restaurant, and movie theater. At home, there is a constant battle between mother and daughter making it kind of interesting in understanding their relationship. Connie’s mom always scolds her because of her dirty room and her idea of having more expensive personal care products. While at school, her movements differ from her sister who is the secretary of the institution (Oates 3). Also, at the restaurant, she is alive because of the freedom to hang out with friends and also pick boys to date and socialize. Finally, her love for movies and how she conducts herself on public.
Character
The most convenient means of understanding a character in a story is by observing their behavior pattern and how they relate to the community. For such cases, the short story constitute of a young and beautiful lady by the name Connie, how she relates to her family and friends differently. Her Family consisting of June and her parent, and finally Arnold Friend.
Connie
She is the primary character of the short story. She is young, beautiful, but arrogant and self-centered. She is always debating and opposing her mother's ideas and teaching, hence making them not to be in good terms all the time. She is addicted in choosing boys to hang out with at the restaurant an example is Elly (SALVALAGGIO). She also has the idea that life is short and is worth living. Her character is appreciated by her friends but not her family and Arnold Friend. Being beautiful makes her yawn for so more and also puts her in a state of having a unique hairstyle (Oates 1). Her beliefs contradict with those of her family.
Her character and traits land her in problems with Arnold friend. Her reasoning is not that of a teenager but a youth that is going through an adult right of passage (Oates 1). Though scared, she is determined to avail several questions to understand who is and what is going on even if her mother does not approve of the situation (SALVALAGGIO). Her strong feature is the idea that she is very observative, through the story Connie is very choosy, she does not accept anyone's invite, an example is an idea of refusing Arnold’s advances towards her (Oates 6). The incident happened twice the restaurant and also back at home when Arnold offered her a ride on his car.
June
June is an elder sister to Connie but the opposite of her traits. She has a job but still lives with her parents. Well groomed and dresses casually; a term Connie and the writer terms plain (Oates 1). She is a lady who believes in decency and also tries to satisfy family needs by attending to all family occasions. She is the most favored child in the family since she is a lady who is obedient and principled. She accepts and appreciates whatever little the parents provide. She is the reference point when it comes to educating Connie.
Connie’s Parents
Connie’s parents are contrasting in several ways. The mother is loving and concerned about her children while the father is seen but not heard. She is always in conflicts with her younger daughter since she is disobedient and will always do the opposite of what is expected. She praises Connie’s two elder daughters for their obedience and ability to maintain the family status quo (Oates 1). On the other hand, the father is a workaholic and does not pay much attention to his family. All he does is provide for the family then keeps quite while at home. He does not get involved in the family issues and accepts Connie’s disrespectful behavior.
Arnold Friend
The story has a unique way of presenting Arnold’s ill intentions towards Connie. Their first meet, he knows she is attracted to shimmering st...