"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates is one of those stories that made me realize why I love reading and writing so much. It also scared the daylights out of me and I slept with my closet door open and a light on. The first thing that struck me about the story was how familiar the first few pages seemed; a bratty teenager with a disdainful family who spent much of her time with friends at a local shopping plaza reminded me of most of my middle school friends. Connie seemed to have a strange sense of confidence throughout the story, despite the fact that her mother constantly put her down, perhaps due to the fact that her biggest concern in life was about her looks.
One thing I did not initially notice about the story was the first sentence. "Her name was Connie." The word "was" kicks off a sense of foreboding that the reader feels throughout the beginning of the story, even though we aren't initially sure why.
Then we are introduced to Arnold Friend. From his first introduction in the parking lot, we feel a sense of foreboding. Later, when he arrives at Connie's house, she is confident, and a power play in the dialogue ensues.
When I first read this piece, I thought Connie was raped. She cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness. This is the section that made me think she was raped and that is the reason she went with him at the end of the story. Did anyone else think the same thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment