The narrative ‘ Where Are You Traveling. Where Have You Been? ’ is about the 15 twelvemonth old Connie who is a girl fighting with her gender. The miss tries to be an grownup and attractive. but at the same clip. she hides her sexual side from her household. These two sides can non stay separate from each other at all times and collide with each other. which this short narrative depicts. The chief thought in this short narrative is the gender of Connie and her battle to maintain her sexual and non-sexual side offprint. The narrative inside informations that contribute to this chief thought are foremost Connie moving otherwise than she does while with her household. which shows that she hides her sexual side. secondly. one of the chief characters Arnold Friend. the adversary and thirdly Connie’s reaction when she is confronted by Arnold Friend. demoing that she is far from ready to to the full encompass her gender.
First. the two sides of Connie. Connie’s night life and her every twenty-four hours normal life with her household at place. emphasizes her underdeveloped gender. When Connie goes out with her girlfriends she shows a side of her that she will ne’er demo to her household: “Her walk. which could be childly and bobbing. or dreamy plenty to do anyone believe she was hearing music in her caput ; her oral cavity. which was pale and simpering most of the clip. but bright and tap on these eventides out ; her laugh. which was misanthropic and drawling at home—”Ha. hour angle. really amusing. ”—but highpitched and nervous anyplace else. like the jingling of the appeals on her watchband. ” ( Oates 2 )
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By moving like this she tries to be attractive to male childs and in peculiar older work forces. This behavior creates a really distinguishable contrast that contributes to the story’s chief thought. Connie hides her gender from her household. where she merely makes merriment of her sister and has battles with her female parent. This indicates that she is ashamed by her sexual side. because when traveling out Connie exposes her gender. acting otherwise. hanging out with friends and chat uping with male childs. Connie tries to cultivate her sexual side but at the same clip attempts to maintain her other side integral. being ashamed and scared to expose her gender to her household.
Second. Arnold Friend is a narrative item that besides contributes to the chief thought of Connie fighting with her gender. Arnold Friend is a symbol for the Satan. First the short narrative depicts that he has trouble with walking: “He about fell. But. like a clever drunken adult male. he managed to catch his balance. He wobbled in his high boots and grabbed clasp of one of the porch posts” ( Oates 11 ) . His boots are besides stuffed for no evident ground. This could bespeak. in combination with the other inside informations. that he has hooves.
Second his name sounds like ‘an old friend’ . a mention to the Satan who has befriended world foremost. And in conclusion. at one minute in the short narrative his eyes are glowing unnaturally red. All of these inside informations in combination with Arnold his age and him offering her a manner out of her current safe life creates a perfect and instead cryptic adversary. This adversary. Arnold Friend. is a item that supports the chief thought because Arnold Friend increases the gender of Connie and at the same clip confronts Connie with her turning gender.
Third. Connie’s shouting for her female parent besides contributes to the story’s chief thought. This happens when Arnold Friend appears at her house and wants to take Connie out for a drive. Connie does non desire to travel with him because she is scared by the sudden visual aspect of Arnold Friend. Above that. he threatens her to come with him. The interesting and cryptic older Arnold Friend becomes violent and baleful towards Connie. Connie tries to fend him off. but she does non win and at that minute “she thought. I’m non traveling to see my female parent once more. She thought. I’m non traveling to kip in my bed once more. ( Oates 14 ) . In complete terror. she cries. shrieks and wants for her ain female parent. whom she likely yelled at the twenty-four hours before. contemning her for seting her in the universe. This narrative item shows how Connie’s gender reaches a point where she is no longer able to collaborate with her gender and wants to travel back to her safe. asexual side.
Connie has two sides. On one side Connie battles with her female parent. ridicules her sister and hides her gender. On her other side she is merely concerned with her gender. She goes out with her girlfriends. coquettes with male childs. wears her apparels otherwise and behaves more grownup to pull the opposite sex. The first item emphasizes the contrast between the two sides and shows how Connie struggles to conceal her gender from her household. The 2nd item is Arnold Friend. Connie is extremely attracted to her sexual side.
Arnold Friend. the adversary. is the perfect symbol for this sexual side and hence the perfect individual to convey instability in Connie her battle to maintain the two sides separate. The 3rd narrative item shows that Connie is far from ready for the sexual side. particularly when this side. in this instance Arnold Friend. is a really violent and endangering one. These narrative inside informations all contribute to the chief thought. the gender of Connie and her battle to maintain the non-sexual and sexual side offprint.
Work cited
Oates. Joyce Carol. “Where Are You Traveling. Where Have You Been? ” The Best American Short Stories ( 1967 ) . Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
