9/24 Questions

Group 1
“Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates has an interesting title. It seems pretty explanatory and it has a certain irony to it. It refers to Connie’s mother always asking her questions and comparing her to June, her sister. It’s a question because it’s an undertone for the entire story, the audience knows where Connie is but Connie does not. The question is in two parts because of the way Connie feels about her situation, she is trying to find her own path in life. Connie wants to be herself and not just a replica of her “perfect” sister June, but at the same time she struggles to be accepted by her mother.
Group 2
The mysterious boy in the story is Arnold Friend. He is a guy that met Connie at the hamburger joint and said “Gonna get you, baby” while she was with another guy named Eddie. His initials, A. Friend, are misleading. His appearance, car, and attitude are an exact opposite of the image of “a friend”. He was named right for the story because the story had a creepy tone throughout and Arnold fit perfectly. He has an unmistakable gold convertible with random decals on it. It goes along with his “cool” attitude and his fonz style.
Group 3
I think the secret code that Arnold revels to Connie is nothing more than the bible verse that was posted on the blog. Arnold does not explain what the numbers 33 19 17 mean, he just states they are a code. The bible verse that they come from has the title “Where are you going, Where have you been?” in a different wording. The wording in the book of Judas is “Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?” which is too close to be a coincidence. The numbers are in the story as a symbol for questioning yourself along with Connie.
Group 4
The tone of the story starts out as Connie’s mom is scalding her for the things she does. Connie hates the fact that she is compared to Junes and is spiteful. Connie starts to wander off and the tone becomes rebellious. Connie goes to a hamburger joint to meet guys and hang out while her parents thought she was at the mall. The tone then turns creepy as Arnold Friend comes to her house so they can go for a ride. It also has an ironic tone in the fact that Connie wants to be with her family when Arnold pulls up. Connie thought that she wanted to be by herself and do her own thing but in reality she wanted the acceptance of her family.