Where Are you going, where have you been?

Part I

The underlying moral of this story, in my perspective, is the fact that what goes around, comes around. The reason the setting in the second half is so important because it determines her fate, and she is alone with no one to help her. The reason Connie's character draws you in is because of her beligerant disrespect, which really bugs me, and her sense of the world revolves around me when ironically, yet usually true in most cases, she is completely insecure herself. I know people like her, and they have a tendancy to tick me off at times. What makes me like her, is that alot of edina girls can relate to her, and she is a hottie. She was asking for trouble because of her complete lack of respect. The larger topics being adressed throughout Carol Oates' story was not only a satirical aspect of the egoistic side to society, but the realistic result of what people recieve when asking for trouble. This story appeals to such a great amount of people because a little bit of Connie is in all of us, and in many case, alot of Connie. What actually happens at the end of the story in my opinion is simply karma. Arnold Friend seems to represent the devil in our society, by the way they described his stretched and mask-like face, and how he stands at an unnatural angle. It seemed as if the devil came to make her pay for her sins, and Oates is trying to depict that as a realization of the reality of karma.


Part II

1) Emphasizing character detail: draws readers in/catches their attention.
2)An underlying morality/truth to the story.
3)Characters with satirical truth to society.
4)A strong identification of key characteristics.
5)Fate plays a key roll within the story.
6)Threatening actions are taken, aggrivating the reader.
7)Underlying symbolism
8)Life truths are revealed
9)The environment reflects relevance to the story.
10)Fate is appropriately played out, resolving the conflict.