Where are you going? Where have you been?

Choose TWO of the following sets of questions to respond to in at least 10 sentences per set (more is welcome). Use the information that you read in the textbook. Please don’t copy off the Internet. Check carefully for misspellings and grammar errors. Refer to the story for support. For each question, respond in a separate paragraph. Include specific quotations or references to the story to illustrate your points. Write in full sentences – no listing please.

1. WATCH THE FILM

• One of the major differences between the film and the story is the change in the ending. Why do you think the director made the change? What are your thoughts? How specifically does it change the story?
• How would you compare/contrast the character of Arnold Friend in the film versus in the story? Was he more or less menacing than in the story? Please explain.
• In general, are books/stories better than the movies they are based on? Please explain. In terms of this story and film, which is better? What is the basis of your criteria to evaluate each? Why?

2. How would you characterize Connie and her relationship with her mother, father and sister? How is she different from June? What is the source of the conflict between Connie and her mother? Do you think that the mother is jealous of Connie’s good looks? Why or why not? Please explain with specific references and quotations.

3. Analyze this quotation from the story. “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head.” What are the “two sides” of Connie? Why does she behave differently outside of the home? What do these sides reveal about her character? What is she trying to achieve? How does she struggle to reconcile these two sides? Be specific with examples and quotations from the story.

4. At the conclusion of the story, why does Connie go away with Arnold and Ellie?

• Why can’t she resist him?
• Is she flawed in some way?
• Is it her own fault?
• Or is it her family’s fault?
• Does Connie lack the tools to protect herself?
• Please explain with specific references and quotations.

5. Oates has written that at the end of the story, Connie is a hero.

• Does Connie’s final actions seem heroic to you? Why or why not? Is she more a victim than a hero?
• Even though you might not think so, in what ways can her actions be considered heroic? Does she go with Arnold because she fears for the safety of her family? Please explain.
• If she is seen as a hero, how does this change the nature of the ending or the meaning of the story itself and your perception of Connie?
• Is Connies decision at the end truly a choice, or is she coerced? Why?
• Is Connies decision an act of fear, sacrifice, or inevitability?

6. Analyze this quotation “Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were a kind of love, the caresses of love, and her mind slipped over thoughts of the boy she had been with the night before and how nice he had been, how sweet it always was {…} sweet, gentle, the way it was in movies and promised in songs.”

What does this quotation indicate about her ideas of love and relationships?

How does the music she listens to influence her perspective on romance and love?

Is it a mature and adult perspective? Why or why not?