45 pages • 1 hour read
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1966A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
A monomyth, or hero’s journey, is an ancient storytelling trope analyzed by Joseph Campbell which charts the protagonist’s coming of age or search for glory, illustrating an important lesson over the course of an epic quest. If “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is Connie’s hero’s journey, was it a successful one? Does Connie gain any insight in her confrontation with Arnold? Support your answer with textual evidence.
Many scholars have written extensively about the implications of Arnold Friend in the narrative. Is Arnold a mortal serial killer hunting girls or is he a magical entity who comes to collect Connie for nefarious purposes? Are his intentions evil, pure, or some indifferent mix of both? Support your answer with concrete details from the narrative.
In folklore traditions, dreams hold important sway over the daily lives of characters. How do dreams disrupt Connie’s life in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Do Connie’s dreams ever “overtake” the narrative or blur the boundary line with concrete reality?
