Where are you going where have you been Theme

I think the theme of this story is the fantasized world that Connie created with her excursions into town to meet up with boys. I feel like she was lost from reality and was acting older because it felt like fun. But her encounter with the dangerous Arnold friend revealed that behind her sexy clothes, big hair, and makeup is a scared little girl trying to find herself. Her portrayal as someone older and more sophisticated backfired on her tremendously in a very dangerous way. This fantasy that she lived in was a release from the criticizing voice of her mother and the shadow that her unattractive sister cast with her mother's approval of her and not Connie. Although Connie dealt with it by saying that she was very pretty. I think in the end this lack of confidence made her turn into someone she was not.

Where are you going Where have you been Setting

The setting in this story seems to be set in at least thirty years from now. I gathered this from the way narrator described Connie's 80's hair style. Also the narrator does not describe the landscape of the place in which Connie and her girl friends mostly hang out at. This place is the shopping plaza where they pick up boys. Mostly the setting is not very specifically revealed only through random snippets of landmarks like the restaurant shaped like a big bottle where they met the older kids. It is a suburban area because of the way the narrator tells of them going across highways to go to dumpy restaurants to meet people. Also her house is a small house with a long gravel driveway. The setting of the story gives more innocence to Connie and makes her seem more vulnerable when she tries to explore intimacy with older boys.

Where are you going. Where have you been Characterization

Connie was indirectly and directly characterized. She was directly Characterized when Connie spoke of how "she knew she was pretty and that was everything." That directly states of her features as being pretty. What is not there but indirectly characterizes her personality is that Connie is shallow. This is so because of how Connie thinks the way one looks is everything. THe narrator also describes Connie as having two separate personalities. One was for home and one was for going out to meet guys. Although the narrator does not differentiate between the two telling which one is real one can infer that the personality used for the random guys she meets is fake. It is fake because her laugh changes to "high-pitched nervous laugh". This illustrates her lack of confidence and yet she feeds off of boy's attention. Although she never recalls the faces of the boy she dates or is intimate with she puts them altogether into a category where she is excited about the idea of being wanted.

Where Are You Going. Where Have you Been? Point of View

The third person point of view delves into the mind of the heroin of this story, Connie. When described from an unknown source Connie is a sympathetic character. The narrator tells the audience of the many thoughts Connie has. These thoughts are usually immature. But the narrator does not put any judgement or harshness when talking about Connie's intimate feelings. Instead this point of view has no trace of judgements or biased that a first person narrative would contain. Even when her mother and sister are being discussed Connie's own voice is inserted like when she talks of her mother and says, "now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie,". This shows the way the narrator effectively tells the story and shows Connie's thoughts and behavior.

Where Are You Going. Where Have you Been? Plot

During the course of this story the pace of the work is slower. It is slower in that it identifies and describes the personality of Connie and her older sister. The author does this to show the difference and how Connie is the "rebel". Also the structure of this work is divided into Connie's thoughts about her home life and the many experiences with boys the author writes of her having. But we the reader only hear of one in particular in which helps us see the creepy man at the end not so surprising. At the time the incident with the shaggy, black haired man in the convertible seemed insignificant until the end. The way the plot comes to the end surprises the reader in a way because of what seemed like an insignificant character became the ultimate enemy of Connie. The experiences in which she has with her family and her thoughts of boys helps us see her personality and therefore relate to her. The ending of the plot causes us also to see the mind of a girl going crazy because of a surprise altercation with one boy she never wanted to be with.

Miss Brill

Miss Brill is a developing character. This is so because of the great mood shift that takes place towards the end. We know she is sad because she passes by the bakery where she usually gets a slice of honey cake. It is tradition after her people watching at the park where a dance is being held. She justifies to herself that she is needed there but when the two snobby young people say mean things about her it gets to her. She begins to feel very sad although she seems to refer to herself in the third person. She is developing because she starts off happy and then realizes that she really is not wanted there. This realization makes her feel all the more alone.

Once Upon A time

I feel as thought this particular story seems to be satirizing children's story. I feel like he thinks this up to smite whoever said he "ought" to also write a children's story. So in retaliation he tells a horrifying story in which a young boy is malled from a fence in which he was trying to play on. But in the same way I think the narrator is telling this story to depict the psychology of people so immersed in their own world they are afraid to live. In this case the family lets outside sources control their fears. It is ironic that they tried so very hard to protect themselves from harm that in the end their fear hurt themselves. I also caught the quotations on the same "day" that the gardener and housemaid worked. I think the narrator was alluding to not so virgin clean happenings that was occurring between the gardener and housemaid.

A Worn Path-MInor characters

The minor characters in this story seem to tell of the Phoenix's world where she cannot remember all too well. It does not say she has any form of illness but I suspect she may have Alzheimer's or dementia. When the impatient woman badgers Phoenix so impolitely Phoenix remains silent. She does this because she says,"There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip." It almost made me think that her grandson really is dead but she makes the trip anyway in her grief stricken mind.That might be out of the cone of reasoning but it seems plausible based on her responses to simple questions. In the end though the minor characters help the reader see her pass when she talks of her education. She said she did not have much of one and that is partly why she forgets so easily.

Eveline

When Eveline weighs the option of staying versus leaving with her love. Leaving is more desirable because of the way her father treats her. He never has hit her like her brothers and mother but has alluded more and more to possibly beating her. But what really makes her desperate to leave is the last images of her crazed, sickened mother in the final phases of her life. Her mother's last phrases were gaelic sayings. She said, "Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!" Which means either "The end of pleasure is pain." or "The end of song is raving madness."This mirrors Eveline's crazed feeling of desperation to leave. That final image and the memories of her father's threats and shopkeepers annoying voice send her over the edge. She now depends on her new love to take her away from the worries and fear of her old life.

Bartleby the Scrivener

The changing attitude of the lawyer toward Bartleby is one of aggravation. He is mad at Bartleby becuase customers find it odd that Bartleby lives there. When it starts to scare the tenants away he thinks more about his livelihood then the well being of Bartleby. He tried to work with him and make him offers about other living arrangements but those would still not appease him. The changing attitude seemed to shift the story from the Lawyer trying to help Bartleby to seeing him as a burden. This burden kept being shoved onto other people. The people who had to deal with Bartleby dehumanized him in away when passing him onto other people like a problem. But in the end when he died their "problem" was solved and the meaning of his madness was explained and he found out about what drove him to lunacy.

Everyday Use--The Refusal

"I did somethine I never had done beofre: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on in to the room, snatched the quilts out of MIss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap." pg 181

The mother's refusal to Dee had never been done beofer. You think she would have been alot more mean to her elder daughter from the snobby way she acts but through the course of the story that does not happen. She is afraid of the intelligence and confidence her daughter, Dee posesses of the oustide world. But you already know the refusal will happen by the way she describes Dee before we, the readers, have even met her yet. The change in the mother is permanent because she hugged her youngest daughter and they sat with each other afterword. She describes Maggie as using a voice that "somebody used to never winning anyting, or having anything reserved for her." I knew she was going to refuse the quilts because Dee always seems to get what she wants and these certain objects were irreplaceable and therefore should be used the way the person who made them intended. Maggie also said the key words to the true meaning of the quilts. She said that she could remember "'Grandma Dee without the quilts.'"

Everyday Use

My first reaction to the story was overall non appropriate comment at the eldest daughter'sbehavior toward her family. Also the first person point of view from the mother gives a bias view of the eldest daughter. If one thinks about it the elder daughter never had a chance to be seen as good by the way her mother describes her. She may not be a nice person anyway based on the evidence given from the text. But one could also look at her accomplishments and say she should be proud of getting out of the poverty. At the same time this is a look at how she treats her family. Dee thinks she is better and even goes as far to say that her own mother does not appreciate or understand her own heritage. But her mother understands her heritage more so from having been able to remember and know and love her ancestors by having met and grown up with them. Dee wants to hang these pieces of the heritage up to save and really "show off" but that is not the way of their family. They use what is being made because they appreciate their hard work.

HUnters in the snow-Tub

"'What do you know about fat,' Tub said. 'What do you know about glands.' As he spoke he kept shaking Frank. 'What do you know about me.'" pg. 195

Tub, in the beggining is seen as a stock character. The butt of the jokes that everyone makes fun of because it's just too easy to do. So Tub takes it. But in this quote that Tub is not some dumb, obese man. He has feelings and feels betrayed by his so called friend who does not stand up for him. Kenny is the person who starts the jokes that end up going to far and therefore Frank follows his lead. Tub used to be Frank's confidant but now the reader comes to find tha Kenny has filled that place. Tub may be fat but he knows when enough is enough when being made fun of. We see him finally stand up for himself after making shy remarks about it earlier.

Symbolism in Interpreter of Maladies

"...the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address on it fluttered away in the wind. No one but Mr. Kapasi noticed... Mr. Kapasi observed it too, knowing that this was the picture of the Das family he would preserve forever in his mind."

The Symbolism of the paper being lost by Mrs. Das symbolizes Mr. Kapasi's wild dreams being blown away. He began to over think the meanings of Mrs. Das' every movement towards him. In the end he was just a person she wished to have counsel from. The paper helps to end the story because we see an unsatisfied man just want to feel appreciated. He wants this even if it is from a dysfunctional family like the Das's. Although his dreams of being with the Das' are gone the picture of this family mooning of over their distraught son is one that will stay with him. This means that they are a real family and maybe he is begining to realize what would happen if he broke that up by having an affair with the very complicated Mrs. Das.

Foil Characters

Chris Waters and Carmichael are foil characters in this story. Edie falls for Chris because he is the suave, cool man who Edie, naive herself, cannot help but want. She is inexperienced and therefore being told she was beautiful was such a overwhelmingly beautiful compliment to her. While Carmichael is the good, reliable guy that most women pass over. He is the "shy, but good humored" man that "anybody could ask him anything."And yet women see to fall for the handsome naturally confident man like Chris. This foil between the two characters shows the development of Edie. She grows up and sees that Chris will never write to her and by giving Carmichael a chance she found a good solid man to marry. These foil characters furthered the plot which was about the road to which Edie would find her would be husband. We the readers were just surprised as to how that happened.

Emily is nuts???

I did not anticipate the ending. I forgot about Homer Barron. So at the end when they started to describe a body of a man I did not immediately think of Emily killing him. But when I read the ending it began to make sense. There were signs of Emily's madness after her father died and she kept telling everyone that he wasn't dead. She stated it as clearly as a fact. But people knew for a fact her father was dead so this time they forced Emily to bury her father. Also there signs of her disillusionment from the way she shut herself off from the rest of the world. She also bought arsenic and didn't bother to tell the sales person what it was for. It seemed a tad shady to me but the sales person was so intimidated he gave it to her anyway...weird woman Emily was!

CLARIFICATION!!!!

The last paragraph seemed to sum up for me who Miss Emily really was all these years. We read about her actions through the scrutinizing eyes of the public where everybody's business needed to be public. So at the end when we see the dead body untouched after all these years. I realized that Emily had either lost her mind or was a deep romantic. She could have lost her mind because she was keeping a dead man's body in her house and that is what the neighbor's had been smelling in the beginning of the story. Or she is a deep romantic because she loved Homer Barron and wanted him to stay with her also till the day she died...literally. But i also wondered that the poison she bought was meant for Homer Barron and that Miss Emily killed him and in her own twisted way that made him stay with her forever and she would lay by him to be close to her love.