"Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" Socratic Questions

Close Ended Question:
Q: Did Connie's mother show favor between her and her sister June?
A:Yes, Connie's mother, along with her mother's sisters, favored June more than Connie, having frequent disscussions about the sisters:
 "Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mother's sisters. June did this, June did that, she saved money and helped clean the house and cookedand Connie couldn't do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams."

Open Ended Question:
Q: Why is Connie's realationship with her family essential to the story's plot?
A: By describing Connie's home life, it makes it possible that Connie can be in the places required for the story to take place. For example, if Connie's parents hadn't been lienant enough to let her go out with her friends or stay home from a family fish fry, Arnold Friend would have never laid eyes on Connie, therefore never have come to her house.

World Connection Question:
Q: How do the activities/actions of Connie and her friends (in the 1960s) realte to those of many teens today?
A: Going to the movies, hanging out at the mall, and going out to eat on nights out are still very  popular forms of entertainment for teens today. Teen's who have a slight rebellious side like Connie may also often do things without supervision without ever informing their parents, like Connie when she left her friend to get something to eat with a boy.

Universal Theme/Core Question:
Q: How are children and teens more guarded and informed about safety and dangerous situations in the 21st century than those in the 1960s?
A: In today's world, parents and schools both teach kids/teens about safety in dangerous situations more than in the 1960s. Many adults today are much more cautious and guarded, and make it an essential even in schools to throughfully teach kids how to handle possible bad situations that are more and more common all the time.

Literary Analysis Question:
Q: What kind of characterization does the author use to describe Connie and Arnold Friendly?
A: The author uses direct characterization on these two main characters.
Oates directly describes Connie as, " Connie had long dark blond hair that drew anyone's eye to it, and she wore part of it pulled up on her head and puffed out and the rest of it she let fall down her back. She wore a pull-over jersey blouse..." The author is directly coming out to give the reader a mental picture of Connie. Oates also uses a paragraph that is used to describe Arnold this way. " He wasn't tall, only an inch or so taller than she would be if she came down to him. Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was,  and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders.  He looked as if he probably did hard work, lifting and carrying things. Even his neck looked muscular.  And his face was a familiar face, somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened because he hadn't shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawklike, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke."