Individual Portion:3-4 pages
Part 1:
* Describe the main character in Where Are Going, Where Have You Been?
o Is she flat or round?
o Is she representative or individual?
* In the beginning, the family and town seem as ordinary people.
o What makes the setting and the people at the beginning of the story seem so ordinary?
o What kind of ordinary person does Connie seem to be? When do you notice the first hints of something extraordinary?
* Is there an antagonist-protagonist relationship in this story? Why or why not?
* What and how do you learn more about Connie? What and how do you learn about the treatment of Connie by her family?
* How does Connie become an obsessive preoccupation with the stranger?
o How does the plot slowly change and shift?
o How does its meaning change or evolve as the central theme in the story?
o What are some major stages?
* What is the symbolic contrast between the stranger and the ordinary townspeople? Can Connie's action at the end of the story seem as a betrayal of her family?
* What, for you, is the symbolic meaning of the way the story ends? Can the ending be read as a kind of warning? Why or why not?
Please add your file.
Part 2:
Provide your answers to the following questions, and discuss them with other literary club members:
* What is the conflict between June and Connie? How does it contribute to the plot?
* How do you interpret the symbolic meaning of the stranger's name?
* What could the symbol of the letter" X" mean?
* Like the writing of other women authors, Oats story is read by today's readers with a new awareness of traditional gender roles and women's issues. How does Connie action compare with young women today? How does the story compare to today's headlines concerning young women?