Does Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" share a theme?

Question

and what would that theme be?

Answer 1

I don't believe that they share a theme at all. Where did you get that from? IN the Chrysanthemums the protagonist is a lonely house wife who has an encounter with someone (sorry I forget the names) and it's almost erotic for her because it's something so completely different. If you read the details it's clear that she lives a lonely and "sexless" marriage, just notice the details about how clean the house is, and how those flowers are so perfect. That man that comes to her is almost a polar opposite.

In Where are you going where have you been a young girl who is extremely bored on a sunny summer day is terrorized by Arnold Friend which I'm sure you went over that if you mix the letters around it can spell "An Old Fiend". The only thing these two stories have in common are bored women, but one is old and one is rather young. I believe Connie is the name of the girl in Where are you going where have you been. I did a research paper on that story and loved it. Arnold friend has a supernatural ability to know who connie is and where her family is and the way that he lures he to his car is very strange. You may talk about how the inspiration for that character is Bob Dylan, he even wrote a song that has a whole lot of references in the story.