Socratic Questions

Close -Ended: Who does Arnold talk to Connie about?   

 Answer:  Arnold talked about Jane, Mrs. Hornsby, And Connie's Mother at the BQQ as if he could see them.  He also mentions the old that used to live down the road from Connie's house.

 Open-ended: How did Arnold Get Connie to leave with him?
Answer:  Notice that both Ellie's radio and Connie's radio were tuned to the same station.  Remember that when Ellie asked Arnold a question he," held the radio away from his ear and grimaced, as if without the radio the air was too much for him"(Oates).  Also note Connie's reactions during her conversation with Arnold Oates talks about how dizzy and sick-feeling Connie is.  It is possible that Arnold was using the radio to persuade people to come with him.  Arnold specifically says,"Listen, that guy's great. He knows where the action is"(Oates).  This statement combined with the persuasion theory leads one to suspect that Arnold knows Bobby King personally and is getting favors out of him.  You can also tell that Connie is holding out much longer than his usual victims.  In the middle and end of the novel he is trying really hard to get Connie to come of her own free will.  He walks up to her which gives her a better look at him which scares her since he looks rather odd.  Then when she runs to the phone she feels as though the air is stabbing her.  I think that Arnold lost patience with her and decided to convince her to come with him, possible using hypnosis or something along that line to make her feel things that weren't there.  He even insinuated that her family might get hurt if she didn't come with him. Though by that point it wasn't necessary, she was already his.

World-connection Question: How does Connie's situation relate to the real-world?
Answer: Connie's situation is the one I have been warned about repeatedly, both by my parents, in broad terms, and by the people who come to school, in more detail. The tale of the cute girl who attracted the attention of an older guy who then decides to stalk her.  Occasionally it can go farther, kidnappings, and coercion for example.  This is a story that I have never been close to but I have little doubt in the fact that it does happen. 

Universal Theme/Core Question: How do our relationships with family members effect our activities?
Answer:  In life we are assaulted by feelings (including gut-instinct and emotions) and images. Often these two will tie together and form our opinion of a person. This opinion can lead to us wanting to spend more time with the person or wanting to spite them.  Connie's wish was to spite her mother so refused to go to the BQQ which gave Arnold the opportunity to get at her.  If Connie and her mother and not been constantly quarrelling she might have gone wit them to the BQQ and avoided the entire situation.  Instead she choose to anger her mother which got her stuck with Arnold with the possibility of never seeing her family again.  Possibility that probably became reality.

Literary Analysis Question: Is Oates right to surround Connie with jealous, uncaring and manipulative characters?
Answer: Oates' characters correctly identify with the situation.  What the story needs is a man who can use a family against a young girl, aka Connie, and family members to fit the bill.  If there had been a character who genuinely cared about Connie the struggle against Arnold would have been both longer and stronger because Connie would want to stay with that person. Whereas she went with Arnold fairly easily because deep down she felt unwanted and unappreciated.  The characters fit the story, they are what is needed for this plot.  If the plot were to change even a tiny bit the characters would need to different.