Carol Oate's Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates (1966) Is a story of a fifteen year old girl named connie who is naive and self-centered, through her search of independence she is murdered.

In the beginning of the story Connie is scolded by her mother, disapproving of Connie looking at herself through

As someone who was very pretty in her own youth, but then had to grow up, she knew that beauty fades and it is not what is truly important in life. It seems as though the mother wants Connie to understand that as well, but does not know how to convey her message and so it comes out in other ways. “ "Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you're so pretty?"[...] "Why don't you keep your room clean like your sister? How've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don't see your sister using that junk."” (Oates) She always compared Connie to her sister, June.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a popular short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, a well-known American writer born in 1938 who is well-known for her literary works in various genres (“Joyce Carol Oates”). In her short story, Oates depicts Connie, a self-centered teenager, being pursued by a mysterious and potentially dangerous individual who claims to be named Arnold Friend. At the end of the work, Arnold finally convinces Connie to allow herself to be abducted by him and his friend which could lead to Connie’s death. Throughout Oates’ piece, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” hidden intent is continually observed, resulting from the mentions of Arnold Friend’s mirrored sunglasses and his mask-like makeup, which both symbolize masks.

It is disappointing that Connie’s behavior could not be controlled. Unfortunately, she did not have a good adult figure in her life that could have helped her to establish better morals and values. Connie’s mother was constantly scolding her and comparing her to her sister June:

Connie’s personality portrays her in a very negative way because all she cares about is her looks and boys, which is a common stereotype for women. This results in her mother favoring her older sister June for being a good girl and for not being as conceited as Connie. This also happens to be an archetype because Connie is so in love with herself, and it keeps popping up. She not only loves being the center of attention as well as drawing it to herself, but believes everyone is jealous and wants to be her. She is the way she is because in her mind “She knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 1). Connie lets her looks get to her head and believes that since she’s so pretty she can treat people as if they are below her. For example, a boy from Connie’s school tried to talk to her, but she didn't like him. “It made them feel good to be able to ignore him” (Oates 6). Connie likes to feel as if she’s higher up and that she is better than those around her.

At the beginning of the story, Connie displays so much self-confidence and independence that she appears shallow. Connie “knew she was pretty” and thought that “that was everything;” she is only concerned with having the best appearance (323). In other words, Connie does not possess any true values, and she does not view anything else as containing much of any real importance. Not only does she portray shallow characteristics but she also frequently disobeys her parents, showing how her will of taking on a more lenient personality affects her

Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the story of a fifteen-year old girl named Connie who does not seem to have a care in the world. The story takes place in the seventies. Connie is a girl who just wants to have fun and is all about her appearance and boys. In the beginning of the story, you understand the relationship between the mother and Connie. The mother appears to be malicious of her young and beautiful Connie saying such harsh things about her beauty, “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (145). Her sister June, who the mother constantly compared Connie to, was plain and steady and did not care about her all the things like young Connie.

Oates’ Short Story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the abduction of a young girl referred to as Connie and entails the assumed rape of said girl. This writing only seemed to cause confusion for me. Why had she not put up more of a fight? How did he manage to not only tell her his intentions, but convince her to come by her own power, not necessarily of her own will?

When she is away from home she wears her clothes a certain way, talks differently, and laughs in a specific way. Oates states, “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oates 887). At home Connie does not go the the same lengths of being sexually appealing that she does when she is out with her friends. Her personality outside of her household is entirely different in that the way she walks, talks, and dresses is catered toward the opposite sex. These actions are all ways Connie manages to prove she is not a child and show she is mature.

Joyce Carol Oates wrote the short story “where are you going, where have you been”. She introduced Connie who is a pretty girl and only fifteen years old to us and she doesn't like staying with her mom and older sister, but likes listening to music and watching movies. She spends a lot of time with her friends and staying at a drive-in restaurant. She’s crazy about boys and she tries to make herself look sexual.

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the main character, Connie fills her life with bad choices; one of her choices and her endless vanity leads to her death. Connie fills her life with many bad influences and sneaks out late to hang out with older boys. Connies was confronted by a man named Arnold Fiend one night at the restaurant and he said “Gonna get you, baby.” He comes back into her life and seems to be very suspicious, he seems to know a little too much about Connie, more than he should know. Connie is sucked into his trap and is dragged into what becomes her certain death.

In Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the reader becomes increasingly aware of the innate threat that Arnold poses. Oates particularly portrays this through the selection of detail in the encounters between Connie and Arnold, beginning at the drive-in restaurant and again in the following scenes of the short story. These details explicitly express the nature of his character, therefore, allowing the reader to interpret them as foreshadowing.

As the story progresses, it is Sunday morning and her family is getting ready to attend a family bar-b-queue. However, Connie insists on not attending and is left alone at home. As she is washing her hair, she hears an unfamiliar car driving up to her house and her heart begins to pound for she does not want the visitor to see her undone. When Arnold Friend, a man she has seen at the restaurant before, but has never spoken to, shows up on her doorstep, she is someone curious as to why he is visiting her. Throughout the scene, he is attempting to persuade Connie into taking a ride with him and his friend Ellie. The more he speaks to her, he reveals to her that he knows many things about her such as her friends, her name, and family and where they are currently at. As the scene develops, Connie no longer has interest in Arnold for she now is scared and is fearful of what his intentions are.

There are things that happen when we are growing up that change us when we are grown. There are things that change us forever. Every human being is different, and there is a reason why . All of us had a childhood and all kinds of experiences some good, some bad, some full of joy but also others very painful. Eventually we grow childhood and mature depending of what we have gone through. The way we are able to handle situations is very important because one thing leads to another. We can't rely on intuition, we need to have logic in what our choices are. We can’t just punch someone in the face just because we don’t like a certain individual, or go up to