Interpretation of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates

At home, she kept to herself. She was very ostracized by her mother, for her mother didn’t like the way Connie acted. She was considered a child—a lazy child stuck in her own thoughts. In Connie’s eyes, her mother never had anything good to say about Connie because her June was always doing something right. Whether it’d be paying bills or cleaning up around the house, June was the praised child. By being put down so much it pushed Connie to isolation, which led her to think more of herself and do nothing but daydream. I think playing the role of the child didn’t bother Connie so much because she was the youngest of everyone; however, what seems to bother her more is how her mother views her. What we later see is that when Connie is being threatened by Arnold, she screams for her mother over the undialed phone which shows how terrified Connie is faced with a real-life

Oates emphases that Connie is in her adolescence, who is trying to transition into thinking like an adult. Connie, who is obsessed with her appearance, is constantly “craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right”(Oates 1). She is starting to

It seems her looking at mirrors reassures her that she is still beautiful. Caldwell, recounts “In many senses Connie is right that (beauty) it is everything, but sees only the positive effects of her prettiness, not the dangers of attracting the wrong attention (par2). The only opinion she seemed to ignore is the opinion of her mother. " Oates depicts, Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old complaints and look right through her mother, into shadowy vision at herself as she was right at that moment"(Par

In the beginning of the story, the way Oates describes Connie’s behaviors help construct Connie’s state of mind as a doubtful and vulnerable young girl. The author perfectly capture the essences of Connie’s character by illustrates how Connie has, “a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right,”

In the American society, when individuals reach adolescence, they begin to search for their identity by exploring their interests and opening their mind to new notions and ideas. This is the psychological and physical human development that ultimately leads them to their adulthood. Joyce Carol Oates' short story depicts a fifteen year old girl with typical teenage concerns. She has to face the realization of the meaning of maturity in the American civilization when she is ripped out of her childhood by Arnold Friend. In the short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates suggests that when teenagers are in the coming of age, they are easily fooled and taken

The teenage rebellion, which most of people experience during the puberty, always worsens the relationship between parents and children. Written by Joyce Carol Oates, the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes the condition and consequence of a family whose child is rebellious. Through the characterization, plot, and dialogue, Oates successfully exhibits the thesis that Connie’s bad ending is the consequence of her parents’ attitude and actions.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” written by Joyce Carol Oates is an unsettling and incredibly formidable story of a young woman’s loss of innocence during a time of social change and turbulent times. The story’s protagonist is Connie, a self-absorbed, yet beautiful fifteen year old girl, who not only is at odds with her family but also the conservative values handed down by her family. She, unknowing to her parents, spends her evenings exploring her independence and individuality as well as by flirting and picking up boys at a local diner. One evening she catches the attention of a strange, creepy boy who drives a gold, dilapidated convertible. While alone at home one Sunday afternoon, this same creepy boy driving the gold

In her sorrow for the behavior of her daughter Connie, the mother often expresses a bit more appreciation and consideration for the older sister June. She declares somewhere in the story, ‘’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’’ (Henderson ). It is well-known that anything in excess is harmful, but Connie does not seem to have been aware of this. Connie’s behavior, far away from doing good to her, exposes her to her sexual predator as an easy prey.

The biggest cause for Connie’s outgoingness and rebellion is her mother’s attitude towards her. In the movie and short story Connie’s mom was rude to her and constantly comparing her to June. Connie’s mother’s tone was filled with annoyance and aggravation whenever she talked to Connie. There was nothing positive that came out of her mom’s mouth. The first thing the mom said was “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (Oates 693)

Psychoanalysis of “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?” In Joyce Oates’ short story “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?” the main character, Connie, has many issues. She is preoccupied with her appearance. Her mother is always criticising her for the things she does, saying things like “Stop Gawking at yourself.

She always thought that her mother was jealous of her beauty because her mother was not as gorgeous looking as she was earlier. Also, she was forced by her mother to be simple like her elder sister, who was not only an overweight sibling, but also an obedient daughter of her parents. Connie was totally opposite to her sister. She did not like to stay at home. She would listen to songs and daydream all the time.

The author puts Connie out to be a bad kid but is she really? Yeah, Connie is not the most respectful or well-behaved kid but who is at the age of fifteen. The author shares some instances where Connie does not make the best decisions. The author shares, “She spent three hours with him, at the restaurant where they ate hamburgers and drank cokes…and then down an alley a mile or so away” (Oate’s. 109). The quote shows how Connie put herself in situations that a girl her age should have never been in. The author gives Connie the identity of not being confident in herself when she says, “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar complaints and look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was right at that moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything.”

The 1960s were a time when the limits were being pushed, when society was changing, and when sexuality and sexual behavior skyrocketed. In Oates’ story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” she illuminates a young teenage girl, Connie, who was 15, how she ensued exceedingly conceited and self-important as well as naïve and adolescent and inexperienced with life. The writer, Joyce Carol Oates, born in 1938 and raised during a more conservative and moderate time. Oates transpired educated and erudite. Though her parents were not well-educated, they were immensely supportive of her education and dream of becoming a literary prodigy. (Showalter, 1994) During the time of the major cultural, societal shift from moderate to more provocative women were becoming more openly sexual, extroverted, and less restrained than women of earlier decades. Women began to have more of a voice and privileges emerging from a more patriarchal society. Correspondingly, a time when rapes, murder, violence, and crimes was up rising. Oats, seemingly, read a national magazine article about a serial killer who killed teenagers which motivated this short story (Showalter, 1994). Writer, Joyce Carol Oates, wanted to bring forth a light about violence and the consequences of violence and naiveite and promiscuity and a lack of a solid foundation in the family home.

In a small town, an adolescent teen emerges from the mirror. “where are you going, where have you been’’, by Joyce Carol Oates is a story about Connie, fifteen-years-old, intrigued by the way she looks. Her mother fears that one day, Connie will turn into who she was at fifteen, but it seems as if its too late. A naïve teen girl like Connie is always demonstrating rebellious actions behind her parents back; hanging with boys. One night, a boy named Eddie asks Connie out to dinner. Like any ‘’boy crazy” girl, she leaves her friend at the restaurant counter. Unknowingly, Connie’s life would change from that point forward. A petrifying man appears from a gold convertible. He seems to know more about Connie than Connie knows about herself. As Eddie and Connie walk through the parking lot, the man yells out “gonna get you, baby” (Oates). Connie hurries along to avoid the situation.

One of the reasons Connie acts the way she wants is because of her family. She is an outcast of the family, her mother cannot stand her, her sister can do no wrong, and her father works all the time so he does not matter. The reason Connie and her mother do not get along is because the mother loves the sister June more. June is more of the innocent child where she does as the parents say. June is not as pretty as Connie, so she has no other choice then to do whatever her parents tell her to do. Connie is like the pretty younger sister that wants to rebel and do her own thing because she can. Connie is more of the promiscuous type that hangs out with the bad crowd and is always into trouble. An example from the text to show how Connie and her mother interact is “Why don’t you keep your room