Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Parenting

In 1966, Joyce Carol Oates published her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. Oates was inspired to write this story after reading about a serial killer that was referred to as “The Pied Piper of Tucson”. Oates was disturbed by the number of teenagers that this killer was able to persuade to help him and keep his secrets (Oates 1). Oates uses irony, imagery, and symbolism to support her theme of evil in this short story.

Oates, Joyce C. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008. 421-32. Print.

In conclusion, the search for independence caused the world to change in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. With many things going on with drugs, alcohol, and sex, it is easy to see why Joyce Carol Oates chose this theme for Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Connie fell in to the trap of the sexual desires that she wanted for herself, only with it ending badly. Her maturation along with sexual radicalism and capitalism sexually repressed the masses in the interests of its life negating and exploitative goals. With all of this

In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.

Adding on to that, Connie’s shortfall that rock music has molded her has come to light when Arnold Friend gives sexual advances to her. Joyce Carol Oates shows this by writing, “It was the same program that was playing inside the house. “Bobby King?” she said. “I listen to him all the time. I think he’s great.” “He’s kind of great,” Connie said reluctantly.” “Listen, that guy’s great. He knows where the action is.” (p.3-para.2). This shows how Connie feels shocked that Arnold was also listening to the same music as she was when she was inside the house last time. Since she was incompetent in realizing how teenagers interpret the music than adult figures, Connie is vulnerable when Arnold threatens her to come to him because of the rock music that is being allotted to teenagers. To sum it up, the sexual song lyrics and the image of rock music that is normally played and embraced in the American culture has influenced Connie, a teenager, physically and mentally; therefore, she is taken advantage of by Arnold because of her immaturity and youth.

The late 1950s was a time of cultural revolution which had a large influence on the American youth. “As the next decade drew near, issues such as civil rights, war, women 's rights, and the sexual revolution would deeply affect many American teenagers. The conservative family values and morals that predominated in the 1950s were just beginning to be challenged as the decade came to a close” (Moss and Wilson 3). As a result, many teenagers lost the conservative morals of the 1950s and became more independent. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie represents the result of this cultural revolution. Criticized by her mother for her promiscuity, Connie is an independent girl who often hangs out with her friends trying to attract boys. In doing so, she attracts a sexual predator named Arnold Friend who visits her at her home to try to get her to leave with him to presumably rape her. At the end of the story, Connie chooses to go with him. Connie gets into this dangerous situation because of a mistaken belief on her self-worth, the loss of morals by her and the adults in the story, and the influence of the 1960s popular music. Looking at “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about how the misconceptions on self-worth and the diversion of 1960s society from

If not thought about or read over more than once, the fact that Connie’s father was almost a phantom in her life might be missed. In this era, fathers in particular were not very active in their children’s lives, daughters especially; they were the mother’s problem. This same idea carries over to the father of Connie’s best girlfriend, who after driving them to the stores or movies “…never even bothered to ask what they had done.” (Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"), the name of the story is also a question that should be asked of any daughter by her father. The fathers in question here display a sense of total apathy to the question of what their daughters are actually doing. These fathers came from a time in the 40’s and 50’s when men worried about men things and woman issues were exactly that. Men and in particular fathers of that time made no effort to be involved in their daughters lives as they are today. Oates noticed that issue in society and attached it to her work in this story although minutely. The main conflict in Connie’s life is trying to balance a fine line between the way she acts at home in front of her mother, and her secret wild side which she only shows to her friends and the boys she meets. Oates’ characterization of Connie is that of a round character, one of intense

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.

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.

There are some stories that capture the reader’s attention and which keep us riveted from the beginning to the ultimate line of the tale. ‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’, a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966, is one of those. Inspired by the mythic song of the phenomenal singer Bob Dylan entitled ‘’It’s all over Now, Baby Blue,’’ the author describes the main character as a 15-year-old girl named ‘’ Connie’’, who is obsessed by her beauty and does not get along with her family. The heroine of the story ‘’Connie,’’ engages in an adolescent rebellion against her entourage by acting to appear older. This increases her vulnerability through the story and at the end

First, Oates uses music as a replacement for religion in Connie’s life. This is shown, for example, in her description of the drive-in: “the bright lit, fly-infested restaurant, their faces pleased and expectant as though they were entering a sacred building that loomed out of the night to give them what haven and what blessing they yearned for”(294). A seemingly modest drive-in where “music [is] always in the background like music at a church service”(294) seems to act as a sort of religious temple to Connie. Her extreme love of music may have also made her easier to manipulate to Arnold Friend as he spoke “exactly as if he were reciting the words to a song” (299), which caught Connie’s attention. Another example is “the little transistor the boy was holding, and now Connie began to hear the music. It was the same program that was playing inside the house”(297). This clearly shows Arnold using Connie’s love of music as a

This divide confirms the issues in modern society, that one’s relationship with other teenagers is valued more than one’s relationship with their family. Connie’s thoughts, revolving around boys, is also a negative effect from her current society. When asked to go to a family barbeque, Connie “wasn’t interested, rolling her eyes to let her mother know just what she thought of it” (Oates 2). Instead of having some quality family time, Connie spends the day day-dreaming about love and the boys she has previously met and boys she hopes to meet in the future. Her acknowledgment of boys and refusal to spend time with her family adds to the claim that teenagers in modern society do not value family relationships. Boys and fitting in are all that’s on her mind because that is what society expects from her. Modern society has the expectation that girls will give into boys and do as they say because they are incapable of defending themselves. For these reasons, Connie can not escape from Arnold Friend, the boy who desperately wants her. The narrator writes, “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe...where Arnold Friend waited” (Oates

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates, takes place in the 1960s American Suburbs, where a family of four lives in a house that is in dire need of maintenance. Connie is the main character that seems to suffer from a slight boy problem. Connie feels as if her mom treats her cruelly and takes to a “secret” life that will help Connie find an escape. The story is important to read because it helps young girls realize that people will not always be what one makes themselves out to be. The story also helps raise awareness about the manipulation used to persuade young girls. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is included in many short story anthologies due to the fact that it leaves the reader making up conclusions about what happened to Connie. The short story may also be important due to the fact that it is written by Joyce Carol Oates, which is one of the most influential writers known. The ending acts

A Typology for Analyzing Pop Song Lyrics Using Narrative Theory and Semiotics.” In this academic article Randle and Evans concluded that an open undefined narrative can be seen when, “no cues exist as to the time or sequencing of events or a specific setting.”(Randle and Evans 137) However, what these songs lack in events and settings, these songs seem to be brimming with hermeneutic code where questions arise at every line: What happened in the past? Why does she keep asking for forgiveness? Why doesn’t she just move on? Questions arising from the lyrics like these, are why Adele’s songs are labeled as an opened undefined narrative. A narrative where the audience has to make assumptions about what has happened in the past to cause these complicated relations to result. Although we may eventually learn what Adele’s songs may be about, we may also learn how her relationships work.

Joyce Carol Oates is an American short-story writer noted for her depictions of violence and evil in modern society. In her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” , she blends a realistic treatment, with horrific portrayal of violence directed to the main character of the story; Connie. Fifteen-year-old Connie spends most of her time hanging out with her friends, and like any other normal girls, she cares for her appearance and seeks acceptance which she can hardly get from her family. Her mother always put her down and praises her sister; June. Her father ignores them in daily life. Connie never feels close to any of her family members, and she prefers life out of home with her friends where she feels free. One day, Connie meets a stranger in a restaurant that tells her “Gonna get you, baby”. Horrified by this encounter, Connie rushes back home and forces herself to forget about that act. On a Sunday, Connie stays at home while her family decides to go out for a barbeque. Connie is shocked to find the stranger who she met the other day, Arnold Friend, driving up to her house and asking her to go for a drive with him. Connie is startled and tells the stranger to go away, but he laughs and tells her that he knows a lot of things about her. The stranger, Arnold Friend, insists on taking Connie for a ride and threatens her that if she did not comply, he would do “terrible things” to her family. He becomes more threatening when he tells her that he would break