Where are you going, where have you been? written by Joyce Carol Oates can be described as a sexual coming of age or allegorical short story teaching the dangers of promiscuity. However, the story’s lessons are enhanced using the lens of existentialism. There are several occurrences within the story that could reflect the elements of existentialism which Gordon E. Bigelow illustrated in A Primer of Existentialism. Some of these elements include, alienation from the true self, essence before existence and most significantly alienation from each other.
As a brief synopsis, the protagonist is a self-absorbed fifteen year old girl named Connie. Connie lives with her carping mother, disconnected father and older docile sister June. Over the summer, Connie and her friend are dropped off by her friend’s father at the movies or shopping plaza and is later picked up without question. However, during these evenings out Connie and her friend actually go to the drive in diner to flirt with boys. As the story
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written by Joyce Carol Oates can be described as an allegorical teaching the dangers of promiscuity or a sexual coming of age short story. In the beginning of the story, the readers encounter a self-absorbed fifteen year old girl named Connie who is at the cusp of womanhood. Searching for a sense of self, Connie alternates between being promiscuous and holding onto an innocent idea of love and boys. She spends most of her summer flirting with boys believing appearing sexual mature is how to find herself. Elements of existentialism such as alienation from the true-self, essence before existence and alienation from each other is present within the story. Analyzing the story using an existential lens enhances the story’s lessons. For instance, it is during her encounter with Arnold Friend that Connie transitions into womanhood and learns that being a woman means taking responsibility and being other
Oates, Joyce C. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"" N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Her father works out of town and does not seem to be involved in his daughters lives as much. Her older sister, who works at the school, is nothing but plain Jane. Connie’s mother, who did nothing nag at her, to Connie, her mother’s words were nothing but jealousy from the beauty she had once had. The only thing Connie seems to enjoy is going out with her best friend to the mall, at times even sneaking into a drive-in restaurant across the road. Connie has two sides to herself, a version her family sees and a version everyone else sees.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is a normal teenage girl who is approached outside her home by a guy named Arnold Friend who threatens to harm her, and she obeys, if she does not get in the car with him. Connie is the main character in this story who teaches us that sometimes we might search for adult independence too early before we are actually ready to be independent and on our own. Connie is so focused on her appearance that she works hard to create a mature and attractive adult persona that will get her attention from guys. This search for independence conflicts with Connie’s relationship with her family and their protection of her. Connie’s insecurity and low self-esteem is triggered by her fear of intimacy. Connie confuses having the attention of men with actually having them pursue her in a sexual way.
The Eternal Present in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Michele D. Theriot, Journal of Short Story in English, 48, (Spring 2007): 59-70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 November 2013.
However, as I continued to read the story I began to wonder if maybe Connie’s life was not in any way parallel to my own. I have a younger sister where she has an older sister, but that is where the similarities end. Her mother is always telling her that she should be more like June, her older sister. It seemed to me that June living with her parents at her age was unusual, but the fact that she seemed to enjoy this and was always doing things to h...
Urbanski, Marie Mitchell Olesen. "Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'." Studies in Short Fiction (Spring 1978): 200-203. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale, 1979. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Oct.
Joyce Carol Oates intrigues readers in her fictional piece “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by examining the life of a fifteen year old girl. She is beautiful, and her name is Connie. Oates lets the reader know that “everything about her [Connie] had two sides to it, one for home, and one for anywhere but home (27). When Connie goes out, she acts and dresses more mature than she probably should. However, when she is at home, she spends the majority of her time absorbed with daydreams “about the boys she met”(28). This daydreaming behavior is observable to the reader throughout the story. From theories about dreams, theories about subconscious thought, and the clues that Oates provides, the reader is lead to believe that Connie’s experience with Arnold Friend is a nightmare used to awaken her to the consequences that her behavior could result in.
In the story, Oates presents the main character, Connie, as a somewhat bratty teenager that does not have a close relationship with her mother or sister. Her mother shows envy towards her daughter making comments to her such as, “ Stop gawking at
Coraghessen Boyle and Where are you going, where have you been by Joyce Carol Oates both fulfill the expectations of the coming-of-age-genre when the authors take us through events that the protagonists experience—transforming them from youth to maturity. Greasy Lake by T. Coraghessen Boyle ends most positively because the male protagonist realizes he didn’t murder Bobbie, and he learns a life lesson; there are dangerous consequences for bad actions. Where are you going, where have you been by Joyce Carol Oates ends negatively because the female protagonist, Connie, is kidnapped by the antagonist, Arnold Friend. Connie’s fate was not “sealed” because she was female, but because as an individual she is a vulnerable, young and naïve. Her “fate” could have happened to anyone wather male or female, who is vulnerable and
Ignorance and vanity can be good, in small amounts, but too much can lead to very unwelcome consequences. Connie, a teenage girl who can’t get enough of herself, learned this the hard way when a strange man by the name of Arnold Friend arrives at her house with the intent of taking her on a ‘date’. Instead of calling the police or locking herself in, like common sense would imagine, Connie uneasily greets Arnold from her door when he gets out of his car, instantly letting her vanity and ignorance get the best of her. Joyce Carol Oates shocks the reader with the twist ending in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” in which after hearing Arnold’s threat towards her family, Connie hands herself over to Arnold allowing him
”Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, which explores the life of a teenage girl named Connie. One of the issues this story divulges is the various stresses of adolescence. Connie, like so many others, is pressured to conform according to different social pressures, which displays the lack of respect female adolescents face. The music culture, young men, and family infringe upon young female minds to persuade them to look or act in certain ways, showing a disrespect for these girls. While some perhaps intend their influence for good, when put into practice, the outcome often has a negative effect. Moreover, this can lead young women to confusion and a lack of self-respect, which proves
Urbanski, Marie Mitchell Olesen. "Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'." Studies in Short Fiction 15.2 (1978): 200-203. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. Backpack Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2006. (323-336). Print.
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” clearly illustrates the loss of innocence adolescents experience as they seek maturity, represented by Connie's dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie symbolizes the many teens that seek independence from their family in pursuit of maturity. Connie’s great desire to grow up is apparent from the beginning of the story, as she experiments with her sexuality. However, it is clear that Connie is not interested in pursuing a relationship, but relishes the maturity she feels after being with the opposite sex. After following a boy to his car, she was “gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place” (2). This suggests that Connie's exploits
Rubin attempts to convey the idea that Connie falls asleep in the sun and has a daydream in which her “…intense desire for total sexual experience runs headlong into her innate fear…” (58); and aspects of the story do seem dream like - for instance the way in which the boys in Connie’s daydreams “…dissolved into a single face…” (210), but the supposition that the entire episode is a dream does not ring true. There are many instances in which Connie perceives the frightening truth quite clearly; she is able to identify the many separate elements of Friend’s persona - “… that slippery friendly smile of his… [and] the singsong way he talked…” (214). But because of the lack of attachment with her own family, and her limited experience in relating deeply to others, “…all of these things did not come together” (214) and Connie is unable to recognize the real danger that Arnold Friend poses until it is too late.