Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” published in 1966, was a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. Oates inspiration to write the story was she wanted to make an impact on twentieth-century American fiction. Many of Oates stomach churning stories were based upon true events, which made them even more horrendous. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” was a love story gone wrong, published by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966 (Wilson).

Joyce Carol Oates was born on June 16, 1938 in Lockport, New York. Oates parents, despite their tenuous existence, encouraged her creative development and she began to form narratives even before she was able to write. Even before she graduated from Syracuse, her talent as a young writer was nationally

recognized when she was named as one of the winners of Mademoiselle Magazine’s 1959 college fiction contest. As her life wet on, her stories began to gain popularity. Many of her novels were turned down by publishers because they were considered “too dark”. Oates published her very first novel in 1964. Her short stories of this period, collections which were published approximately every eighteen months, contain equally vivid psychological portrayals. The literature and philosophy she studied in her formal education springs up in the style and content of her writing. In her stories, she presents the dark mysteries of the human soul, pursues open, honest, and painful examinations of her characters thoughts and deeds. Oates’ has written over seven short stories, long fiction, and non-fiction novels (Shuman 1103-1118). One her well known short stories “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is still considered, to this day, a masterpiece of the short story form. She was inspired to write the story after reading about a charismatic but insecure young man who had enticed and then killed several girls in Tucson, Arizona, during the early 1960’s. Oates’ also won four O. Henry awards and the PEN/Malamud award for her excellence in short stories (Pfalzgraf 220-222).
Since the story was based off of a true event that occurred in Tucson, Arizona, when Oates wrote the story she made the setting occur there also. The main characters in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” are Connie, Arnold Friend, and Ellie. Connie, the protagonist of the story, is the one who the conflict of the story is based around. Connie is a fifteen year old teenage growing up in the suburbs of Arizona in the mid 1960’s. One night, Connie and her best friend, Beth, were at the diner downtown. Connie was flirting with a guy who she believed was her age. Later on, Connie’s family goes out for the day to attend a barbeque. Connie was sitting out on her porch, reading, when she heard a car pull up in her driveway. When she looked up, she noticed it was the guy from the diner, who went by the name of Arnold Friend. He slowly made his way to the porch where Connie was seated. He proceeded to tell Connie he knew everything about her from her name, to her best friend’s name, and even where her parents were and when they would return. He tried to talk Connie into leaving with him to go for a “ride”. As the two of them talk, Connie realized that he was older than he betrayed. She also noticed Ellie was in the car. The climax of the story was when Connie backed her way into the house and Arnold followed her to the door but did not enter. He told Connie he would not come into the house, unless she touched her phone. Connie soon realized she had gotten herself into something she cannot get out of. The resolution of the story was when Arnold threatened Connie. He told her if she did not leave with him and Ellie they would wait in the driveway until her family came home. He promised she would not see them again. Connie decided the best thing she could have done was leave with Arnold and Ellie (Wilson).
Connie a fifteen year old a girl is one of the most important characters in the story. Connie did not want to play the role of a child. She wanted to cultivate her sexual persona, which she only displayed when she was away from her family. She continuously makes fun of her older sister, June, and she stays in trouble and constantly argues with her family. She has the concerns of a normal teenage girl; she worries about her looks, her clothes, her escape from the world is music, she visits with friends and flirts with all the guys. Connie likes to dress like she is older so she can receive attention from boys and even grown men. She behaves one way at home and a completely different way when she is elsewhere. Connie has a split personality, but when Arnold Friend showed up to her house, the two sides merged violently. Connie did not show her sexual side until Arnold Friends’ intrusion into her home. Up until then, she showed the side of her that she allowed her family to see. Connie tried her best to handle the situation like an adult. She wanted to grow up and be mature. She desperately wanted older men to be attracted to her, but once she got the attention from an older man she changed her mind. She knows very little about adulthood, all she knows is the sweet romance she saw in movies or heard in songs. When Arnold appears in her yard, she seemed in control and unfazed of the situation, but she soon proved otherwise. The longer Arnold friend talked and she realized he was older, she proved how immature she actually was. Once she realized she was in deep trouble, she did was any child or teenager would do, she called out for her mom and dad (“Where are”).
There are many evident themes in the short story.

One of the main themes is appearance and reality. When the story began, Connie wanted to appear as an older girl so she would attract men. Connie dressed, acted, laughed, talked, and walked a certain way to appear older. Once Connie began to receive attention from a grown man, reality set in. She soon realized that she was a child and she needed to be young men, not adults. She also realized she was not the confident flirt she thought she was, but a weak and powerless girl in the hands of a powerful and dangerous grown man. The second evident theme is victim versus self-inflicted conflict. When Arnold Friend shows up at Connie’s house to basically kidnap her, she wanted to play the victim. Connie also knows she brought this problem upon herself by talking to older men

(Bloom).
Style was also a very important part of Oates’ stories. Point of view was very evident in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. The first line of the story is “Her name was Connie.” This signals that the story is going to be told by a third person narrator. The reader is able to see the thought process of Connie, but there is no additional information or biased opinions of the situation. Being able to read the story through a third person narrative allowed the reader to identify with Connie’s terror as she is transformed from a victim to a flirt. Arnold Friend is presented only as he is viewed by Connie. The reader knows nothing about his unspoken thoughts. Irony is also evident in the story. Connie longs to be older. She dresses, acts, and talks older because she wants older men to be attracted to her. When am older man, Arnold Friend, show he has a sexual attraction to Connie, she no longer wants an older man (Bloom).
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written during the Women’s Rights Movement.

The 1960’s and 1970’s marked the start of the Women’s Rights Movement. Economic shifts meant that more women got to work out in the real world, with real jobs. This also meant they would be around men all the time and this made them more vulnerable. Many guys took advantage of girls in this time period because women didn’t know what it was like to be out in the “real world”. Connie was taken advantage of by Arnold Friend because she wanted an older man but then Arnold took it too far and disrespected Connie and invaded her privacy

(Bloom).
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” is a love story gone wrong, published by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966 (Wilson). Connie was a rebellious teenager that wanted to be an adult before it was time for her to grow up. She wanted older men until she got one, then she changed her mind. After reading this story, younger girls should take into account what could happen when you mess with people you aren’t supposed to. Men should also learn that taking advantage of a woman is not the way to make her love you. The story relates to today’s time period because cases like this and worse still occur all over the United States and the world today (Pfalzgraf 220-222). “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a great short story that an teach both teenagers and adults the dangers of the world.