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Jeff Bellesiles

Genest

Short Stories

20 March 2009

Where are you Going, Where have you been

When talking about prolific writers in America since the 1960s, one

name comes up in every discussion: Joyce Carol Oates. Born to a rural

working-class family in 1938, she grew up in the small town of Millersport,

New York, which Oates said .was hardly a community, it was a farm and

another farm, and a creek.” She attended the same one-room schoolhouse

as her mother, and was generally happy with her family. Oates described her

family as “a happy, close-knit and unextraordinary family for our time, place

and economic status.” (Edemariam)

As a child, Oates became very interested in writing after receiving

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a gift from her grandmother. She

remembers this novel:

“…the great treasure of my childhood, and the most profound

literary influence of my life. This was love at first sight!”

(Edemariam)

Moving into her teens, Oates became enveloped in the works of such

authors as Thoreau, Hemingway, and Faulkner, whose works inspired Oates

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to further her literary talent. Her grandmother, who was the initial person to

spark this desire to write, enabled her to further it with the gift of a

typewriter at 14. With this gift, she became totally immersed in her writing,

contributing to the school newspaper, and eventually becoming the first in

her family to graduate high school in 1956. (Bender)

Oates then moved on to Syracuse University, which she found “a very

exciting place academically and intellectually.” (Edemariam) She spent

much of her time there furthering herself by .writing novel after novel and

always throwing them out when I completed them.” She became engrossed

in the works of D.H. Lawrence and Kafka, and graduated as valedictorian of

her class in 1960.

Since her graduation, Oates has become one of the most astonishingly

prolific writers of our time. Oates published her first novel in 1964, With

Shuddering Fall. Her next story is regarded as her most well-known, Where

are you Going, Where have you been. Published in 1966, it has been

received very well and has even been the basis of a movie, Smooth Talk

released in 1985, though the movie had a dramatically altered ending. Since

1964, she has published well over 100 pieces of literary work, including

almost 40 novels, publishing at least one a year since 1993. Oates has

received many awards, starting with her novel them for which she received
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the national book award in 1970. For more than 25 years Oates has been a

rumored favorite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. (Kich)

While Joyce Carol Oates is one of the most prolific writers of our time,

she has also managed to lead an impressive teaching career. She began

teaching at the University of Detroit in 1962, working there until 1968, when

the combination of the Detroit race riots, the Vietnam War and a job offering

enticed her to move to Canada. After 10 years in Canada, in 1978, she

returned to the US to take a job teaching at Princeton. (Dirda)

Throughout her enormous body of work, there are a few recurring

themes. Many of her works have an underlying gothic tone, containing

elements of darker themes such as seduction, violence, rape, fear of the

unknown and class tensions. Although she has an impressively large corpus

of works, they almost all focus on a few themes; most notably the effect

violence has on the human psyche. She also tends to leave the end of her

stories open-ended, leaving the reader to decide on an appropriate ending

themselves. This literary technique allows her stories to be read in many

different ways and opens the door for much more symbolism than a

conventional ending would allow. (Dirda)

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Where are you going, Where have you been is an intriguing short story

written by Joyce Carol Oates, it was her second major published story, and

probably her most well-known. The story is centered on a 15 year old girl

named Connie. She is portrayed as a fairly ordinary teenager. She searches

for an identity that fits her, challenging her parents, especially her mother,

and pushing the limit on everything she does. One night, she is out with

some of her friends at a drive in restaurant when she catches the eye of a

boy sitting in a gold jalopy in front of the drive in. Their eyes connect for only

a second, then Connie leaves and doesn’t see him for the rest of the night.

Days later, her parents and particularly bland sister go off to her aunt’s

barbeque, leaving Connie home alone. After washing her hair, Connie hears

a car roll up the driveway. She looks out and sees the gold jalopy repainted

with a sloppy red paint job, with what appears to be 2 teenagers inside. The

driver steps out and introduces himself as Arnold Friendly, the boy that she

had seen briefly the night before, and he starts asking her to come for a ride.

At first she refuses, and she begins to notice several strange things about

Friendly. First she realizes that he really isn’t 18 like he says he is, but closer

to 30. His “young” friend looks to be in his 40s. A cold terror slowly grips

Connie. As they talk more, Friendly becomes more hostile, saying that he

knows all about her and her family, and telling her that she is his lover she
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just doesn’t know it yet. Connie notices that he walks like he stuffed his

shoes with something to make him seem taller, and he places his sunglasses

on his head as if he were wearing a wig. Connie attempts to stand up to him

by threatening to call the police, but Arnold says that if she touches the

phone he will come in the house after her, and no flimsy screen door will

keep him from her. He also describes in vivid detail how a simple fire would

cause her to “run into my arms.” After more threats and strange statements

by Friendly, Connie has finally had enough, and runs inside to call the police,

but when she picks up the phone, she freezes in terror. At this climatic

moment, everything seems to fade out for Connie, and she collapses onto

the floor. When she has recovered, Friendly is at the door, he calmly tells her

to put the phone back. Without saying a word, Connie replaces the phone

and slowly stands up. Friendly then tells her to come outside and come for a

ride in the car with him, and Connie resignedly agrees. The story ends with

Connie gazing out of the doorway, wondering about her future, and what it

could possibly hold.

The characters in the story are mostly static, each of them only there

briefly, and their personalities never really elaborated upon. First is fifteen-

year-old Connie, struggling to find her real identity, and in the process
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exhibiting the classic behaviors of a girl her age. She displays the erratic,

often confusing behavior associated with a young girl making the transition

to womanhood. She rebels against her parents, but often in a very passive

aggressive way, establishing two very distinct personalities: one for around

her family, and one for when she is out with her friends. Connie is also

hopelessly romantic, influenced mostly by the lyrics of popular songs. But

this romanticism doesn’t really express itself in her boyfriends, who

“dissolved into a single face that was not even a face but an idea.”

Arnold Friend, built up through indirect characterization, undertakes

many different identities throughout the story. He is first introduced as a boy

“with shaggy black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold.” However, as

both Connie and the reader soon learn, he is really much older, and uses

psychological manipulation to abduct girls like Connie. He uses the romantic

lyrics of popular songs to make Connie feel more comfortable, but blends

forceful commands in his speech to help appeal to her. He is slowly broken

down to be a man of at least 30 using makeup and props to help make

himself appear more appealing to Connie.

Arnold brings with him a friend, Ellie, whose personality also is seen

differently throughout the story. At first, Ellie seems to be a harmless

follower of Arnold, but his small, menacing comments change the way the
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reader views him drastically. He is often very direct in confirming Connie’s

nagging fears, where Arnold is much more indirect. First he offers to “pull

the phone” to prevent Connie from calling for help, and then pulls out a

weapon, which Arnold hastily scolds him for and tells him to put away. By

the end, Ellie is viewed as just as hostile as Arnold, mirroring the change in

perception of Arnold’s personality as well.

Connie’s sister, June, plays the opposite of Connie. Where Connie is

beautiful and eye-catching, June is “plain and chunky.” She also lacks the

rebellious nature that drives Connie. Connie views herself as superior to her

sister because of her beauty.

Joyce Carol Oates’ Where are you Going, Where have you been is

famous among Oates’ work for its vast symbolism and the interpretation of

its many themes. However, many, if not all of the themes seem to relate to

identity and the search for self. Connie is a perfect example of someone who

is struggling to really understand his or her own true identity. She attempts

to build an image for herself based on how people see her. Connie spends a

large amount of energy maintaining two very separate identities: one for at

home, and one for everywhere else. Her personality, however, doesn’t seem

to fit into either of these identities that she has created. She builds up her

identity outside of the house based on classic romanticism. She uses the
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lyrics of popular songs to help dictate how she wants other people to see

her, and this is what makes her so vulnerable to Arnold Friend. While Connie

seems to do this almost subconsciously, Arnold is very aware of how much

effect music has on kids her age. He sets up a personality just for people

Connie’s age to see, and bases it on well-liked trends such as the lyrics of

popular songs, and uses this personality to match the one that Connie had

set up. He even tries to play this charade off when Connie starts becoming

suspicious of his age, giving excuses to convince her that he is her age.

Arnold’s personality is an enigma. He works very hard to appear young

and fashionable, as well as attempting to make Connie feel secure around

him. He dresses in the current trends, and imitates the mannerisms of any

boy Connie’s age to make himself seem more normal to her. However, she

notices several times that he is actually taking many of his words directly

from popular song lyrics from a year ago, again attempting to appeal to

Connie’s romantic side. He does slip up a few times, mentioning things that

went out of style over a year ago, and this slip-up draws suspicion from

Connie. This “mask” of an identity that he has created he uses to get near to

Connie, using her own weakness for the romanticism of popular songs

against her. Near the end he even says “My sweet blue-eyed girl…” which is

an interesting statement in two ways: first because of the obvious reference

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to the popular song with almost the same title, and also the fact that Connie

actually has brown eyes confirms the suspicion that he using the lyrics of

songs to sound romantic.

Neither Connie nor Friend have a real sense of their identity, each uses

their outward appearance and other peoples’ opinions toward them to create

a mask that they can put up to hide their true emotions from those around

them. However, as his mannerisms and behavior becomes more

disconcerting to Connie, the more threatening he becomes, letting his true

personality break through. And as she comes to realize what is really going

on, Connie seems to finally come to an understanding of what her identity

really is.

By the end of the story, the reader can really get a sense of the true

identity of both characters. Arnold Friend is far past trying to make Connie

feel comfortable, he threatens both Connie and her family as she realizes

how serious the situation really is. Connie, on the other hand, realizes that

her beauty and outward appearance aren’t everything, and that they don’t

elevate her above everyone. She realizes that for the first time in her life,

she doesn’t feel like she has complete control over her own life. (Oates)
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Where are you Going, Where have you been is famous among Joyce

Carol Oates’ stories for the amazing amount of symbolism that can be found.

One of the more prominent symbols is that of Arnold Friend. He is often

thought to represent the devil; a temptation for Connie that she slowly

comes to realize is very evil. Friend is symbolic of a temptation that Connie

faces. At first, Friend seems to be exactly the kind of person Connie hangs

out with, making her feel comfortable around him. However, Connie

eventually sees through his guise and sees him for the wicked man he really

is.

Another major symbol in the story is that of Music. There is music

woven through every scene in the story. At first, it is assumed that this is

just part of the setting, and is just meant to set the mood. But looking back

at each scene and how the events of each one relates to the music, it

becomes clear that it is there for much more than setting. When Arnold

Friend first pulls up, he uses the music to get Connie to talk to him, and

throughout the conversation uses lines straight out of popular songs to try to

appeal to her. Also, at the climax, it can be noted that the music suddenly

stops, which points to the importance of the scene.

Another interesting symbol is the choice of setting of the suburbs

where Connie lives. This setting is interestingly common among horror

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stories, and Oates uses it ironically, pointing out our assumptions that

suburbs are much safer than other neighborhoods. The assumption that the

suburbs are a secure place where only good things happen is dropped, and

often this story can even lead to the reader reevaluating what they assume

is safe.

Lastly, the entire story can be viewed as symbolic. It could be shown to

symbolize life, and how as we grow older we eventually lose the innocence

and sense of control that we believed to be undeniably ours. Arnold Friend

represents the sin of the outside world, and how no matter how prepared we

are, the outside world is all too out of our control to handle. Starting with

promises of a bright future, we are all eventually taken over by the outside

world.

Where are you Going, Where have you been is an interesting story in

that it can be read and taken in many, many different ways. After reading

through it several times, I gave it to a number of different people to read,

and each of them had a completely unique response to the story. Some read

it as literal; a graphic story with frightening gothic undertones, but with a

moral at the end that is interpreted differently by each reader. Others, like

myself, read it first as a literal story, and then as a symbolic one. Reading
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through it a second time in a symbolic manner yielded many different

interpretations. The story can be overlaid on many different morals or

lessons and can be used to help accentuate a point, most of these points

having something to do with good vs. evil.

In the end, the story boils down to a basic Good Vs Evil battle, with the

classic cunning of evil shown contrasting to the innocence of good. I found

the story very well written, with a very interesting ending that keeps anyone

from reading the story just once. The open-ended ending leaves the story

open to an unlimited number of interpretations based on how the reader

thinks the story will end. Overall, the use of perspective added to the already

growing suspension resulting in a story that sticks with you, and that you

have to read many times before you feel satisfied.

Works Cited

“Author Information: Joyce Carol Oates.” Internet Book List. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://www.iblist.com/author1054.htm>.

Bender, Eileen T. “Joyce Carol Oates.” Cengage.com. Ed. Paul Lauter.

Indiana University. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_

pages/contemporary/oates_jo.html>.
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Dirda, Michael. “The Wand of the Enchanter.” The New York Review of Books

20 Dec. 2007. 20 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-

preview?article_id=20900>.

Edemariam, Aida. “The new Monroe doctrine.” The Guardian 4 Sept. 2004.

20 Mar. 2009

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/sep/04/featuresreviews.guard

ianreview14>.

“Joyce Carol Oates.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates>.

Kick, Martin. “Joyce Carol Oates.” Literary Encyclopedia. 28 Feb. 2003.

Wright State University. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4943>.

Oates, Joyce Carol. “Where are you going, where have you been?” New

Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers UP, 1994.

Truman, Cheryl. “Author Joyce Carol Oates is always at her finest.”

Kentucky.com Homepage. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://www.kentucky.com/692/story/515390.html>.
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“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: Information.” Answers.com -

Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and much more. 20 Mar. 2009

<http://www.answers.com/topic/where-are-you-going-where-have-you-

been-story#Notes_on_Short_Stories>.