Analysis of Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Introduction

Except for the armed forces still slugging it out in the frozen battlefields of Korea, the late 1950s were a great time to be alive in the United States — especially if you were white and middle-class. In sharp contrast to today, American kids rode their bikes everywhere freely, without being overly concerned about anything except flat tires, stray dogs, and potholes, and the future seemed bright. People in small-town America left their doors unlocked, everyone knew everyone, and domestic terrorism was an alien concept to most — except for Black Americans in the Deep South, where racial violence was a grim status quo. Against this seemingly idyllic backdrop, it is not surprising that some young people, most especially females, experienced a troubled adolescence shaped in part by the very freedoms they enjoyed and by their propensity for experimentation during this formative period of their lives.

It was during this post-war period in American history that Joyce Carol Oates set her short story, which examines what happens when one young girl becomes a victim of the times. This paper analyzes Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" to identify its plot and explore the theme of carelessness as a manifestation of adolescent immaturity. Following this analysis, a summary of significant findings is presented in the conclusion.

Overview of the Plot

In reality, fifteen-year-old Connie's life was not so dramatically different from that of the vast majority of American girls during the late 1950s. Unfortunately for Connie, the plot of this fictional story also concerns how her vulnerability — rooted in carelessness — translates into a violent encounter with an older, predatory male. In sum, Connie is a typical American adolescent who tends to daydream and indulge in romantic fantasies. As Anand, Velayathikode, and Chatterjee point out, "Connie is introduced to the reader as a teenage girl who, like other girls her age, is very conscious of her physical appearance. Oates, however, develops her character in contrast with her prim and prudish sister by specifically focusing on her preoccupation with beauty" (84).

The plot unfolds as Connie's world takes a dark turn when she encounters a mysterious and charismatic stranger named Arnold Friend. With his disturbing blend of machismo and menace, Friend approaches Connie at her home while her family is away. As the story draws toward its conclusion, the tension between the two escalates, revealing Friend's sinister intentions and Connie's vulnerability. The plot explores themes of adolescence, the dangers that carelessness invites, and the loss of innocence — an inherent part of growing up. The story's conclusion leaves readers with a haunting and ambiguous feeling that compels reflection on the vulnerabilities of youth. Because Connie's unsettling experience was not particularly uncommon — then or now — it is important to examine these overarching themes more closely.

Carelessness as a Theme of Adolescent Immaturity

Sibling rivalry is a powerful force in American families, and Connie's was no exception. As noted above, Connie's sister was employed full-time — at her school, no less. In sharp contrast to Connie's overwhelming self-consciousness and vanity, her sister was a paragon of virtue who was consistently placed on a pedestal by their mother, who made it clear that she disapproved of Connie's self-absorbed behaviors. For instance, Oates writes: "Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn't much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it. 'Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you're so pretty?'" (1).

Imbued with the unshakeable belief that she was in fact pretty — countless hours before the mirror confirmed it — Connie attributed her mother's criticism to bitterness over her own faded youth and to a desire to live vicariously through her daughter. Oates adds that in response, "Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old 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" (1). This early assertion about Connie's inner life and family tensions helped define the characters and set the stage for what would follow.

As the old saying goes, "When you got it, flaunt it" — and this is precisely what Connie intended to do as she experimented with flirtatious interactions with her male peers and sought reassurances from friends that she fit in with the group. Although this continuous search for self-affirmation ran contrary to her firm belief that beauty was everything, Connie's actions can be attributed, at least in part, to a fundamental lack of relevant life experience — experience that would come only with time.

This youthful naivety is made apparent during her first encounter with Arnold Friend, who was driving a gold-painted jalopy at a drive-in. He wagged his finger at her and said, "Gonna get you, baby," without her casual boyfriend noticing (van de Ven 2023). Disregarding this overtly threatening behavior, Connie remained caught up in youthful exuberance as she enjoyed her burgeoning social relationships. Indeed, she was more interested in experimentation than in any long-term relationship. As Oates writes, "All the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling …" (3).

These behaviors were normal, of course, but they also contributed to Connie's carelessness. Like many adolescents, she believed she was invincible, that nothing could hurt her, and that the world was hers for the taking. This initial encounter with Arnold Friend foreshadowed a more violent encounter that occurred on a Sunday afternoon while her parents and older sister were away, leaving Connie alone at home after yet another argument with her mother.

When Connie heard a car pull up in the driveway, she knew it was not her parents. She was surprised to see the gold jalopy again, driven by Arnold Friend. Friend wasted no time making his intentions known, even if Connie was too innocent to fully grasp them. He reminded her that he had said he would come to see her and pressed her insistently to take a ride with him. Although Connie was uncertain whether she liked him or thought him "just a jerk," she asked him what the numbers painted on his car meant in order to buy some time. Oates writes: "Arnold Friend explained. He read off the numbers 33, 19, 17 and raised his eyebrows at her to see what she thought of that, but she didn't think much of it" (2).

While Oates does not explain what this secret code means, and literary critics remain divided, the simple addition of these numbers is taken by some scholars to hint at Friend's sexually deviant intentions toward the virginal Connie (Hurley 1987). This interpretation is reinforced by Friend's subsequent behavior, which escalates to threatening Connie's family with violence unless she willingly complies with his demands. In truth, Connie found herself in this predicament precisely because of her carelessness — though even many seasoned adults might have missed the early warning signals Friend sent her, dismissing them as the antics of yet another peculiar stranger.

As Connie's desperation intensifies, she pleads to know what Friend intends to do with her. In response, Friend makes clear that he intends to sexually assault her — perhaps multiple times — while attempting to assuage her fears by suggesting she will come to accept it and that the experience will prepare her for adult womanhood. Connie asks Friend, "What are you going to do?" to which he responds: "Just two things, or maybe three. But I promise it won't last long and you'll like me the way you get to like people you're close to. You will. It's all over for you here, so come on out. You don't want your people in any trouble, do you?" (5).

Conclusion

While it is tempting to conclude that Connie managed to extricate herself from her violent encounter with Arnold Friend, it is also reasonable to suggest that she experienced the same type of sexual assault that has always been commonplace between vulnerable young girls and predatory males. This unfortunate reality continues to occur far too often despite aggressive law-enforcement efforts and strict laws against sexual predation, making it reasonable to posit that the story's themes resonate powerfully with modern readers as well.

In the final analysis, the plot delves into the darker aspects of adolescence as the tension between Connie and Friend heightens, revealing sinister intentions and Connie's vulnerability to a predatory figure. The story explores themes of danger, the loss of innocence, and the inherent carelessness of growing up in mid-twentieth-century America. Finally, the haunting and ambiguous conclusion prompts reflection by readers of all ages on the profound complexities of human behavior, particularly in the context of Connie's unsettling experiences — experiences that were not uncommon then, and remain all too familiar now. The narrative encourages an examination of overarching themes that continue to resonate with the broader challenges routinely faced by adolescents everywhere.

Works Cited

Anand, Aswathi Velayathikode, and Srirupa Chatterjee. "From Naturalistic Savagery to Humanistic Redemption: Artistic Transformations in Joyce Carol Oates's Short Stories." IUP Journal of English Studies, vol. 12, no. 2, June 2017, pp. 81–89.

Coulthard, A. R. "Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?' As Pure Realism." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 26, no. 4, Sept. 1989, pp. 505–10.

Hurley, C. Harold. "Cracking the Secret Code in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'" Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 24, no. 1, Jan. 1987, p. 62.

Sutton, Brian. "An Unconscious Obsession: The Influence of Flannery O'Connor's Novels on Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'" Flannery O'Connor Review, vol. 4, Jan. 2006, pp. 54–68.

van de Ven, Inge. "'Gonna Get You, Baby!' A Qualitative-Empirical Study of Attentional Modulation in Reading a Short Story." Language & Literature, vol. 32, no. 4, Nov. 2023, pp. 458–78.