Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

Maria Bustos
Instructor: Ms. Cowart
English 102
February, 4, 2015
Short Story Essay #1
“Where are you going, Where have you been”

The short story about Connie deals with the experience of a young girl that is haunted by her good looks and cryptic behaviors. Inspired by a Life article of a serial killer, Oates created the story to: “It was not the number of murders that intrigued me, but the disturbing fact that a number of teenagers –from “good” families—aided and abetted his crimes” (Oates 68). Her interpretation of the murder of Alleen Rowe closely resembles the storyline Oates portrays. “The parallels between “Where Are You Going?” and the Rowe account are so numerous that Oater’s borrowing is unquestionable” (Coulthard 506). Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been is a short that touches upon feminism, sexual identity and teenage social behavior.
Nevertheless, upon further analysis, Connie sets forth precedent to the type of attitude that was unacceptable during the 60’s. While her behavior seemed absolutely normal for a teenager, Connie was anything but a normal teenager. Her curiosity of beauty, her own and that of people surrounding her, made her obsess with physical looks above all. This can particularly be witnessed upon her perception of the two boys that where waiting for her outside her house; her obsession with looks make her imagine something that is not there. “Ellie turned for the first time and Connie saw with shock that he wasn’t a kid either-he had a fair, hairless face, cheeks reddened slightly as if the veins grew too close to the surface of his skin, the face of a forty-year-old baby” (Oates