Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? “Where are you going, where have you been?” is a short story by Joyce Carol Oates about an average fifteen year old girl who is not unlike many other girls her age, she is self-absorbed, and has a “Nervous giggling habit of craning her neck and glancing into the mirror, or checking other people’s face’s to make sure her own was all right.”(Oates, 388) The story takes place in Middle America. Oates wrote “Where are you going, where have you been?” in the 1960’s, she was inspired to write the short story after learning about the Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, who inspired the role of Arnold Friend. Oates said the aspect that most intrigued her about Schmid, was his ability to emotionally manipulate his victims, teenaged girls. Around the time of the story a social revolution was happening. American women were asserting their rights and independence from men, and were claiming their sexuality in a way that women have never done before in America. In Oates’s short story there are several themes such as manipulation, evil, and Connie’s search for independence. The story also has a very suspenseful tone to it, and is told from the point of view of Connie as she attempts to transition from her adolescence to an experienced mature women. In the end the story takes an abrupt wrong turn when Arnold Friend, the antagonist, arrives at Connie’s front door and catapults her into the scary world of adulthood. By portraying universal themes such as evil and manipulation and how these can influence an adolescent during their transition to adulthood gives the short story a lasting influence that still holds meaning today.