In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”- Written in 1966, as a tribute to Bob Dylan- Joyce Carol Oates, tells the story of a teenage girl Connie, and her struggles with discontent, vanity, and attachment. Despite some tensions with her parents Connie has a decent summer and goes to the town center with friends often. She loves to engage with pop-culture and the sweet sounds of the 1960’s. Despite being a highly courted young lady, Connie dreamt of the perfect boy, to capture her and breathe life into her seemingly lackluster life. A man named Arnold Friend sees Connie out one evening and proceeds to arrive at her door step, with an invitation to escape soon thereafter. After much persuasion, Connie decides to climb into Arnold’s car, despite some reservations about his age and character. Themes such as maturation, lust, and youth present interesting insight to the mind of a young girl of a time period in which women’s’ social …show more content…
Connie hates her mother and “wishes she would die” (370). Despite the mutual animosity between Connie and her mother, the household remains somewhat amicable and Connie was allowed to dress up to her finest and go out with friends on most evenings of the summer. She sought vibrant nights at the town plaza with other young people and living out the “trashy dreams that filled her head” (373). Arnold Friend’s unannounced door step arrival frightened the young Connie. However, his demands, threats, and persistent insisting, also fulfill some of her most idealistic aspirations. The author utilizes Connie to interpret some of the thoughts that were probably common amongst the victims of serial killer Charles Schmid, whom Oates’ found much fascination with. Young individuals can sometimes be vulnerable to those who seek to capitalize on the young naïve spirit that our culture