English: Essay
“Where are you going, Where have you been?” is a short fiction story written by Joyce Carol Oates. She was born in 1938 during the period of Great Depression, and went to one room elementary school during her childhood. It was the one room elementary school where she developed a love and inspiration for the writing. Her parents were not educated but supported her effort to write as she started writing novels and short stories when she was in high school. She mastered in English from the University of Wisconsin. Joyce Carol Oates wrote “Where are you going, Where have you been?” in 1966 for the Epoch Magazine, inspired by the three murders committed by Charles Schmid, who was an old man and preyed on adolescent girls. It was not the killer’s action that triggered Joyce Carol Oates to write this story; rather it was the unusual action of common teenage girls that helped Schmid hide his murders, and inspired Joyce Carol Oates to write a story. She dedicated the story to the musician star Bob Dylan for she got the inspiration to write after listening to his song, “It’s all over now, baby blue.” The story became a precooked classic and incorporated in the legendary work of great fiction. Story later adapted into a film “Smooth Talk” in 1985.
Joyce Carol Oates story revolves around the character of Connie, who is a fifteen year’s old beautiful and self-centered girl. Connie does not enjoy good relations with her mother and sister. One evening, she receives a threatening gesture from a stranger driving a golden convertible car that has some strange writing on it. Later, over the weekend when she is alone at home, two men come to her driveway and call her out for a conversation. One man introduces himself as a friend to the Arnold, one of his friends. During the conversation, Connie realizes that the man is much older than what he appears, and he appears to be a threat. She becomes uncomfortable and afraid of the person. She resembles the Arnold’s feet with the feet of the devil, “Friend posted atop his golden jalopy, has a muscular neck which suggests the reptilian, as does the fact that he “slid” rather than stepped out of the car. His feet resemble the devil's cloven hooves: “One of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn't in it.” (Oates 201). He tells Connie that he will harm her family if she does not comply with his instruction. Connie tries to call the police but fails to make a call for being in panic. She agrees to go with the strangers. Connie leaves with the stranger under compulsion and reluctantly obeys his orders. Oates, here sets up the framework of a religious symbol, the seduction of Eve and renders a modern existential commencement theme of a young person coming to grips with outwardly determined destiny. (Oates 200). The story ends up leaving the fate of Connie unclear and unknown.
The story of Joyce Carol Oates, “Where are you going, Where have you been?” appears to be a struggle over the nature of sexuality. The story dates back to 1960s, a time when people passionately discussed the sexual traditions in America, especially the adolescent sexuality. The story plays between the female, young character and her male hunter. In that way, the story explores the attitude towards sexuality in conventional society, especially the sexual violence towards women. The story also explores the inbuilt violence in the structure of the society of 1960s. Connie perceives the threat of death therefore she transcends her own individual self (Salvalaggio 2). The place of happening of the incident of Connie’s kidnaping in her own house, the doorway to the kitchen; that tells the amount of liberty people enjoyed in the times of 1960s. In her own house, Connie feels threatened by the Arnold’s friend and she submits to the threat to her family and leaves with them to fulfil their nefarious designs. Although Connie’s family seems to be a normal family of the society where mom stays home, dad works and family barbecues on Sundays. However, Joyce Carol Oates makes the treatment of family life disturbing as most of attention is drawn to the women of the family. The women are considered as domestic objects, marriageable and sexuality related thing, but not friends. The absence of the father figure also reduces the possibility of evolving an expressive association between father and a daughter. The story of Joyce Carol Oates takes the readers back to the age of 1960s, where after Second World War, American society was full of confidence and material prosperity (Mitchell and Urbanski 2). At that time, the popularity of the rock music and popular culture of movies flooded the Americans’ everyday life. At that time, the Civil Rights Movement, the more liberated attitude towards sexuality and hippie culture was prevailing in the American society. The story indicates the role of American society as wealthy and celebrity obsessed culture played a role in response to the violence and adolescent sexuality. Since most of the story is written in third person form from the perspective of Connie, other characters remain mysterious and unclear. Also, narration of the story in the third person allows the narrator to move away from the actual thing greatly and cover the incidents and happening in a more general and allegorical manner.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is considered as one of the most famous works of Joyce Carol Oates. The story was later adapted into a movie, for which she wrote a note with the name of “Smooth Talk: short story into the film.” The story is remembered as one of the best stories of its time and have been part of the syllabi of many courses run in various schools and colleges of the United States of America.
Works Cited
Joyce Carol Oates. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? 1966. Web. 4 July. 2014.
Karin Salvalaggio. Joyce Carol Oates: ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?. 2013. Web. 4 July. 2014.
Marie Mitchell and Olesen Urbanski. Joyce Carol Oates: ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? 1978. Web. 4 July. 2014.
