What’s Really There?:
The Underlying Themes of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
Joyce Carol Oates’ famous short story presents a compelling tale of a girl, Connie, and her certain decisions she chooses depending on her setting and the people around her. As the story progresses, one of these lifestyles becomes overwhelming, and she becomes unable to effectively control her situation. Even though the story appears to be a shallow tale of a girl making poor life decisions, many underlying themes provoke different interpretations and critical thinking towards understanding a deeper meaning to what is presented. (Schilb 1407) There are many problems created by Connie’s behavior, and to better understand her actions, it’s important to understand Connie’s different settings that cause different behaviors. The story mainly presents two different settings that affect Connie’s character. The first setting is created when Connie is around her family. Connie has a family of two parents and a sister. Connie’s mother often looks down on Connie for the artificial side of her appearance. Her mother more than likely does this due to that she didn’t have “much reason any longer to look at her own face”. (Schilb 1408) Whether her mother was jealous of Connie’s attractiveness or unhappy with the image that her daughter was presenting, she …show more content…
Oates could be using her sense of humor by using an abnormal book of the Bible to give testimony to her faith or just conveying a message to the dangers that the world can present. It becomes clear upon further investigation that Oates isn’t just telling a simple story of a young teenager making poor life decisions. She is telling a thought-provoking story that does many things including warning the reader of dangers in the world, encouraging the readers to explore her faith, and maybe many other reasons that have yet to be
The Underlying Themes of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
Joyce Carol Oates’ famous short story presents a compelling tale of a girl, Connie, and her certain decisions she chooses depending on her setting and the people around her. As the story progresses, one of these lifestyles becomes overwhelming, and she becomes unable to effectively control her situation. Even though the story appears to be a shallow tale of a girl making poor life decisions, many underlying themes provoke different interpretations and critical thinking towards understanding a deeper meaning to what is presented. (Schilb 1407) There are many problems created by Connie’s behavior, and to better understand her actions, it’s important to understand Connie’s different settings that cause different behaviors. The story mainly presents two different settings that affect Connie’s character. The first setting is created when Connie is around her family. Connie has a family of two parents and a sister. Connie’s mother often looks down on Connie for the artificial side of her appearance. Her mother more than likely does this due to that she didn’t have “much reason any longer to look at her own face”. (Schilb 1408) Whether her mother was jealous of Connie’s attractiveness or unhappy with the image that her daughter was presenting, she …show more content…
Oates could be using her sense of humor by using an abnormal book of the Bible to give testimony to her faith or just conveying a message to the dangers that the world can present. It becomes clear upon further investigation that Oates isn’t just telling a simple story of a young teenager making poor life decisions. She is telling a thought-provoking story that does many things including warning the reader of dangers in the world, encouraging the readers to explore her faith, and maybe many other reasons that have yet to be