Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

The short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is a unique one. In this story, Oates presents to us a teenage character named Connie who seems to represent the irony of a teenager’s innocence and their willingness to explore an unrealistic world, while another character, Arnold, seems to symbolize the experience and relentlessness of the real world. Evil seems to be lurking around every corner and even more so for teen Connie and as she grows up and enters into adulthood. One of the first things we learn about Connie is that she is a very arrogant person. She loves to look at herself and will find a way to no matter what she has to do. She even goes to the extent of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right (Oates 505). Although Connie loves looking at herself, she loves the attention she receives from others even more. But as the story goes on, looking seems to become a form of control being held. When Connie meets Arnold for the first time in the parking lot, she cannot seem to stop looking at him, and even looks back to him a second time. When Arnold shows up at Connie’s house, his eyes are covered, hiding himself from her gaze, while he is able to gaze at her all he wants. Although Connie seems to radiate from being looked at the entire story, …show more content…
The title of this story seems to be a question that one’s parents might ask as their teenage children are getting ready to go out for the night or coming home from being out all night – which makes sense for a story whose main character is a teenager. As we read, this question begins to make total sense to us as we realize that Connie’s arrogance seems to overpower any matureness or judgment she may have. We then get the feeling that if Connie’s parents were to ask her this question after arriving home from being out, we would not be