Analysis Of Joyce Carol Oates 'Short Story Where Are You Going?'
It is almost disheartening to watch a child’s loss of innocence as it grows into adolescence. To know this is to observe as a child discovers that Santa Claus and the Easter bunny aren’t real, or for a parent to watch as their son or daughter make life changing decisions. Decisions like which colleges to go to, or to decide to marry their high school sweet heart. A teenager’s loss of innocence is the focal point of Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where are you going? Where have you been?” featuring the main protagonist, Connie. Connie is forced to face the ordeal of becoming an adult at the age of fifteen in a matter of minutes. She spurns her parents in an effort to be rebellious, she goes out at night with her friends in search of young
…show more content…
boys, and she is confronted with making a life altering decision by the end of the story. A clear example of the loss of innocence in Oates short story is Connie’s rebellious attitude toward her mother. Connie is constantly scolded for being unorganized and for not being more like her older sister. She is told to act more like a lady and to keep her room clean. But Connie chooses to be herself and to not follow the path her parent’s demand of her. When her family goes out to a barbeque, Connie refuses and chooses to stay home and sun bathe. As her parents pull out of their drive way, Connie can see the look of disappointment on her mothers face, but Connie goes right back to sunbathing and listening to the rebellious sounds of rock and roll music. Through Connie’s rebelliousness, Oates’ is trying to convey that adolescent anti-authority outbursts begin at home. Once a teenager reaches a certain age, they begin to think and have feelings of their own independence and ways to express that independence are through rebelling against their parents. Further exemplifying Oates observations on Connie’s loss of innocence, Connie goes out with her friends to the local shopping plaza to go shopping and see a movie, or so their parents think at least. Their true goal is to walk around in search of attractive young men to mingle with. At the local burger joint, Connie is approached by a teenage boy named Eddie. Eddie offers to buy her food in exchange for Connie’s company, and she of course obliges. They eat and talk for a couple of hours, and Connie truly takes a liking to him but her metaphorical carriage will soon turn into a pumpkin and she must meet with her friends so they can all go home. Oates’ views adolescent sexual urges as another form of a young person’s loss of innocence. Although Connie may not have participated in any sexual activities, be it intercourse or simply kissing, her main objective was to meet members of the opposite sex to possibly woo them into making them her boyfriend. Irrefutably proving Oates’ views on loss of innocence is the decision Connie must make when the stranger, Arnold Friend comes to her home.
He appears to be thirty years old or more, but he attempts to seduce Connie with his shiny car and his rugged appearance to go with him for a “ride”. She resists him but he refuses to take no for an answer. His persistence begins to frighten her and she retreats into the house. He gives her the option of going with him, or staying in the house and calling the police which if she did, then he would go in the house to get her. She becomes so terrified that she can’t even call for help. Once the wave of fear passes over her, she is left only as an empty emotionless shell. She walks to the door to see Arnold Friend’s arms outstretched, and she capitulates and goes to him. The situation Connie was in conveys Oates’ idea that adolescent loss of innocence can be displayed by making life changing decisions. Connie is confronted by what many would consider an evil force. She repels his advances, but she realizes that she isn’t strong enough to hold him off forever. So she gives in to evil’s temptations and her life will ultimately be changed forever, of which the result is something we’ll never
know. Throughout Oates’ story, she makes very poignant observations about a teenager’s loss of innocence and her first steps into womanhood. Through Connie’s rebelliousness, her sexual awareness, and her decision whether to go with Arnold or not, Oates portrays an accurate depiction of the entrance into adolescence.
boys, and she is confronted with making a life altering decision by the end of the story. A clear example of the loss of innocence in Oates short story is Connie’s rebellious attitude toward her mother. Connie is constantly scolded for being unorganized and for not being more like her older sister. She is told to act more like a lady and to keep her room clean. But Connie chooses to be herself and to not follow the path her parent’s demand of her. When her family goes out to a barbeque, Connie refuses and chooses to stay home and sun bathe. As her parents pull out of their drive way, Connie can see the look of disappointment on her mothers face, but Connie goes right back to sunbathing and listening to the rebellious sounds of rock and roll music. Through Connie’s rebelliousness, Oates’ is trying to convey that adolescent anti-authority outbursts begin at home. Once a teenager reaches a certain age, they begin to think and have feelings of their own independence and ways to express that independence are through rebelling against their parents. Further exemplifying Oates observations on Connie’s loss of innocence, Connie goes out with her friends to the local shopping plaza to go shopping and see a movie, or so their parents think at least. Their true goal is to walk around in search of attractive young men to mingle with. At the local burger joint, Connie is approached by a teenage boy named Eddie. Eddie offers to buy her food in exchange for Connie’s company, and she of course obliges. They eat and talk for a couple of hours, and Connie truly takes a liking to him but her metaphorical carriage will soon turn into a pumpkin and she must meet with her friends so they can all go home. Oates’ views adolescent sexual urges as another form of a young person’s loss of innocence. Although Connie may not have participated in any sexual activities, be it intercourse or simply kissing, her main objective was to meet members of the opposite sex to possibly woo them into making them her boyfriend. Irrefutably proving Oates’ views on loss of innocence is the decision Connie must make when the stranger, Arnold Friend comes to her home.
He appears to be thirty years old or more, but he attempts to seduce Connie with his shiny car and his rugged appearance to go with him for a “ride”. She resists him but he refuses to take no for an answer. His persistence begins to frighten her and she retreats into the house. He gives her the option of going with him, or staying in the house and calling the police which if she did, then he would go in the house to get her. She becomes so terrified that she can’t even call for help. Once the wave of fear passes over her, she is left only as an empty emotionless shell. She walks to the door to see Arnold Friend’s arms outstretched, and she capitulates and goes to him. The situation Connie was in conveys Oates’ idea that adolescent loss of innocence can be displayed by making life changing decisions. Connie is confronted by what many would consider an evil force. She repels his advances, but she realizes that she isn’t strong enough to hold him off forever. So she gives in to evil’s temptations and her life will ultimately be changed forever, of which the result is something we’ll never
know. Throughout Oates’ story, she makes very poignant observations about a teenager’s loss of innocence and her first steps into womanhood. Through Connie’s rebelliousness, her sexual awareness, and her decision whether to go with Arnold or not, Oates portrays an accurate depiction of the entrance into adolescence.