Personality In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

As teens go through adolescence, their interest in sex awakens. Connie, a fifteen-year-old girl, is discovering her sexuality and tries to exude sex appeal whenever she gets the chance. Whenever she is away from her family she exposes another side of herself, her mature, sexy side. In Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the use of setting, characterization, and symbolism guide the reader to notice the theme of curiosity of sexuality in adolescents. “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been” takes place in the 1960s in the suburbs of The U.S. The 1960s were filed with sexual freedom, and the thought of sex being taboo shifted into feelings of acceptance. With this shift in thought, people began promoting themselves

Her beauty is what matters most to her. Connie’s mother dishes out frequent complaints about how conceited she is, but Connie brushes them off. As Oates says, “she knew she was pretty and that was everything.” While she is just a teenage girl at home, her duplicity would come out when she is with her friends. Connie shows another persona when in public. She likes to portray herself as mature and desirable through her clothing and her mannerisms, “She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home. Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head; her mouth, which was pale and smirking most of the time, but bright and pink on these evenings out”, as described by Oates. Perhaps her name, Connie, hints at her ability to con people into thinking she is someone she is not. Her “second life” that she leads displays her desire to discover her

Arnold Friend is considered the antagonist of this short story. He is a stranger who shows up at Connie’s house to kidnap her. When the reader looks closely at his name, he/she may realize that removing the “r” from Arnold leaves the words “an old friend.” Clearly, Arnold is not Connie’s friend. In Biblical references, The Devil is often referred to as an old friend. He can easily deceive people and appear to be a friend. Sex was considered immoral and sinful, which is what The Devil represents. Arnold disguises himself as a teenager, knows lots of information about her, and calls her pet names like honey and sweetheart to make himself more appealing to her and make himself seem more familiar. Oates shows Arnold’s sexual intentions when he says, “Yes, I'm your lover. You don't know what that is but you will," he said. "I know that too. I know all about you. But look: it's real nice and you couldn't ask for nobody better than me, or more polite. I always keep my word. I'll tell you how it is, I'm always nice at first, the first time. I'll hold you so tight you won't think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because you'll know you can't. And I'll come inside you where it's all secret and you'll give in to me and you'll love me." Arnold’s character symbolizes a very disturbing sense of