Symbolism In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates contains many symbols that reveal a hidden message. The car symbolizes freedom that mostly men got to enjoy as women sat in the passenger sit. The story does mention one driver who is a woman but she is noted as a “crazy woman driver” as she left a dent in Arnold Friend’s car. The man being the driver had the power which is what Arnold wants when he asks Connie to get in the car so that he can take her “for a ride.” The car and Arnold are both disguised and in some moments their disguise becomes apparent. Connie is uneasy when she notices “an expression that was familiar –MAN THE FLYING SAUCERS” which is an expression that no on had used in a while. She also notices