Two Masks In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

In this world, an individual has two masks: the mask is the way the individual chooses to express and appear to family and close friends and the second mask is the way the individual expresses his or her self to the outside world. In some cases, people have many different masks for the different groups of people he or she interacts with. The masks people wear can hide and reveal aspects of them, in other words, one-mask reveals who the individual truly is and the other is who the individual wishes they were. In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie, the main character, wears two masks, which coincides with the contradictory themes of the story, fantasy versus reality. The beginning of the story, as indicated by Oates, the reader is not only introduced to Connie, but her disingenuous ways as well. Connie, like many typical teenage girls works hard to portray herself as an experienced knowledgeable woman. Consequently, she takes pride in her looks in which she had a, “…habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” (p. 452) Despite Connie having had invented an attractive mature persona by the way she dressed, styled her hair and mannerisms, she still referenced music as

After Connie’s encounters “another wave of dizziness,” (p.459), she sees, “a blur standing there against [Arnold’s] gold car (p.459). In reality, Arnold’s gold car is a bit flashy for an individual who claims to be the same age as Connie, meaning something about Arnold isn’t quite right. In today’s age, cars tend to be an extension and representation of the car’s owner. Therefore, Arnold’s flashy car is trying to cover something up since individuals who own flashy items tend to have secrets. In this case, it is the fact Arnold is not the same age as Connie and is a