Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
The main theme conveyed in Joyce Carol OatesÆ short story ôWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?ö is that though adolescent development is difficult and often causes family conflict, adolescents eventually develop to an understanding of the dangers of the adult world that makes them gain a new sense of appreciation for their parentsÆ caring.
Connie exists as a double-consciousness entity in the story. The first part of ôWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Beenö establishes ConnieÆs, a fifteen-year-old who is bored with her small town existence and a regulated family environment she finds confining and oppressive. Typical of adolescents her age, she is beginning to gain an interest in sexuality and she rejects her parents caring as rigidity and control. Similar to the behavior of most fifteen-year-olds, Connie is one person at home and to her parents and another to peers and outside the home, ôEverything about her has two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home,ö (Oates 467).
When ConnieÆs boredom and longing for rebellion become stifling, she goes too far in making the acquaintance of a male stranger named Arnold Friendly. ArnoldÆs flashy old sports car and his psychological manipulation of Connie takes advantage of her naivety. He reinforces her feelings that her parents do not understand her, ôThey donÆt know one thing about you,ö (Oates 478).
When Arnold comes back with her parents gone, Connie discovers just how much she loves her family and that perhaps their rules and seemingly rigid boundaries stem from their mature awareness of the dangers lurking in the outside world. ArnoldÆs forced entry into ConnieÆs house and his coercion of her through threatening her parents and to burn the place down cause her to have an epiphany. Connie ultimately leaves with Arnold not because she wants to but in order to protect her fa
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