Introduction Characters in “Where are You Going …”
Characters in “Where are You Going …” are not only interesting and eccentric but also human-like. Foster claims that Characters have goals yet sometimes even living characters have no goals at all. They just carry on living their lives. However, they have personal wishes and desires on the basis of which they prefer their family members or loved ones and demonstrate their love or hate likewise. Connie is the central character of this story of Joyce Carol Oates. She is in her teens. The problem with Connie is she wants independence to enjoy her life for “her mind was filled with trashy daydreams” (Oates 589). However, her mother was an obstacle in way to fulfilling her dreams due to which she “wished that her moth was death and she herself was dead” (589). She satisfies her carnal desires by hook or by crook by going out with her sister to meet her boyfriends or with other friends that according to her was “not even a face but an idea” (592) in which she was fully engrossed. Therefore, these are not only the wishes Connie harbors, but also her nature coupled with the deceit of Arnold Friend whom Oates has created from her inspiration of living characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
Connie and Other Characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
Connie is a teenager who wishes like all other teenagers to enjoy life with her boyfriend and have a good time. However, her mother wants her to be responsible and often taunts her with sentences like “you think you’‘re so pretty?” (589). Despite this, she does not forget what she wants to have, as she has several types of daydreams. She considers her mother “so simple” because she does not understand her and always draws a line between other girls and her daughters. June is there for her as a model to follow. However, she always tries to deceive her mother because as stated in the lecturer, “A wish combined with deceit often leads to certain doom” (Lecturer 1). She was going to her doom, as she does not agree with her mother and always tries to deceive not only her mother but also herself. It is because even when the strange boy stares at her by showing his grin, she does not stop f looking back at her that she listens to him saying “Gonna get you, baby” to which she does not respond (592). She is often found “dreaming about the boys she met”, while her mother is always there to bring her back to the world of reality (592). However, as is the case that deceit meets with deceit, same happens with these characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”.
Deceiving Characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
The reason is that she is deceiving her mother whom she considers a simpleton. The sentence that “her mother was so simply” is actually very ironic having multiple meanings of utterances spoken by characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”. It is because she after takes after her mother and is absolutely simple like her – the reason that Arnold Friend knows all about her and comes to see her (592). He exactly echoes her words when talking to her mother about some other girls “Oh, her. That dope” (592). He talks about his friend in the same way, “You dope. You miserable creepy dope” (593). It means both are of the same type. And they are on the lookout to deceive somebody but come in front of each other. Here Arnold Friend proves more dexterous and tries to convey his message through different means such as his words “My sweet” then “honey” and then “blue-eyed” (596), demonstrates. It is something “that signifies a message” (Foster 147) but she does not give approval which means that the meanings “can be deflected from the expected meaning” (147). However, it is another point that she becomes a victim instead of making somebody a victim. And it is because when he comes at the end, she has become obedient and in a sense has accepted her role as Neslihan Guler Ugur states that “the characters Connie and Arnold symbolize the roles women and men have in patriarchy” (Ugur 35-39). He means that these are self-destructive forces in the women that force them to submit to men Patrick Paul Christle has also quoted the same words referring to Luce Irigaray that a woman is a character that acts on the fantasies of man, because she is ultimately to please him (Christle).
Adult Characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
It is also because it is the nature of Connie or at least she has become like that, who is among good adult characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”. Otherwise, her sister June is always with her. She is often quoted as an example that “Why don’‘t you keep your room clean like your sister?” and like that (589). However, her nature was similar to her mother’‘s. She was as pretty as her mother used to be in her teens. It is certain that “her mother had been pretty once too” (589). That is why she knows that her daughter is not sensible but is exactly like her as she was in her teens. It is also clear what she thinks about her mother but she at least acts in some instances sensibly even at the end when Arnold Friend coaxes her into his car for a ride, and she resists it fiercely. Interestingly, it is unclear what makes her accept his offer and move on though she first threatens him to call the police. In this connection, the character of Arnold is very important. He acts like a “Great Fiend” and succeeds, or at least seems to have succeeded. In fact, it is the creativity of Oates that after having been inspired, she creates a character like this one.
Critics about Characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
Talking about the story in the book, Women Writers: Texts and Contexts, Tom Quirk explores the inspiration. He is of the view that it is not difficult to trace the inspiration Oates has used to create the character of Arnold. At that time, Time, Life, and Newsweek used to publish several stories and reports of such characters during the decade of 70s. Such a story of the criminal from Tucson, Arizona, Charles Howard Schmid who used to tempt girls and killed them, also appeared in Newsweek. As he grew older, the disguised himself and became a serial killer who used to coax teenagers. Not only by his behavior but also by his appearance and audacity he seems similar to Arnold. He is of the view that perhaps Oates saw his photograph published in the newspapers and got a clue about him. Therefore, she has painted his character like Schmid (Schowalter 82-85) and made him merge with other characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”.
Conclusion
Briefly, Connie has desires and wishes like her mother but she disobeys and deceives her. That is why she is deceived in the end and becomes a victim of an archfiend in this skill in which she considers her mother a simple woman. She is led by Arnold Friend to where he wants to take as is clear from her walk and feelings. However, it happens to her because she has the thinking to go on that way and Arnold Friend instantly recognizes the prey who wants to have a good life. It shows how Oats has presented different characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”.
Works Cited
- Christle, Patrick Paul. “The Horror of Connie’‘s Story and Ours: A Feminist Analysis of Oates’‘s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” Freeshell. N. d. Web. 23 July 2015.
- Oates, Joyce Carol. “ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Charters, Anne. The Story and Its Writer. New York: Bedford /St. Martins, 2014. 575-591.
- Schowalter, Elaine. Women Writers: Texts and Contexts “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Rutgers. New York. 2002. Print.
- Ugur, Neslihan Guler. “Self-Destructive Forces in Oates’‘ Women.” Studies in Literature and Language 4.3 (2012): 35-39.
Relevant Questions about Characters in “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”
- How does the character of Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” evolve throughout the story, and what does her transformation of persona reveal about the themes of innocence and vulnerability?
- What motivates Arnold Friend’‘s character in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” and how does his presence challenge Connie’‘s understanding of the world and her own identity?
- In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” how do Connie’‘s family members, such as her mother and sister, contribute to the development of her character and the story’‘s exploration of adolescence and rebellion?
