Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been - Essay Example

Connie has to deal with this conflict by spending too much time with her friends most of whom are boys. Connie is presented as a pretty girl aware of her prettiness, which her mother does not like and tells her to stop “gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (Oat, 25) This explains Connie’s relation with the boys and sets the conflict between Connie, her mother and her sister. This is portrayed as Connie “wished her mother was dead and she herself dead” to end the conflicts at home (Oats, 30).

The theme of conflict is evident in this story in that by the fact that Connie feels that her mother loves her sister more than her causes tantrums at home. Connie wishes the death of her mother and herself; Moreover, her father does nothing to solve the conflict at home; he “reads the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed” (Oats, 26). Her father does not give guidance to the family, which increases conflict within the teenagers as they struggle on who is better and conflict between the sisters and their mother.

The author presents an escapism theme in the narration; For instance, Connie loves to act like an adult though she is still young and choses to spend most of her time at the “drive-in restaurant where the older boys hung out” (oats, 27). Moreover, Connie walks confidently and behaves as an adult though she is just a teenager. The drive-in restaurant is also the best place for Connie to escape the conflict at home. Her father, on the other hand, escapes from being indulged in this conflict by watching news and reading newspapers and then sleeping.

The author uses symbolism in the narration regarding Connie’s over excitement with movie and music. In fact, through music, Connie feels alive and rejuvenated, “in the background, like music at church service” (Oats, 28). It is through music that Connie has fully contented with the world and is exposed to real beauty in creating a mental picture of what romance may offer people in her situation. It is through music that she is drawn into deep memories of lovely fantasies. To Connie, music symbolizes peace, love and an alternative life to the regular conflicts at home.

In fact, Dylan takes advantage of Connie’s love for music and uses the song “Baby Blue” to net Connie in his plans. The title is also symbolic, as the title directly asks whether Connie had the chance to win or give in to temptations. "Where are you going, where have you been?" is a call for the reader to weigh whether it was possible for Connie to avoid the temptations despite the life she lived before which was marked by conflict. There also cases of imagery in the narration; for instance, Connie though ready to escape from home to her friends whom she