Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been was written by American author Joyce Oates who refers to real serial murders. This story that belongs to the coming-of-age genre was published in 1966 and talked about a fifteen-year-old girl named Connie, who lived with her parents and older sister during the peak of rock-n-roll (Oates, 1994). The protagonist is a beautiful teenager whose mother constantly criticizes her. Still, Connie finds her refuge in shopping and going to the cinema with her friends. However, everything changes when the family goes for a barbecue, leaving the younger daughter at home, where an antagonist, Arnold Friend, supposedly a rapist and murderer, comes to sexually assault Connie. The central conflict of this short story is that the protagonist has no chance to escape this situation. Although the ending does not explicitly mention the main character being killed, the girl realizes that she will never return home. Connie had three critical moments to escape the unfavorable outcome when she refused to start the conversation, asked Arnold to leave, and threatened to call the police, but the man took away her choices.
At the end of the story, Connie, scared for her family, agrees to go with Arnold even though she understands that rape and possibly death are inevitable. Indeed, the antagonist pressurizes the girl claiming that he would hurt her parents and sister if she refused to go for a ride. Although Connie thought she could terminate this unpleasant conversation, this man, who learned everything about his victim by talking to her friends and possibly stalking her, was prepared to do anything to reach his goal.
The first instant of this conflict predetermined the unfavorable resolution for the girl. In fact, Arnold ignored the protagonist’s refusal to talk to him and continued to insist on his request. Precisely, in the beginning, Connie replied with disgust: “Look, I don’t even know who you are” (Oates, 1994, p. 3). It appears that she hoped to get away from this situation by pushing the man out by demonstrating her aversion to him.
The second instant the girl could get out of this situation was when Connie asked them to leave several times, but they neglected it. Arnold claimed he would not go without Connie having sexual intercourse with him: “I’ll come inside you … and you’ll give in to me and you’ll love me” (Oates, 1994, p. 9). These words frightened the protagonist, and the girl started to realize that this person might be a maniac, so she would need to call for help.
The last moment when Connie thought she had a chance was when the main character promised to call the police if he did not leave. This attempt also failed because Arnold started to express aggression: “If you don’t come out, we’re gonna wait till your people come home and then they’re all going to get it” (Oates, 1994, p. 10). In fact, his hostility was poorly hidden by politeness, demonstrating to the girl that she no longer had the possibility of an optimistic scenario.
In conclusion, Oates’s short story raises the issue of sexual harassment of adolescent girls by older men. The author highlights the artificial politeness of Arnold Friend, who is determined to rape the main character. However, she also shows that this man was physically more robust than her; thus, Connie did not have the chance to escape this situation safely. Although the girl tried to demonstrate her unwillingness to go for a ride or even talk to the antagonist, he ignored her resistance. Furthermore, Arnold said openly about his plans for sexual intercourse with Connie in a secondary place. Finally, the protagonist, fully aware of the unpleasant consequence of her decision, silently agrees to go with Arnold because she is terrified of what he could do to her family. Sadly, similar situations still can happen in modern times, when teenagers are powerless to resist aggressors.
Reference
Oates, J. C. (1994). Where are you going, where have you been? Rutgers University Press.