Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

"They sat at the counter and crossed there legs at the ankles, their thin shoulders rigid with excitement and listened to the music that made everything feel so good: the music was always in the background like music at a church service, it was something to depend on" (Oates, 656). "Honey--listen, here's how it is. I always tell the truth and I promise you this: I ain't coming in that house after you" (Oates, 663).

This story presents a confusing storyline to the reader who is not looking for the subtle signs presented by the author, Joyce Carol Oates. After reading the story I felt as though I ate something sour. I felt as though I had eaten a large meal without satisfaction. We are led to believe that the young girl, Connie, was away and forced to be the lover of a man named Arnold Friend. After the in class discussion I had a new appreciation for the story. I understood the reason why the story was unsatisfying was because I missed what the author was doing.

Short stories are the best undiscovered pieces of literature. People often pass them by because they do not seek the deeper meaning. More often than not, the author of a short story will write one story, but being telling another. In the case of Where are you going? Where have you been?, Oates makes the reader initially feel that a young girl is being raped by an older more clever man. She is the victim. In the beginning of the story the girl is offered to the reader as the main character. However, Oates also tells us that she is not a hero. She is rude, dishonest, 15 year old girl trying to escape the bonds of childhood. That tells the reader that this is no uncommon short story. Like so many others, the author is saying more than she leads on. But what is it?

Oates, a Catholic since birth, was actually writing a story about the eternal struggle that humanity has faced with sin. She presents a typical 15 year old girl. Although, she makes observations that society refuses to make. The story is about the girls' soul. The story takes place in her soul. Oates makes a mention on page 656 about the how the girl and her friends would sit at a local eatery and bask in the sensation of sound. They would literally lose themselves in music. When one does this, the music is no longer effecting the external sensations. The music has approached the entrance to the soul and when we are lost in the music, our souls are existing in the lyrics of that music. If the music was dedicated to Jesus, our souls are found in music that