The Plot

It’s time to describe the plot of the story and I want to highlight its main parts. So at the beginning (exposition) we get acquainted with a teenage girl Connie and members of her family – mother, elder sister June and father. 

Connie spends her time hanging out with her friend, meeting new guys.
One Sunday she has an unusual visitor. A man, named Arnold Friend, behaves strangely trying to persuade Connie to go for a ride with him.

The most intensive moment in the story which is also a climax is when the girl finally tries to get the phone in a panic attack and the feelings overwhelmed her, she finds herself “locked” inside of the house. This episode is so vividly described that you cannot stay indifferent. The anticlimax is right after these events, when Connie tries to make herself think and find the solution. Nothing has left to her except to go with Arnold. The conclusion of the story is so abrupt that you want to cry: “Please stop, please let somebody save her.” You resist believing it is an end and involuntarily start to write your own conclusion.

The setting of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” has been described rather vaguely. The time and place remain ambiguous.  According to some hints like places mentioned, dresses described and music people listened to we may assume that the events generally placed in the 1950-1960s (a shopping plaza and drive-in restaurant, XYZ Sunday Jamboree). The town hasn’t been mentioned as well and again only some small prompts lead us to the conclusion that the events take place somewhere in the suburb of America (The father of Connie's best girl friend drove the girls the three miles to town).

To be more specific the actions are mostly held in Connie’s house. It hasn’t been described either, as well as its surroundings.

This ambiguity gives the tale a universal relevance. To my mind, the author draws our attention mainly to the characters themselves and to their personalities. The setting remains mostly undescribed as it plays not a great role and it proves that this situation can happen anywhere. 

Joyce Carol Oates

As I have wrote before I have never came across this author and her literary works, so it was a good chance for me to get acquainted with a new wtiter. 

I have found out that Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than 70 books, including novels, short stories, poetry volumes, essays, and criticism. Among her bestsellers are "We Were the Mulvaneys" (1996) and "Blonde" (2000). 

Joyce Carol Oates has been honored seevral times. Among her many honors are the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the National Book Award. Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is considered one of Oates’s most famous works. First published in the literary journal Epoch in 1966, it was later included in the short-story collection The Wheel of Love (1970). 

Our group were suggested to read the story "Where are you going, Where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. It was for the first time I came across this author and her work and I actually couldn't even imagine in what style the author worked. 

The title of the story, I would say, is rather thought-provoking. You can't say for sure what the story would be about. As for me, I thought it might be one of the adventures stories, but expactations failed. 

While reading the story I have always cought myself on mind whether I interpreted the content in a right way. I can't even say whether I like the story or not, but it definitely impressed me greatly. The writing style of the author is really good, the atmosphere created captured you in a moment and didn't leave untill the end. At some point I realised myself being in the story too, near Connie, sympathizing her worring about her.