Stylistic Analysis of "Where Are You Going, Where
Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
Every literary work is a personal impact of author
which is rather subjective and is written to reveal the special idea that
concerns the specific subject matter. So it’s very important to have a look at
the author’s personality before analyzing any literary work.
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. She 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 several 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).
It was inspired by series of murders committed by
Charles Schmid and dedicated to Bob Dylan because Joyce Oates was inspired to
write the story while listening to his song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”.
The title of the story “Where Are You Going, Where
Have You Been?” is intriguing and thought provoking. At first glance we can’t
predict what the story will be about. While reading we try to analyze and draw
the parallel between title and plot. We become more and more involved into the
events describing and become a main part of them. Only after reading the story
we can say that the title has some ironical shadow hidden in it. “Where Are You
Going?” “Where Have You Been?” are usual questions mothers use to ask their
children. As we see Connie’s mother has never asked her such questions. She
used to criticize her and compare with an elder sister. So the behaviour of the
girl is typical teenage reaction to protest which unfortunately leads to bad
events.
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You
Been?" describes a life of a teenage girl Connie revealing her
complicated relations within her family. The story presents her everyday life,
the way she spends her free time with friends and her main concerns about her
beauty and boys. Once Connie has been noticed by a stranger, Arnold Friend,
whose personality is a big mystery. The main part of the story is dedicated to
the conversation between Arnold and Connie, during which the stranger has been
trying to lure Connie out of her house without applying any physical force.
Arnold has had emotional and psychological influence on the girl which has
caused a nervous breakdown and Connie has left her house never to come back
again.
The main idea of the story is complex relationships
between people, the unstable state which can be greatly influenced by emotional
and psychological methods. The story shows the complicated relationships in the
family and their influence on forming a personality of a teenager. Connie and
Arnold are main characters which may be symbolic. Arnold Friend is an allusion
to evil and death, while Connie’s personage symbolizes innocence that due to
sequence of events gets into trap.
The story is told by a third-person narrator who is
closely associated with Connie's viewpoint. The reader follows her joys, fears,
thoughts, and suspicions that grasp at once and make a main beholder of the
event described. Yet the narrator departs from Connie's limited teenage
perspective to better analyze her world and situation. The narrator is not,
however, omniscient. Arnold Friend's thoughts and identity aren’t revealed and
described. We may only guess his intentions by his look, behaviour and words,
which make his character more mysterious.
The setting of the story 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.
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.
Talking about the plot of the story one should mention
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 one 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 one wants to cry. You resist
believing it is an end and involuntarily start to write your own conclusion.
The story is built in a peculiar way. The most part of it is presented
through the dialogues between Connie and Arnold. The dialogues help the author
to express emotional tense, characters’ personalities. The dialogues also
involve the reader into the developing of events, make him a main beholder.
The beginning of the story leaves no hope for happy
ending as it starts with the description of main heroine in past tense: “Her name was Connie. She was fifteen and
she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into
mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right”.
Connie is a typical teenager with her problems and
interests. Throughout the story Connie’s personage seems to be twofolded: one
for her home life and another, more sexualized and polished, for her public
life. As any teenager Connie has
problems in her family (misunderstanding with her mother, who she thinks old
fashioned, she is a rival with her older sister, who is loved and admired by
both mother and aunt) that are reflected in her behaviour. “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old complaints and
look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was
right at that moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything. Her
mother had been pretty once too, if you could believe those old snapshots in
the album, but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after
Connie.”
Connie is described as a pretty and rather fashionable
girl of that time: she has “long flowing
hair” and dresses “in their shorts
and flat ballerina slippers that always scuffed the sidewalk, with charm
bracelets jingling on their thin wrists”. Connie likes to spend time with
her friends, flirt with boys and dream all the time. The writer also mentions
her emotional unstability, which can also be prescribed to the peculiarities of
her age: “Everything about her had two
sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk,
which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think
she was hearing music in her head; her mouth, which was pale and smirking most of
the time, but bright and pink on these evenings out; her laugh, which was
cynical and drawling at home—"Ha, ha, very funny,"—but highpitched
and nervous anywhere else, like the jingling of the charms on her bracelet”.
She wasn’t really honest with her mother and didn’t have any respect for her,
she distinguished herself out of her family thinking herself much better than
they.”
So, Connie is a typical teenager. Her concerns are
typically adolescent: she obsesses about her looks, listens to music, hangs out
with her friends, flirts with boys, and explores her sexuality. Though we may
say Connie is arrogant, she thinks herself much better than others, she is
capable to lie, she has no respect for her mother, and she has double nature.
Connie is a
dynamic character and develops throughout the story. Her daydreamness and
arrogance are changed with threat and care for her family. The girl agreed to
go with Arnold in order to protect her family as the man threatens her
relatives.
Arnold Friend, the story’s primary antagonist, is a
strange and ambiguous character. Arnold Friend’s identity is unclear. He simply
appears, without a background. Throughout the story it becomes clear he is not
who he pretends to be: he sports a wig, stuffs his boots, and paints his face.
More disturbingly, he is a couple decades older than what he claims to be.
Arnold Friend is skilled in manipulation, using Connie’s vanity and curiosity
to lure her into a conversation where he can assert control over her.
Though the
writer doesn’t give any clue according to Arnold’s personality she gives a very
detailed description of his appearance: “He
laughed as if she had said something funny. He slapped his thighs. He was
standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing
himself. He wasn't tall, only an inch or so taller than she would be if she
came down to him. Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of
them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that
pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt
that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and
shoulders. He looked as if he probably did hard work, lifting and carrying
things. Even his neck looked muscular. And his face was a familiar face,
somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened because he hadn't shaved
for a day or two, and the nose long and hawklike, sniffing as if she were a
treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke.”
Arnold
Friend is mysterious character. At first we meet him at night when he smiles to
Connie and says jokingly that he’ll get her. After that he appears at her
house, and presents himself as a peer to Connie. Arnold lies a lot as about his
age but he also tells truth as about Connie’s relatives. Arnold speech is
rather calm and persuading, he is a real master of manipulation. And though he
doesn’t enter the house at some point Connie feels he has been stabbing her. Arnold
Friend wants to create an impression of being a friend of Connie though his
intentions are quite opposite.
The contextual type of the story is narration,
which is used to represent the development of the plot. The author also uses
the cases of description while describing appearances of main characters. The
main attention in this story is paid to the dialogue. It is not just a means of
communication; it reveals characters’ personalities and presents the main
development of the events.
The third person narration is used to give
opinion and describe the objective reality. Also some cases of foreshadowing
are involved: when Arnold sees Connie in town and says to her: "Gonna get
you, baby”; when Connie is drawn out of her daydreaming and she cannot
recognize her backyard; when Connie
leaves her house, obeying the will of Arnold Friend “My sweet little blue-eyed girl," he said in a half-sung sigh that
had nothing to do with her brown eyes but was taken up just the same by the
vast sunlit reaches of the land behind him and on all sides of him—so much land
that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she
was going to it.”
In
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Joyce Carol Oates manages
to create a special atmosphere and describe striking images of Connie and
Arnold Friend. All this is possible due to the usage of stylistic devices which
we can find in the story.
Analyzing
the linguistic peculiarities we may start with the speech of the characters.
Their speech is full of dialectical words (toldja,
wanta, don'tcha, can'tcha), colloquial (a
dope) and low-flown ("Like hell
you are." "Like hell I am", “Get the hell out of here!")
vocabulary. Such word-stock emphasizes the informality and teenage-like
reality.
Both Connie
and Arnold use low-flown words during their conversation, such as: "Like hell you are." "Like
hell I am—", “Get the hell out of here!", “Shut your mouth and keep
it shut”, "The hell with this house”. Those phrases make the
conversation not only informal but rise the tension as well.
The usage
of colloquial words in Connie’s speech is typical due to her age; in some cases
it shows Connie’s irritation and growing anxiety.
Arnold’s
speech is rather peculiar. His speech is calm and reserved. He tries to be
polite and control himself to lure Connie out and make an impression of her
friend. On the other hand the usage of dialects, some low-flown words represents
him as uneducated simple person.
Arnold
often talks to his friend Ellie using childish speech, as if persuade Connie
she has nothing to be afraid of. "I toldja shut up, Ellie," Arnold
Friend said, "you're deaf, get a hearing aid, right? Fix yourself up. This
little girl's no trouble and's gonna be nice to me, so Ellie keep to yourself,
this ain't your date right? Don't hem in on me, don't hog, don't crush, don't
bird dog, don't trail me," he said in a rapid, meaningless voice, as if he
were running through all the expressions he'd learned but was no longer sure
which of them was in style, then rushing on to new ones, making them up with
his eyes closed. "Don't crawl under my fence, don't squeeze in my chipmonk
hole, don't sniff my glue, suck my popsicle, keep your own greasy fingers on
yourself!"
The dialectics
in Arnold Friend’s speech present him as uncultivated person. He tries to be
persuading and create an image intelligent man, who can be trusted but his
speech gives him up, showing that he is a liar. “Gonna get you, baby”, “Toldja I'd be out, didn't I?” “You wanta come
for a ride?” he said. “Don'tcha like my car? New paint job,” “Don'tcha believe
me, or what?” he said. “Can'tcha read it?” “I wanta introduce myself, I'm
Arnold Friend and that's my real name and I'm gonna be your friend, honey, and
inside the car's Ellie Oscar, he's kinda shy.” “Don'tcha wanta see what's on
the car? Don'tcha wanta go for a ride?” “That's a crazy thing to ask. Can'tcha
see I'm your own age?"
The cases of similes in the story are used to describe
Arnold Friend’s appearance. The writer uses simile “And his face was a familiar face, somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks
slightly darkened because he hadn’t shaved for a day or two, and the nose long
and hawklike, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it
was all a joke.” to compare Arnold to a hawk who would like to eat Connie.
Arnold friend is like a beast that is on hunting.
The simile “One of his boots was at a strange angle, as
if his foot wasn’t in it.» is used to create an image of mystery, of
something unusual in Arnold Friend’s character.
The similes “his
eyes was, like holes that were not in shadow but instead in light”, “His eyes
were like chips of broken glass that catch the light in an amiable way” suggest
Arnold Friend’s appearance description, particularly his eyes and lashes “the lashes were, thick and black as if
painted with a black tarlike material”. The author describes Arnold’s eyes
as mirroring his soul in them, dangerous and unusual. The simile of his hair “shabby black hair that looked crazy as a
wig” is also used to highlight the mysterious image of this dangerous man.
Revealing
Connie’s image the author uses cases of simile as well as metaphor.
In the
simile “but something would come up – some vexation that was like a fly buzzing
suddenly around their heads” the author describes problematic relations
between Connie and her mother to make the idea of such relations clearer.
The daydreaming
of Connie’s experience is revealed through the metaphors: “to a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling”,
“was, the back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and
behind it the sky was perfectly blue and still”, which are used to describe
Connie’s character in a striking way.
The simile “…her laugh, which was cynical and drawling
at home—“Ha, ha, very funny,”—but highpitched and nervous anywhere else, like
the ringing of the charms on her bracelet.” is used to reveal twofolded
nature of Connie. She wants to seem more feminine and youthful outside while at
home she is ruder.
The
metaphor “bathed in a glow of slow-pulsed
joy that seemed to rise mysteriously out of the music itself and lay languidly
about the airless little room, breathed in and breathed out with each gentle
rise and fall of her chestis” is used to emphasize the feeling of safety at home where Connie is
safe and sound, which creates a positive feeling of home protection which will
be ruined just in an hour by Arnold Friend. This is proved by a simile “‘This place you are now—inside your daddy’s
house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time.’” Arnold Friend compares Connie’s house to a cardboard box as if implying
she isn’t in safe in her house and even her father can’t help her. Connie is in
real danger as the psychopaths who attack at house are the most dangerous and
fearless.
A metaphor “Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise” is
used to express Connie’s feelings, when the idea of real danger comes to her
mind and she becomes really scared.
The metaphor: “Her eyes darted everywhere in the kitchen”
is used to intensify the impression of growing fear and to make clearer the
behavior of a person in panic the author describes.
To show
Connie’s physical and emotional exhaustion the author uses the metaphor: “She was hollow with what had been fear but
what was now just an emptiness” and intensifies with the simile: “She sat, one leg cramped under her, and
deep inside her brain was something like a pinpoint of light…” This
metaphor and simile are used to highlight Connie’s desperate state.
The metaphors
are used to describe Arnold’s emotional state as well. The metaphor: “He looked up at this, beaming.” is used to show that he is pleased with the
situation and the metaphor “His smiled
faded.” is used to underline his disappointment.
Arnold Friend’s
friend Ellie keeps almost silent, and when he manages to produce some words,
the author uses metaphors to underline the awkwardness of this event: “Ellie's lips kept shaping words, mumbling
along with the words blasting in his ear”, “This Ellie said, pulling the words
out of the air one after another as if he were just discovering them…”
Summing up the story described is terrifying and
grasping at the same time. The world of reality and symbolism is mixed to
reveal the general impact of the story.
The story is based on real events, with a real man who
committed crimes, though Arnold Friend is a symbol of evil rather than of man
that can hunt you everywhere. Connie is a daydreamer who lives in her own world
and concerns only about her stuff. The girl is lack of parents’ attention and
her protest she reveals through her behaviour that ends badly to her. Her own
curiosity plays a bad joke with her.
The worlds of symbols, dreams and reality are
interrelated that allow us to speak about general concept of the story, applicable
to a broader sphere of understanding.
Talking
about individual author style one can mention her brilliant use of stylistic devices
as metaphor and simile in portraying characters’ peculiarities. It is necessary
to underline vast usage of simile in revealing Arnold’s appearance and
emotional state and the preferable usage of metaphors while portraying Connie,
and simile for underlying some specific features.
One more
thing to mention is a usage dialogue. It serves as the means of communication
between two characters to show the developing of events, the gradual arise of
tension between Connie and Arnold. Dialogue is also the means for portraying
characters’ personalities, their emotional state.
Though the
story is written in simple language which is easy to read and comprehend, the
striking images of characters described and tension revealed grasp the reader
from the first paragraph making him an obvious beholder of the events.
