Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a frequently anthologized short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was inspired by three Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine in an article written by Don Moser on March 4, 1966; the story was published a few months later. Oates said that she dedicated the story to Bob Dylan because she had been inspired to write it after listening to his song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."
The story was loosely adapted into the 1985 film Smooth Talk, starring Laura Dern and Treat Williams.
Plot
The main character of Oates's story is Connie, a beautiful but somewhat irresponsible fifteen-year-old girl who chafes with her mother, herself once a beauty, and with her dutiful, "steady", and homely older sister. She spends most of her evenings picking up boys at a drive-in restaurant, and one evening captures the attention of a menacing stranger in a gold jalopy. While her parents are away at her aunt's barbecue, two men pull up in front of her house and call Connie out. She recognizes the driver, Arnold Friend, as the man from the drive-in restaurant, but is initially not particularly frightened of him. He tells Connie he is eighteen years old and has come to take her away. Connie slowly realizes that he is actually much older. As Connie refuses to go with him, he becomes more forceful and threatening until Connie is compelled to leave with him and do what he demands of her. The story ends as Connie leaves her front porch; her eventual fate is left ambiguous.
Themes
Arnold Friend is often read to represent the devil. His face is described as stretched and mask-like, and his boots stand at unnatural angles. One boot is actually bent at a right angle at the ankle, suggesting a false leg or possibly a cloven hoof.[1] (Charles Schmid wore unique boots that he elevated with materials he had stuffed into them.)[2]
References
External links
- Complete text on Celestial Timepiece, an authorized Joyce Carol Oates Home Page