The Destruction of Innocence

In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the reader witnesses the effects of a determined man preying upon a vulnerable teenager. As he persists to play off her simple teenage mind, she slowly loses herself completely to the fear created by his ruthless persona and the melodic voice that hypnotizes her into a dangerous trance. Her naiveté and innocence, which Joyce Carol Oates directly symbolizes as the presence of music, are quickly removed through her rapist’s penetration of her mind.

At the beginning of the story, Connie is a stereotypical teenage girl: bad relationship with her parents, naïve and innocent, boy-obsessed, superficial in most senses, and possessing a strong passion for music, characteristic of the children of the 1960s. Her life for the most part is simple and carefree. Though she has problems with her parents, they are insignificant in the greater scheme of things. Her life is consumed with trivial activities, pride provided by her beauty and the constant parade of various boys through her life. Music , however, provides her with happiness like nothing else can and an escape from the petty troubles of her days to her “trashy daydreams”. Music is “always in the background” of her life, acting as “something to depend on” and something to free her from her superficial worries and make “everything so good” (6). While boys provide her with entertainment and a sense of self-worth, music gives her “the pure pleasure of being alive” (7). The lyrics and rhythm of the songs that surround her represent the lighthearted joy of the teenage experience. Joyce Carol Oates seamlessly blends musical imagery into the story as a means to portray Connie’s innocence and young desire for sensuality and movement. Connie’s teenage innocence and inexperience, however, leave her unaware of the danger a boy can present and vulnerable to Arnold Friend’s actions. Once her new fake “Friend” robs her of her innocence, the music stops as she witnesses the horrors the world presents and her mind is stolen forever.

Arnold Friend strategically exploits Connie’s gullibility and trust of all things musical to steal all traces of innocence through the rape of her mind. Upon his initial entrance into her life via her driveway, music still pervades her life and therefore her portrayal of him. All her descriptions of this predator deal with his relation to both the music he physically brings and the music he purposefully creates in his voice. His “simple lilting voice” which made it seem “as if he were reciting the words to a song” and his “singsong voice” make her helpless to the power of his personal music (77). He uses actual popular lyrics to relate to her uncultivated mind and trick into the dangerous feeling of momentary comfort. Because she cannot distinguish the beauty of his deliberately-created music from the danger he presents, she doesn’t immediately sense his intentions or his essence of pure evil and therefore seals her fate in the moments she loses to her misconception. Only when she realizes the obviously rehearsed nature of his speech as well as his age does she unveil his true intentions to her mind. By the time she determines his too-perfect representation of music is feigned and that the mixture of his “dreamy smile” and his “perpetual music” does not fit, it is too late (77). By then, he has already commenced his psychological rape and instilled fear too deep within her for her to make the necessary decisions to escape the grasp he has placed on her mind. His sing-song voice has transitioned to a “rapid meaningless voice” lacking its initial reassurance (133). The music has stopped and her innocence has been stolen.

Her uncertainty as to what anchors her to life and lack of a definite identity make it simple for him to pry her from her safe house and to lead her into the unknown, threatening world. At the end of the story, Connie is empty and without meaning in her life; she feels there is “nothing that [is] hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living thing inside [the] body that wasn’t really hers either” (154). Arnold Friend has taken everything of value from her mind leaving her with only her physical body, which soon will also be lost to his evil force. Connie loses control of herself due to her lack of a strongly developed mind which leads to her final demise. The fear he implants in her mind as well as his fatal words completely destroy her ability to make decisions and more importantly any remnants of innocence. Connie is introduced to the real horrors of the world represented by the vast stretches of land “she had never seen before and did not recognize” and is taken away never to return to the carefree days of her adolescence (161). (810)

Discussion questions:

http://video.tvguide.com/search/Laura+Dern

Compare the song to the story. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/itsallovernowbabyblue.html

At what exact moment does she finally realize her fate?

As soon as he arrives, is there a possible good outcome? Is there anything she could have done differently to change her fate?

How much of a role do you think the family plays? Does the absence of the dad in her life important to her demise?

What is the effect of Connie as the narrator instead of Arnold Friend?