Empty Life and The Search for Salvation

“Where are you going, Where have you been?” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. Our protagonist is a fifteen years old girl named Connie. She is in an adolescent rebellion period like many other kids. Use music and fantasy to isolate herself from the world she hates. The only thing she cares about and the only purpose of her life is if there is such a boy who can take her away from the constraints of her family. This is what she calls 'love'. Connie's life is very empty. Not only does she not care about her family, but also to her behavior outside, what she pursues is an only momentary pleasure.

At one night, when Connie was hanging out in the mall with her friends, she met a boy who had “fluffy black hair and drove an old convertible car painted in gold” saying “I will get you”. One day soon, when Connie got left at home alone by her family. The boy Arnold friend and his friend Ellie showed up with a fantasy look that Connie wanted and started coaxing Connie to go out. But when Connie starts to doubt and panic. They are changing to threatening Connie out of the house by using lies and belittles. At the end of the story, Connie obeyed the boy's will after her inner struggle, and her tragedy also unfolded, she will face the possibility of being hurt by this demonic boy and his friends. Although her tragedy was directly caused by Arnold, it was also indirectly caused by her family and herself. The tragedy of Connie comes from two aspects: The suppression of male, and self-exclusion from females.

The male characters appearing in this novel include Connie’s father, boy Eddie, Arnold Flander and his friend Ellie Oscar. All of them have some connection to the heroine of this novel and its ultimate tragic fate. Among the three, the male characters most closely related to Connie ’s tragedy are Connie ’s father and boy Arnold.

Connie's father is a representative of the American patriarchal society. He is the head of the family and one of Connie ’s closest relatives, but he only cares about himself. The lack of communication between him and his daughter made it difficult for Connie to feel the warmth and care of the family, but felt deeply alone. In order to seek comfort which Connie could not have from home, Connie had to go out and hang out with her friend. This behavior is extremely dangerous for a beautiful young girl who doesn't have the basic idea of the society. Father's behavior is actually a kind of cold violence in the family. It was this cold domestic violence that forced Connie out of the house and faced unknown dangers. Father couldn't give Connie enough security, but only indifference. In the story, Connie ’s father does not have his own name, which makes his identity more universal. He can be the father of anyone. As a male group, they dominate this society full of indifference and violence against women.

Compared with Connie's father's cold violence against Connie, Arnold Friend directly insulted the girl with words, and it is likely that he would physically harm her. When he coaxed Connie out of the house, he kept swearing to destroy Connie's will. In addition, Arnold Friend threatened Connie with words, causing Connie 'to cry in a sad voice, she was trapped in this cry, just as she was trapped in this house.' This metaphor suggests that Connie was controlled by Arnold Friend, just as she was controlled by her family. Eventually, she walked out of the house under Arnold's threat and became the devil's prey. At that last moment, Connie could only 'see herself slowly pushing open the door, watching the body and head with long hair walk into the sunlight, while Arnold Friend was waiting ' These words show that Connie clearly knew what was waiting for her. But she did not have enough strength to protect herself from danger outside the door. The situation at this moment and Bob Dylan ’s song “It ’s all over now, melancholy baby” are cleverly integrated: Connie ’s innocence and even life are about to be destroyed, and Connie will change Into a poor sad baby.

From Arnold Friend, we can find not only the dominance of men over women, but also the aesthetic standards that men set for women. The reason that Arnold Friend tempted Connie is according to the aesthetic standards of the male world, Connie is a beautiful girl. In the conversation between Connie and Arnold Friend when referring to Connie's sister June, Arnold said: 'And your sister, wearing a blue skirt, huh? Still walking on high heels, that sad pitiful worm-not like you at all , Dear!' June was just verbally insulted by a man like Arnold just because he was' normal, short and fat '. When referring to another woman, Mrs. Hornsby, Arnold said: 'She is too fat, I don't like them as fat, I like you, my dear.' Those unfair standards to women caused this dangerous thing to happen.

Three female characters related to Connie appear in this short story: Connie's mother, Connie's sister June and Connie herself. They have very different personalities in the story. The difference in personality creates different experiences in their lives.

Connie's mother is a typical American housewife. She does not have any personality traits, but only appears as the mother of Connie. She does not have any strengths to make herself unique in society. She has to stay at home and become a housewife, but she cannot get any help from her husband. Connie's father went out to work, and when he returned home, he would only wait to receive the services of Connie's mother. Obeying the standards set by men for women. The role of women is to stay at home like Connie ’s mother and her sister June. 

Connie's mother kept blaming Connie's rebellious behavior by using the male’s standards of women. Connie ’s mother also appeared as Connie ’s suppressor on the road to freedom and joy. She was once young and beautiful, but now she is old and declining, and her daughter Connie is young and beautiful. Connie's youthful beauty is in sharp contrast with her own decline in appearance, so she always belittles Connie's slim daughter. What she devalued was not only her daughter, but also her own friends. 'Her mother, calling her sisters, complained to this one, and complained to this one again.' Connie's mother never realized her submissive personality and passive situation. Not only was she satisfied with her situation, she also set standards for Connie so that Connie was in the same position. When Connie could not reach this standard, she used her mother's identity to insult Connie indiscriminately. She did not try to understand her daughter, but devalued them to highlight herself. As the mother's preferred daughter, sister June is a 'formed' 'angel' . She has her own job as a secretary in Connie ’s school. Her work has been recognized by the society as conforming to the role and identity of women. She is also an exemplary model of being a woman and good kid. She was praised and favored by her mother only because she helped with housework, and she was 'average, short and fat but acting steadily.' These characteristics allowed her to become a housewife like her mother. 

In addition to these, she is like her mother and has no personality. Because she has a lot in common with her mother, she is regarded by her mother as a superior to Connie. However, she did not care about the unfortunate situation of her sister Connie. What she did was not to protect Connie and help Connie out of the predicament, but to pay little attention to Connie's affairs and lack communication with her. Those reasons made Connie more rebellious and self isolated. Connie is a girl with two sides. 'Everything she has has two sides, one is for family members, and the other is for anyone else who doesn't belong to the family.' At home, she is a rebel in a traditional female role. She has a strong contrast with her sister June. She is cute, charming, and understands the charm that she has in herself that her mother and sister does not. She blamed her mother and her sister's indifference showed rebellious behavior. Her sister helps with the housework, and she goes out with other boys and girls. However, when she is out of the house, she will cater to the male aesthetic standards. Because she is deeply influenced by the social values, she already knows how to attract men, and her actions ultimately lead to her own tragedy. 

When she was tempted and threatened by Arnold, she was extremely frightened and dared not make any resistance. It was too late for her to seek help from her mother at this time. Her weakness and passiveness transformed herself into a victim of male desire and violence. 'When Connie, an innocent woman, walked out of the house to face her possible death, she also represented the death of the woman at the moment when she gave up her independence and obeyed the threat of the desire.' 

To summarize, the main character Connie dreams of escaping from her family, that someone, some young man, will be able to save her. The novel “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is filled with realistic images of male and female heroes, not idealized, but as close as possible to reality, which often resonates in the hearts of readers.