The Choice Between Good & Evil In The Short Story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” By Joyce Carol Oates
In “Where are you going, where have you been” by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966, the short story is about a 15 year old girl named Connie, who seems very occupied to her appearance. Mentioned in the story is that she is often looking at her own reflection in the mirror. She has an older sister named June, who is 9 years older than her and has a steady job, lives at home and lives a very plain life. The father works a lot and has little interest in Connie’s life, while the Mother wishes that Connie would not be so interested in her own appearance. The parents allow June to go out with her friends, because she does not get into trouble, so the parents allow Connie to go out as well. Connie often goes out into town with her best friend, and they go into a shopping plaza. The sometimes shop or see a movie, but a few times they go across to a drive-in restaurant with the intention to meet and talk to boys.
On a particular night out, Connie meets a boy named Eddie at this drive in restaurant, after her friend’s father dropping them off. Eddie offers to buy her food and they talk at the restaurant. They later go to his car and on her way out a man in a gold convertible sees her and wags his finger to her saying “Gonna get you, baby”. They go to his car in a dark alley and at 11 she gets picked up by her friend’s father. It is unknown what happened in the car with Eddie. On a Sunday morning, her parents leave for a barbeque and leave Connie behind. She washes her hair and spends the morning daydreaming and listening to music on the radio.
While inside her house she hears a car come up the driveway. She sees the same gold convertible with the same guy in it, she walks outside and he speaks to her. She is unaware of who is he is but he has his name inscribed on the car, “Arnold Friend” with a picture of a smiling face wearing sunglasses. The numbers 33, 19, and 17 are also written on his car. Arnold has a friend named Elliot who is sitting in the car in the passenger seat with him.
Arnold asks her to go for a ride with her but she says no. He then becomes persistent with asking her to go with him. Connie asks him how old he is and he becomes hesitant and obviously lies about the fact that he is 18. Connie feels disorientated by Arnold and steps inside her house where she threatens to call the police on him, while he threatens to take her if she does. He does not step inside. He then asks Connie to go with him and she finally lets herself go with him and goes towards his car.
With a greater look at this story, it can be seen that Arnold Friend portrays Satan. With biblical references throughout the story. Connie, being the age that she is, views her sister as a lifestyle that her sister had followed. June follows a plain, yet righteous lifestyle as the bible would describe. Not worried with how she looks, or any material goods, and who believes that hard work pays off. She also worships her parents in a sense by helping them financially. Connie understands this and does not want to follow this path. She is interested in rock and roll music, how she looks and material clothes which the bible is against. She follows this path away from her sister, away from what the bible teaches.
Arnold Friend also has a lot of satanic metaphors within himself as well, who is leading Connie away from a righteous path. First his name, if the letter R is removed his name becomes “An old Fiend”. A fiend is described as an evil spirit or demon, while the rest of his name also brings back the question on how old Arnold actually is, which is still unclear even when Connie asks. He is also occupied with his looks, wearing what seems to Connie as wig, he is also wearing sunglasses and is dressed nicely according to Connie. His car is painted gold, which represents money, which goes against the commandants, greed. He is listening to rock and roll music which was highly controversial back when this was written. He would also not go into the house, where Satan is known to not go into a house unless allowed to.
The numbers written on his car can show either two meanings. One in which where you add the numbers, 33, 19, and 17 together and get 69 which could represent his intentions with Connie, which would go against the bible. Or the numbers show a biblical verse, in the book of Judges, 19:17, if you go backwards in the bible, the 33rd book reads this passage, “And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, where have been? Where are you going?” Arnold Friend shows a clear representation of Satan when looked at with this. Furthermore, the bible is clear in the 10 commandments to keep Sunday holy, an on that day is when Arnold went out to find Connie.
His friend Elliot Oscar has no clear meaning. He is said to be wearing sunglasses and Connie feels uncertain of where he is looking or what he could be looking at. He offers to cut the phone wires when Connie threatens to call the police, but his idea gets shot down by Arnold. He sits in the car and does not question what Arnold is doing. He is occupied with the radio that he brought along with him because Arnold’s broke. Elliot seems to not care what is going on. Her sister June, as similar characteristics to a symbolic person in the bible, her name being closely similar to Junio.
Junio in the bible who is the roman goddess of protection, strength and marriage. Connie, goes away from what June represents and goes away from her protection. In the ending of the story, it shows the Connie feels weakness, again the opposite of Junio’s strength. And lastly, marriage, which is unclear whether Connie goes against adultery, but the context in the story shows that she may. June living a simple life, has marriage to look forward to, while Connie goes to the drive in restaurant and waits around looking for boys. In the ending of this story Connie goes with Arnold to a location unknown. The ending shows a rather interesting significance.
The ending line is as follows, “"My sweet little blue-eyed girl," (Arnold) 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.” Arnold commenting on her eye color shows many things about him; a lack of care he has for her, and a lack of care of the situation that he began. The “sunlit reaches of land” could represent again how Arnold represents Satan, as the Satan is said to be the angel of light. With Arnold fighting for power over Connie as Satan fought for power over the world with God.
Regardless, Connie goes with Arnold into the world of light. She claims she does not feel herself leave, but instead she watches and sees herself leave with him. She feels no control as if she has lost it while agreeing to leave with him. What happens to Connie is unknown after following him, if she died, raped or lived through his fantasy and became happy together, but what is clear is that she did follow him. With Connie’s own free will she had the choices in life to get where she was in the ending. Her decisions throughout the story had all lead her to where she was going. Where she has been, was not following in her sister’s footsteps, living a righteous life.
June follows the Bible’s ten commandments, she is not greedy, not occupied with her looks and worships her parents by working and helping them financially. Connie instead, focuses on who she looks with material goods, make up and clothes, and commits adultery. (It is not clear, but Connie waits around for boys and went into the ally with Eddie in the beginning, she at least has intentions to). She, in little ways chooses the path to evil. When she walks outside to greet Arnold she focuses on how she looks, instead of focusing on the intruder in her house. There is rock and roll music playing in the background during the entire encounter with Arnold. The music takes away the seriousness of the whole situation, distracting Connie from what is really happening with Arnold. By going with Arnold in the end, Connie is choosing the path to evil.
In all, Connie, a representation to society, is given full opportunities and free will and finds herself between good and evil, her sister June showing where she could end up by following the path to what is good and what is holy in life, and Arnold Friend who shows the path she could take to follow what is evil and unholy in life. Each of them having their own biblical representations, June as Junia the Roman goddess of protection, strength and marriage, and Arnold Friend who represents Satan, the angel of light. Connie, in the end follows Arnold Friend to the path of evil.
