
In the short story “where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie is an example of a typical teenage girl in 1960s in America. Connie is always in the moment with no regard for what got her here or where the moment will lead. She acts like an adult when she is a teenager and tries to get men attention by looking beauty and dressing well. Connie’s lake of awareness and experience, give her no clue about the situation she is going to be through.  The environment around her did not let her have a better understanding of the outside world. At home her parents never ask her where she is going or where she have been, her father does not bother talking much, even her friend’s father never asks them where the been going. Only her sister, who seems to be interested in where Connie goes, asks her, but Connie easily gets out of the topic and lies (Oates). Connie’s and her family’s personality can be explained by going through the 1960s. 

 In the 1960s, because of the Vietnam War and the world poverty, the usual was for the father to work full time job and for a mother to work at a part time job, therefore, the parents did not have much time to spend with their children. It is rarely for a family to eat a meal together. This explains why does Connie’s parents did not give much attention to their children and why Connie’s father does not speak much. Moreover, in the 1960s, children were allowed to walk to school alone, play after the school hours, and go to watch movies without fear of getting kidnaped. Mothers in the neighborhood take parts to keep an eye on children (Childhood). That explains how Connie was able to go to downtown with her friend and how could Connie’s parents leave her in the house alone without worrying about her.

In the 1960s to the early 1970s there was movements toward religion in America were called “The Great Decline”. Numbers of non-religious families increased. Church attendance and prayer became less frequent (The Great). Probably, Connie’s family was not religious. In the story when Arnold read off the key numbers “33,19,17” and then waited to see her reaction but she “did not think much of” (Where). These key numbers refer to the 33rd book from the end of the Old Testament, the chapter is the 19th, and the verse is the 17th. The passage is “When he raised his eyes he got to see the man, the traveler, in the public square of the city. So the old man said: ‘where are you going, and where do you come from?” (The Eternal 3). Connie possibly did not read bible or her family bothered with church, to her the songs she hears where her bible (Where).

Knowing the connection between the environment and text give better understanding for the text. In the story where you going, where have you been? Understanding the Great Decline and the world poverty made the text more clear for the reader and have answered many questions that would come to the reader's mind,. 
