In writing “Where are you going, where have you been?”, Joyce Carol Oates created a story that captures an era. She used symbolism to teach a lesson and describe the 1960’s era the allegory. She specifically used her character Connie, to represent a group of people that would be a part of a revolution in our nation’s history. She took themes from the story of the “Pied Piper of Tucson”, Charles Schmid, to further develop her plot and address the evil and temptations the society of the 1960’s had to offer through metaphor. Oates used allegory to represent feminism and the turn of old school thinking when it came to women rights.

Oates created the character Connie to represent something more than an individual who is part of the plot of a story. Connie and her family members each represent a different group of people in a pivotal era for the future of American society. After World War II progression as a society seemed inevitable. The economy was strong and growing and so were social movements to provide more opportunities for people who were previously oppressed. Connie represents young adults who would be the first generation to help progress society out of the war and difficult economic times that the previous 15 years had brought. In the opening scene Connie is described as a young girl who cared about her looks and how she was viewed by everyone saying she had a “nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oats 1). It is important to realize that in this era the idea was still that the only value of a woman is her ability to take care of the home and family for a man. However, Connie does not view herself in this way. She sees potential in herself and considers herself an individual. Oates uses this allegory early on as a way to show that Connie individuals of this time period who see progression in societies way of thinking and not the old school thought that would have described Connie in a way that made her less independent. She expands on this when she describes the scene between her and her mother. Her mother scolds Connie for this habit and says, “stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you are so pretty?” (Oates 1). Her mother here represents the group of people who were essentially opposed to this idea of progression. For her mother, it seemed that Connie shouldn’t have any more opportunity than she did when she was Connie’s age. She opposes the progression of society which includes the sense of individuality and opportunity that a young girl like Connie would have. Her mother prefers the old school thought process that more closely relates to Connie’s sister, June, who is a twenty-four-year-old who still lives at home. She is described as someone who “saved money and helped clean the house and cook” (Oates1). This is Oates’ way of describing the group of people who opposed the progression. June is someone who did not see what society was going through and the opportunity she had to be a part of it. Connie and her family were just one example that Oates’ used to show what society was going through at the time this was written.

The idea of feminism is something that was starting to form during this time period. This topic is something that has been evolving for years and is something that is still a topic of discussion. Connie is essentially a feminist in an era that opposes that exact type of person. She is described as someone who cares about her appearance when the narrator tells us Connie’s thought about how, “she knew she was pretty and that was everything.” (Oates 1). This agrees with the stereotypical teenage girl who sees value in how others view her. While Connie is portrayed early on as someone who is searching for her individuality, she falls into the trap that Arnold represents. This is best described by writer Karin Salvalaggio who says, “She (Connie) judges the success of a night out by the amount of attention she receives from boys. When caught in the fragmented reflection of Arnold Friend’s mirrored sunglasses she is incapable of generating an identity strong enough to stand up to him,” (Salvalaggio). This is a description of the metaphor that Arnold represents. Connie is someone who is trying to be an individual who is not bound by anyone. While Arnold represents society’s way of saying that Connie, and all women at that point in time, are still at the whim of men who they still need to provide a life for them. Connie represents the idea of feminism in this time period that is shut down by the reliance of men to provide a life for women.

Schmid, a “naturally handsome man” (DailyNews) took advantage of his ability to coax younger women in order to feed his wretched passion for murder. His swagger was compelling but was far from innocent. Don Moser, a man who wrote a book on Schmid’s case commented, “despite his creepiness, ladies loved Schmid” (DailyNews) and he gave Schmid the title “The Pied Piper of Tucson” (DailyNews). This con-man style of living is what Oates used to drive the story of “where are you going where have you been”. Her character, Arnold Friend, carried himself in a way that Schmid would have approved of. Friend’s arcane personality is used to lure the reader the same way Schmid lured his victims. Oates uses this charisma in her character in such a way that leaves the reader feeling like they want to read more and see what Friend will do next. Captivating this persona is what made Oates’ story so intriguing. Oates’ saw created a character that was an example of a culture that many people were unsure of. She essentially created Arnold to have evil tendencies that were somehow irresistible. It is clear that when Arnold shows up to the home of Connie on Sunday night unannounced he was not a man who respected another individual’s boundaries (Oates 2). In this scene Oates makes it clear that Connie wants nothing to do with Arnold initially by saying Connie “spoke sullenly, careful to show interest of pleasure” (Oates 2). Ironically the reader does not know that Connie will eventually go with Arnold based on nothing other than his persistence to have her join him.

Symbolism is a constant writing element that Oates used in the development of “Where are you going where have you been”. An allegory that can be recognized when analyzing the story is that Arnold Friend may be the devil incarnated. This symbolism is used to teach the reader about the temptations of life and choices that will be made to shape his or her future. This is based on physical description as well as his actions in the story. The interesting thing about the description of Friend having devil like attributes, is how closely related his ways relate to the “Pied Piper of Tucson”, Charles Schmid. The physical description of Friend from Connie’s point of view made him appear to appeal to Connie and her tastes. Oates says, “Connie liked the way he dressed, which was the way all of them dressed” (Oates 5). This original description of Friend makes him appear to be a young, good-looking man who Connie is initially attracted to. This causes her to let her guard down to an extent and see what Friend’s motives really are. The transition in Connie’s feelings happens when she realizes that Friend is not a kid, and is in fact an older man. This bothers her and she confirms her suspicion when she realizes Arnold’s friend, Ellie, is not a kid either. Oates tells us that Connie looks at Friend and thinks, “His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down onto his throat but then running out as if he had plastered makeup on his face but had forgotten about his throat” (Oates 9). This tells essential Arnold Friend made himself appear to be someone that would appeal to the liking of Connie. This is the allegory that Friend is in fact the devil. He appeals to Connie by making himself look like a young good-looking man that Connie would want to get to know, thus relaxing in his presence and allowing him to take advantage of her. This is similar to the actions of Charles Schmid in the sense that he used his looks swagger to exploit young women who may find him attractive and is likely part of the inspiration that Oates found when writing this short story. Oates saw the metaphor in the evil ways of Schmid and brought those characteristics into the character of Arnold in order to create the incarnation of the temptations of the devil through him. This is the symbolism that drives the plot and teaches the reader a lesson in regards to the temptations of growing up and the evils in the world that young adults must resist.

It is through these examples that the reader can find the value in the words of Oates. She used Connie to represent a group of young adults at the brink of an era founded upon individuality and opportunity. Using theme and tendencies of Charles Schmid, she helped further show how temptations appear in everyday life, which ultimately helped drive the story forward and carry a message across to the reader. She used allegory to show feminism and where it stood at the beginning of an era that would pride itself on social movement and progression. These examples created the story of “Where are you going, where have you been?” which Oates’ used to create a short story that would represent the importance of a time period in our history.
