

The short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, written in the 1960s, tells about a young girl's experience of a strange afternoon. Connie, fifteen, is an average high school girl obsessed with her looks and boys while beginning to detach from her family. One Sunday while her family was at a barbeque, Arnold Friend and his friend Ellie approach her house in a gold convertible. She doesn't know who either of these boys are, yet allows Friend to lure her outside and to the car with them, despite her emotions of fear. Oates dedicated her story to the legendary artist Bob Dylan, and draws many connections between his music and her story. Bob Dylan was an iconic artist in the 60s; when there was a lot of social turmoil, Dylan was writing and performing songs that reflected revolutionary change, and he gained a very large following for his talents and his views. Background knowledge of Bob Dylan and his influence on popular culture in the 1960s provides proper context to understand Oates' purpose in her short story. Joyce Carol Oates wanted her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" to be a part of the social revolution that was occurring in the 1960s.

Part 1: social revolution & hippies:

 The 1960s was a decade full of war, civil rights movements, changing social roles, hippies, and emerging music. Different groups of people, identified by class, race, or gender, were all trying to evoke changes in the politics related to their label. A subject that never made it to the limelight was the changing standards for female adolescents as they were going through their own struggles of sexuality in the process of becoming adult women. It is known that adult women were beginning a political journey of their own as they were demanding better treatment politically and socially, therefore justifying that the young women of that time would also be going through a form of social change. Understanding the changing role for women at this time allows for a similar understanding as to why Joyce Carol Oates would have wanted to write a story involving a teenage girl facing similar struggles. 

The largest group that pushed for change was the hippies, or people who "promoted anti-conformist attitudes and ideals" (Bhaddock). Their goal in this decade was to spread love and a sense of individualism by breaking free from institutions and doing anything that made them feel at peace. This mentality is what created their "counter-culture movement" that Bhaddock describes in his analysis of the hippie trend in the 1960s. Oates uses an evolved state of the counter culture as a setting to Connie's life, as her parents feel comfortable leaving her alone and she explores the given freedom. "" (Oates)

Part 2: Musical Thread & Bob's songs

The era of rock and roll was picking up speed in the 1960s with the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and many others. Bob Dylan stood apart from his fellow musicians though because he set out to get a message across to his audience. Music has always brought people together and Dylan probably wasn't even the first to use music to make political statements, however it contributed to his success as a musician in the 60s based on the changes that were going on around him. He grasped onto his own views and used his position as a new pop culture icon to spread his views and the views of others around him, remembering that he wasn't the one necessarily preaching the ideas, just sharing them and making them more well-known. The new pop culture of the time was of course part of the radical hippie movement. 

Tierce and make great points in their analysis of how the musical talents of Bob Dylan coincide with the story. 

Points to make: Oates dedicated the story to Bob Dylan to draw attention to her contribution to the revolutionary ideas he also stood for. Understanding the changing times means understanding Oates was also trying to point out the flaws with blind acceptance by putting the situation in a bad light. Oates wanted to be a part of the social revolution by having this story published. She took inspiration from Bob Dylan because he was an icon that she connected with or shared beliefs with in a strong way, enough to write on it in an entertaining subliminal way. Knowing an author's true purpose is hard unless you actually ask, however it is clear that Oates wanted to make her artistic contributions to the revolution (physical aspect- protests, political aspect- changing laws and rights, and artistic aspect- music and literature. ALL EVOLVED IN THIS DECADE). Arnold Friend could be seen as an archetype of Bob Dylan  --  from one art form to another and the pattern continues with pop culture figures that people follow and support for their abilities and views. Oates' story isn't just fiction for entertainment because of the strong social messages she is sending to young women, especially during the time. 

Allegory / Fairytale: unrealistic qualities of the situation

Archetype: original model or pattern that other copies are made from  --  character action situation that represent patterns. Occur in recurrent plot patterns, images, or character types

