Where are you going, Where have you been

Wegs Interpretation of the Story Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been ? by Joyce Carol Oates

Don 't you know who I am (Oates 589

I agree with Joyce M . Wegs who interprets Arnold 's image from the story Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been ? by Joyce Carol Oates as a symbolic Satan (Wegs 202

This short fiction story about the young girl can be interpreted on several levels . Wegs proposes to regard this story as an appearance of Satan in the innocent and napve world . Such a comparison

makes sense The story tells a story about Connie and her teenager world , which is so roughly disturbed by one tragic event one summer morning . Her attention is attracted by the very strange gaze of an unknown dark-haired stylish guy at the street . She does not expect to meet him once again but one sunny Sunday his car stopped next to her house when she stayed home alone doing nothing . Connie is in a great surprise when she recognizes that stranger from the street in the driver of the car Stranger 's name is Alfred and he came there with his friend to pick Connie up for a ride . Connie is enchanted and embarrassed with his attention in the beginning . Friendly talk of Alfred changes gradually to threats and promises to hurt Connie 's family if she refuses to join them for a ride . The story ends with Connie 's slow walking towards Alfred and we never know that follows afterwards . The story is full of symbolism and has the elements of mystics and irony . Alfred Friend appears as all-knowing and powerful character . He does not uncover his true self in the beginning of the story , but gradually readers can see his evil nature and bad intentions . Wegs describes Arnold "Arnold is far more a grotesque portrait of a psychopathic killer masquerading as a teenager he also has all the traditional , sinister traits of that arch deceiver and source of grotesque terror , the devil ( Wegs 69 . Another prove of Arnold 's diabolic nature is his supernatural knowledge about Connie , her family and he friends

Wegs also believes that the author of the story uses popular music as a symbolic of religion . Connie lives in her own world and doesn 't bother herself much with the problems of the others . At least we see it in the beginning of the story . She is described like a pretty fair-haired girl of fifteen years old . There is one more noticeable thing in her Everything about her had two sides to it , one for home and one for anywhere that was not home : her walk , which could be childlike and bobbing , or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head (Oates 116 . Innocent and perfect world where Connie lives in is broken to pieces with the appearance of evil she can neither stop nor escape . This can be compared to the appearance of Satan in...