Summary Of The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have...

In Joyce Carol Oates story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” a young woman is influenced by two strangers to leave her home and go with them. Though this appears to be a dangerous situation, there is evidence to support that Connie has fallen asleep and is dreaming. The evidence incudes; Connie has fallen asleep includes; Connie and her attacker have an unsettling connection, she has already fallen asleep once, and events take place that commonly happens in people’s dreams. Connie’s mother says, “Her mind [is] filled with trashy dreams” (Oates 201). Connie is having an “exotic” even “trashy” dream about being saved by an older man from her home life.
Connie first falls asleep outside of her house, immediately following her family’s …show more content…
Because the music is playing in Connie’s room, she is able to hear it in her dream coming from Ellie’s stereo. They discuss the artist Bobby king and exhibit the same interest in music. Once it is made known that Arnold and Connie have the same passion for music, Arnold reveals that he knows additional information about Connie that he otherwise would not be able to distinguish. He talks of her friends, neighbors, and family, he even knows her parents and her sister are at a barbeque. He tells her who is at the barbeque and the events that are taking place; he claims “there’s your sister in a blue dress, huh? And high heels,” (199) by knowing this piece of information that is impossible to support, we can infer that Connie is dreaming of the actions of her family at that exact moment. Along with being able to connect herself to Arnold, she is experiencing common dream phenomenon’s.
Connie is experiencing events that commonly occur in dreams. When Arnold threatens to harm her and her family, she turns to retrieve the phone, except she is unable to dial it, “She turned and bumped against a chair or something, hurting her leg, but she ran into the back room and picked up the telephone. Something roared in her ear, a tiny roaring, and she was so sick with fear that she could do nothing but listen to it – the telephone was clammy and very heavy and her fingers

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Summary Of The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'