Fiction: The Short Story

Essay Option 2: Freedom and Confinement

Joyce Carol Oates' short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?” is about entering new uncertain future and facing the unknown. Connie is the main character of the story and is a fifteen-year-old girl, just realizing her beauty. Connie is a typical teenage girl with a desperate need for independence. Connie fit into the stereo typical role of a teenage girl, like most of them do. Connie felt as if she stayed beautiful then all would be fine. This shows that a typical teenager of her time used to feel the same way; they felt that as long as they have the looks they will be admired by everyone. The theme of freedom and confinement relates to the story in many ways. The possibility for free will in such a difficult situation is a central question of the story.

The majority of the action of the story takes place in the house of Connie. This demonstrates the confinement of an individual, especially a girl in that era. This confinement to one location portrays a larger question to the readers: are we really free? What are the factors that determine our decisions and actions? Do we really have the freedom of making our own decisions? For Connie, her home is a place in which she is confined in and is not properly free to do whatever she wants to do. On the other hand, her home is the only place in which she can truly be herself and can indulge in fantasies and day dreaming while she projects herself as her friends as they want her to be. The reason being that the teenagers want to be accepted by the people which is why they try to behave in a way which ...