Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

Each of us experiences transitions in our lives. Some of these changes are small, like moving from one school semester to the next. Other times these changes are major, like the transition between youth and adulthood. In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the author dramatizes the decisive moment people face when at the crossroads between the illusions and innocence of youth and the uncertain future. Joyce Carol Oates' message …

…assertion. Using a true case of violent crime, Joyce Carol Oates examines how youthful naivete and fantasy end in a crucial moment just before the uncertain future begins in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been". For Connie, that moment came the day Arnold Friend violated her world. A closer inspection of our own lives would perhaps show us the moment we ourselves stood between the illusions of our youth and the indefinite future.