Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis

The short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates is often criticized by readers and literary critics, however, most of the controversy comes from one character in particular, Arnold Friend. It should go without saying that Arnold Friend’s character plays a significant role in the story, but far fewer readers find themselves analyzing the stance Oates takes on youth and popular culture within the story’s setting. Joyce Carol Oates’s short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” uses the idea of youth popular culture in order to criticize the younger generation of America by its references to music, rebellion of teenagers, and the exploration of sexuality throughout.
First, Oates criticizes the younger

Oates includes places such as malls and drive-in restaurants to emphasis the trend of the time. Going to strip malls and listening to pop music became very popular among youth during along with the sexual revolution, which challenged traditional behavior related to sexuality and relationships throughout the United States. At the beginning of the story, Connie is thrilled that she is pretty enough to reject a boy from their high school, which implies that if she were not as pretty, she would not have the same power. Also, early in the story when talking to her mom Connie separates herself from the other girls that are mixed in with “that dope”. She goes on to explain that her mom is so simple and plain to believe it, meaning that she probably has had some sort of experience with it, which is yet another side to her rebellious nature (“Where Are You Going Where Have You Been”, par. ). She doesn’t want to go to the BBQ which will be her ultimate rebellious act with her family. This is where Arnold Friend shows up. She becomes aware that her mother’s nagging is not as bad as what it seemed. It is evident that Oates’s use of rebellion through character like Connie begins to form a stance on youth rebellion. If Connie would not have been so reluctant to what others were telling her then she would

All throughout the story, men seem to have the power and the final say in nearly every decision, but the idea of men being the “head of the household” started to be challenged throughout the 1960s, as the sexual revolution became a cultural movement among the American youth (). Also, Connie often gets lost in her own head. It becomes evident to the reader that Connie is never more than half awake to reality. Connie rides home from the mall "sleepy and pleased" because she has sated her appetite for cheap diversion for another night. Her "dreams" are mundane teen-age boy-girl reveries, enhanced by the music she listens to constantly. She spends most of her waking hours "dreaming about the boys she met. But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling, mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music", which is merely to say that Connie, like many teenagers, is in love with love (Coulthard, par. ). She fantasies about a boy she met one night and about how nice, kind and sweet he was. When Connie meets the guy at the restaurant, she doesn’t know his intentions and she doesn’t know that he’s truly sweet and kind. Connie always lets the men in her life control her: her romantic interests, the man on the radio, and eventually Arnold friend. At first, she could not decide if she liked Arnold Friend or thought he