Joyce Carol Oates' evocation of Bob Dylan is purposeful and adds richness to the setting of the story, particularly the period in which it takes place. When Oates wrote "Where You Going, Where Have You Been" in the 1960s, a social revolution occurred. American women reclaimed their rights and independence from men and reclaimed their sexuality as they had never done before. Adolescence and the challenges and anxieties endured by many teenage girls as they managed to lose their sexual sincerity and then became adult women were a commonly discussed topic. Feeling devalued in their families and intimate relationships, women challenged the position that sex and gender attempted to fill in their lives. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One element presented in this story was fantasy versus reality. While Connie works hard to portray the image of a mature woman experienced with men, her interaction with Arnold proves that this is just a production. Through her clothing, hairstyle, and overall demeanor, she has formed an attractive adult demeanor and gets the attention she desires from men. However, Connie deceives her ability to control boys' attention with her willingness to be sexually pursued. Romance and the desire for love are evident in the music she listens to, and the pop culture depictions surrounding her are very different from real-life adult sexuality. Even though Connie is trying to deal with sexuality, even when she goes with Eddie to the alley, she is afraid of becoming an adult. Arnold unintentionally brings her into adulthood, yet this heinous act symbolizes a change within Connie herself: leaving childhood fairy tales to the reality of an adult woman. Arnold himself, who never really falls into one classification or another, has blurred the moral lines. His body image makes him seem both human and less-than-human, and Oates never makes it clear whether this is fantasy or reality. He could simply be a strange man, he could be the devil, or he could be a nightmare that prevents Connie from staying in the sun for very long. In either case, whether that perception is fantasy or reality, whether Arnold is human or a demon within, the negative impact of Arnold and Connie's meeting and engagement will alter the way she sees the world. Another element of this story is the search for independence. Connie's family disputes and attempts to make herself physically attractive are a component of her quest for independence. Being nothing more than a teenager, in her childhood she depends on adults for care and discipline, as well as to make her social life possible. For example, her father's friend accompanies her and her close friend to the cinema. Although Connie often struggles with her family, especially her mother and sister, they are the only means of support she truly understands. Her attempts to create a sexy side to herself and attract guys to the local restaurant serve as an attempt to understand new areas and a new side of herself. Plus, his adventures have always been lulled into security until Arnold Friend shows up. She may go to an alley with a boy for several hours, but sooner or later she will be brought home to the familiarity of her family, regardless of what happens there. Connie's quest for independence has a devastating result. Once Arnold shows up and communicates with her while trying to pretend to be an adult woman, he snaps her out of her teenage journey andthrows it firmly into the real world from which no one will recover it. The details Arnold tells Connie portray the reality of the quest he undertook as a teenager seeking independence. He says, for example: "I am your lover." You don't know what it is but you will know” and “The place where you come from is no longer there, and where you were planning to go is obliterated.” A strange and ambiguous character, Arnold represents all the misunderstandings, worries and anxieties that obscure the mission of independence of every immature teenager. In Connie's particular case, her quest ends on a dark and disturbing note in the story. His manhunt may continue, but all indications point to a more irreversible end. A semi-element that can be seen in this story is Arnold's flashy car seen as a symbol representing a hidden future that Connie couldn't see from above. Arnold's flashy gold car, written on the sides of his dated buzzwords, is an extension of Arnold himself: excessive and not entirely faithful. The car gives her the first clues that something about Arnold might be off or dangerous. She begins to complain that the color of the car is so bright that it bothers her eyes, and is disconcerted by the expression on the front bumper "Flying Saucer Man", an expression that her classmates used but which is out of fashion . This reaffirms Connie's feeling that Arnold isn't entirely sincere; he claims to be the same age as her, but he's not entirely convincing. Not only was the car itself quite daunting, but Arnold presents it as the vehicle that carries Connie into her new way of life. Once Arnold's true destructive nature comes through, the car becomes a signifier of all that is dark and disturbing about his character. This story also featured a couple of motifs that are a recurring element that has symbolic meaning in a story. Two main reasons that can be seen were dizziness and music. Dizziness gets the better of Connie as she realizes that Arnold can overwhelm and destroy her completely. At first, Arnold's appearance makes Connie feel very conflicted between excitement and fear. However, as the scenario progresses, she is dominated by fear. As Arnold lies to Connie about his age, his heart and soul begin to race and he feels "a wave of dizziness rising" when he sees that Ellie is an adult too. Dizziness overwhelms her once again as Arnold grows frustrated with her opposition. She realizes that she is in over her head and is made more vulnerable by the conclusion. She recognizes that he lied to her and that his intentions aren't exactly good, but she probably won't do anything about it. The dizziness is his fallback response and allows Arnold to deal with it even more. The music works as Connie's tunnel leading to her fantasy world from the real world. Listening to music and fantasizing about boys, Connie loves to escape from her life and absorbs her ideas about romance mostly from radio songs. The happiness she finds with men is not rooted in the boys themselves, but in these sexual fantasies. Even before Arnold appears at her house, she demonstrates it again in the tunes she hears, and it takes her a minute to recognize that they are the same songs coming out of Arnold's car. She finds herself fascinated by Arnold even before Connie discovered this resemblance. Connie's music calms her, and the knowledge that she and Arnold listen to the same songs lowers her guard a bit. Connie has derived her concept of romance from her favorite song, and through her interaction with Arnold she discovers that the romance of his music is far more desirable than the reality of.