In Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," attempts and succeeds in warning young women of the dangers of growing up too tall rush. The tale follows the journey of young Connie as she dances the line between reality and fantasy while attempting to grow up faster than she is prepared for. Oates is able to illustrate the issue of coming of age in the modern era, especially in more recent generations. Before analyzing the text in depth, it is important to understand the time period in which Oates was writing. During the 1960s it was common to see women's styles and attitudes change as they defended their right to abandon the role of housewife. One of the most obvious changes of the 1960s was: Don't ignore the past when moving forward. “where are you going”, i.e. what is your future and where have you been?” the meaning always remembers the past so as not to repeat it. Connie throughout the story constantly shuts out the past and attempts to leap forward blindly, much to the dismay of her parents. Connie's mother in particular, coming from a generation of more rigid moral values, circa the 1920s, continually stresses to Connie not to get too caught up in her looks and to be a good little girl, "'Stop fixating on mouth open. Who are you? Do you think you're that pretty?' would say." (Oates, 1) Another aspect of the title links to a symbol used when Arnold Friend comes into play. The numbers on his machine, 33 19 17, when followed using Mark Robson's method of counting backwards the books of the Old Testament, judges, and then going to the passage 19:17 "And when he lifted up his eyes, he saw a traveler in the way of the city: and the old man said, Where are you going? And where are you from?" Once translated we are left with “Where are you going, where have you been?” It seems