In the early 1960s, a spiral decline in cultural and social values ​​occurred in America. The story 'Where are you going, where have you been?' by Joyce Carol Oates tries to describe the suffering that a teenager will likely face in life as they try to find their balance in life and find their true identity by realizing who they are as a person in this period of time. This process can lead to feeling frustrated and confused at this particular stage since you are in the middle. This search for individuality causes adolescents to be easily susceptible to many things. Young adults going through puberty struggle to find a sense of individuality, this can cause a lot of suffering which can lead them to self-harm much of the time. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the early 1960s, there was a major shift in conventional ideas about sex, power, love, and race. Traditionally accepted moral sources were being dramatically abandoned in mid-century suburban American society. This gave a sense of political free will and absence of authority. In the story “Where are you going, where have you been. This theme is portrayed when Connie's parents let go of any real authority they may have had over their teenage daughter. The father is physically present in the home, but most of the time he is mentally absent. Her mother tries to scrutinize her, but does not see her deceptions at all. None of these parents are able to provide Connie with a sense of security or guidance. This lack of authority causes Connie to move through the world with no one to protect her. This sends her down a dangerous path that leads her to meet Arnold, aggravating her suffering to a higher level. Human beings always desire the power to exercise their free will at all costs. When we are introduced to the story, Connie puts her ability to exercise free will into play by deceiving her mother about plans she has with her friends not to attend the family barbecue. This is Connie exercising her freedom and agency as a young adult. As the story draws to a close, Connie's ability to exercise this free will is challenged by the manipulations of Arnold's friends. Carol Oates refers to Connie's "unexpected gesture of heroism" as a sign that she exercised the act of free will by sacrificing herself on behalf of her family in the story's final scenes. This may not be true in its entirety because the actions depicted by Connie seem as if she has lost total control of her free will. He has a fractured soul and no one seems to notice. She is probably controlled but no one notices because she always felt the need to be a person in her own way and everyone around her was used to this part of her, even if it was a cry for help from the suffering. In a world where men are considered to be in charge, women tend to suffer in silence as most of the time their world revolves around these men. We see that Connie's world revolves entirely and totally around men. When she wants to go to the mall to meet the boys, she asks her father's friend to give her the driver. After being invited to dinner by Eddie, Connie willingly leaves her friend Becky to go with the boy. He considers Becky his friend, but she is just a footnote in his entire life. All her days, Connie only has sappy fantasies about boys and the kind of love she wants. He has no relationshipsstrong with her companions, they are constantly antagonistic. The story explores how there are bitter relationships between women, besides Connie. His mother and aunts constantly complain about each other. Through it all, Connie is ultimately destroyed by male predation and violence, which reinforces her dangerously insecure existence in the cruel man's world. As humans evolve, the desire to be independent always consumes the best part of us. As Connie approaches adulthood, her constant search for independence increases. Connie is seen stumbling upon an early food restaurant that has so many older teenage boys and plays popular music. He changes his personality and adopts different types of mannerisms to relate to his peers. He slowly began to break away from the control and protection of his parents. During one of her secret outings she meets Arnold Friend, who ends up exploiting her because he has learned to manipulate her easily; exploiting the thirst for independence he had and the desire to leave his childhood in the past. Through a series of emotional and potential physical abuse, he forcibly transforms her into an adult by brutally cutting her off from the life she had known. This causes her the greatest suffering as her quest for independence was not natural, but brutally rushed. As adolescents transition into adulthood, they are normally at constant war with reality and the fuzzy fantasies they desire. Connie is seen to spend much of her time fantasizing about boys and love. When she is in her bedroom or even in her backyard, she is easily transported in and out of daydreams accompanied by the music she truly loves. When she meets Arnold Friend, the line between reality and the fantasies she kept having becomes even more blurred, making her even more disturbed and confused. He sees their entire encounter as surreal. The inability to distinguish what can be achieved in the real world from fantasies can lead to making so many mistakes that lead to even greater pain and suffering. It is not very uncommon for people to have a split personality type. There are people who constantly change their personality to fit into a certain crowd of people just to fit in or to prove something to themselves. Connie and the boy she met; Arnold Friend, they have a sort of ambiguous identity. Depending on the environment Connie finds herself in, she changes her personality to adapt; when he's at home he's a different person, when he goes out with friends he's a different person. On the other hand, Arnold Friend has given people the illusion that she is just a teenager, no matter how sinister she is deep down. The two may have met because they have the same problem with how they choose to present their identities. Ambiguity in identity can cause one to end up in serious trouble as Connie ultimately did causing her to suffer in ways she never signed up for. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In the event that they try to explore the world, people can be stripped of their innocence in ways they had not imagined. Connie, a 15 year old teenager, is so busy with her appearance, she goes crazy over materialistic things and is always in constant arguments with her parents as she tries to explore her little world. Connie is a naive little girl and this is clearly shown by the way she handles her sexuality. His sexual views come from the movies he watches and the music he listens to. He dresses elegantly and goes to the restaurant to hang out with the boys and have fun. she's not in love with these guys, but 15.2 (1978): 200.