JCO: Where Are You Going and Vietnam

Hey everybody, after reading "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" last
year for class, I wrote this paper that I would like to share with you. It has
a very unique thesis so I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this. Enjoy the
paper below!

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Oates’ Political Agenda Exposed
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” a seemingly
unfortunate situation occurs to a young lady named Connie as an older man
arrives at the young girl’s home and succeeds in abducting her. If the story
is literally understood, the audience is sickened by the coaxing and shadiness
of the abductor, Arnold Friend. Even though sickening when interpreted
literally, we find the extended metaphor—the Vietnam War and how the
government took young men to their deaths while disguising the true facts of
the situation thousands of miles away—evening more sickening. This idea can be
concluded due to the many representations found throughout the story and by
acknowledging who this short story is dedicated to.
Connie, the protagonist of the story, truly represents the young men that were
forced by the government to serve their country in the Vietnam War. At first
glance, this could seem preposterous because why would the author choose a
young lady to represent thousands of young men? Simply answered, a girl at
the age of fifteen has the characteristics of being the most vulnerable,
helpless, and tender. Sure little puppies or toddlers are more so of these
qualities, but the author cannot easily create a toddler protagonist to
exemplify her agenda. The author wants to make these qualities covert because
she is describing the young men who cannot control their destiny in the draft
and will be harmed emotionally and physically.
Skeptics of my proposed thesis may ask, “Why do we spend the first several
pages reading of the adventures of this young girl?” The reason the author
writes of the accounts of the young lady and her friends socializing with boys
is to put on a face on the character and to portray the idea that even though
the armed services is comprised of many people, each soldier is an individual
and has his/her own story.
As the female in the story represents a portion of my thesis: the young men
drafted during the Vietnam Conflict, the male represents the other part: the
government. As American citizens, we are entitled to many privileges, and at
the same time, many responsibilities. The young boys that are in Connie’s life
represent the aspect of the privileges given by the government. In the text,
Connie will take advantage of the boys’ generosity of buying dinner or a movie
ticket, and not think much of it. The author says that “all the boys fell back
and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a
feeling...” This idea relates very well to the idea that Americans take for
granted everything that is given to them by the government, not recognizing
each individual right we utilize on any given day. So, since these young boys
represent the little and hardly noticeable things that are associated with the
government, the older boys must symbolize the highly-evident and crucial roles
that the government plays in a citizen’s life, such as enforcing the draft
into war.
It may quite an assumption to presume that Arnold Friend and his dimwitted
accomplice Ellie represent the government, but there are many ways to decipher
and verify such idea. Firstly, the two know a plethora of information about
Connie as Arnold “know[s] [Connie’s] name and all about [her], lots of
things.” Now, who would know a mass of information about any certain
individual? Could it be the Feds? Also, the audience is given several hints
that Arnold Friend represents, more specifically, Uncle Sam. As you may
recall, posters would be distributed of Uncle Sam pointing at you and
saying “I want you for U.S. Army”. Similarly, we see Friend making a gesture
with his finger on two occasions that can be used as an allusion to Uncle
Sam’s pointing. Also, when Connie asks, “What do you want?” Friend replies, “I
want you”.
The first and last name of the antagonist (Arnold and Friend) alludes to how
the government was viewed during this time of war. During times of normalcy,
the last name contributes to the idea that citizens thought that the
government was their friend assisting through government programs. However,
during this time, the public looked at the government as a Benedict Arnold, a
betrayer to the public, especially to those who demonized the war, such as Bob
Dylan.
The author dedicated this story to the great folk song singer of the sixties
and seventies because Dylan spoke out against the war and condemned the
government through songs such as “Masters of War” where he calls out those
who “build the guns”, “build the death planes”, “build the big bombs”, “hide
behind walls”, and “hide behind desks” and claims that “even Jesus would never
forgive what you do”. Dylan spoke out against the government and the war to
such an extreme, that it seems that Oates idolized his efforts, and since this
story coincides with the musical legend’s beliefs, she found this dedication
appropriate.
The draft during the War made it mandatory to attend to serve, if they were
chosen. Many resisted because these young men did not want to leave their
homes and families to fight a war, but they were forced to by law. Many
soldiers didn’t know if they would make it home as Connie “thought, I’m not
going to see my mother again. She thought I’m not going to sleep in my bed
again.” Even with the great deal of effort Connie gave to resist going with
Friend, in the end, she still is taken to the “much land that [she] had never
seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it.”
The answers to the question in the title, “Where Are You Going, Where
Have You Been?” are answered within the text. “Connie” isn’t just going to
Vietnam, she in a sense, has been to Vietnam. This young girl potentially does
not only represent the men whose fate is in the war-torn country, yet also
symbolizes the young men that have returned from the War. Soldiers that have
been to Vietnam and witnessed extreme chaos and gore will often be seriously
affected psychologically. This Vietnam Syndrome, as it often is referred to,
has many symptoms including flashbacks. During a number of instances, it
appears that Connie has some sort of a flashback and is confused as to her
whereabouts. Also, her actions allude to possibly fighting a war.
While describing her adventures at the mall, young Connie “went across
the highway, ducking fast across the busy road,” and “went up through the maze
of parked and cruising cars to the bright-lit, fly-infested. . .” With these
descriptions, we get the sense of turmoil, fast-paced action which correlates
with being in a combat zone. Also, the mentioning of the flies relates with
the idea that the jungles of Vietnam has all sort of insects, in great
amounts. The author also mentions that Connie seems to have been confused
with her surroundings: “she opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was, the
back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and behind it the
sky was perfectly blue and still.” Here, the author inserts this Vietnam
flashback as Connie thinks of the massive amount of vegetation that blanketed
the Oriental land.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is full of subtleties of
the Vietnam War and how the United States government wrongfully and forcefully
sent young men to their deaths. Through both extended metaphors and allusions
within the text, the audience is not to be horrified of a story about the
abduction of a young girl, but rather, a short story that fills the author’s
political agenda and voices the feelings and ideology of Bob Dylan.

--
William James Heathershaw

"No Frills 2007" Conference Chair

Regional Board of Directors

Midwest Affiliated College and University Residence Halls (MACURH)

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