Analysis Of Miss Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Miss Oates created a cautionary tale that shows the consequences of being selfish and self-absorbed. Although this short story is completely original, the protagonist and antagonist characters seem to resemble a well-known fairy tale.

The protagonist of the story, Connie, reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood. Like Little Red Riding Hood, Connie is naive and childish in her ways, unaware of the dangers in the real world. Connie still believed that when she met a boy, they would have a “Cinderella” like kind of romance where a boy rescues her from her family and, like a Disney fairy tale, live happily ever after. This was evident in when she began “wondering about the boy from the night before and how nice he had been...the way it was in movies and promised in songs”. Connie believed that “Eddie” was her “prince charming”, letting her all the easily be fooled by Arnold Friend.

When “Eddie” started talking to Connie and her friends, they thought of him as cool. However, after he asked Connie for a bite to eat and she obliged, Connie thought of him as a hero who drove golden jalopy convertible, whisking her off her feet. Like the story Cinderella, Connie told her family nothing of “Eddie”, including her sister, probably because she would get in trouble. When “Eddie” appears in her driveway and introduce himself as Arnold Friend, Connie becomes cautious of him. Then, Connie notices, in like Little Red Riding Hood, Arnold was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For instance, she began to take note of his unshaven face that made him look older. Then, he pulls his sunglasses back carefully as if he were wearing a wig, which did happen to be a wig. Finally, when Arnold Friend’s fake smile faded, Connie could see he was a lot older than what he told