The Important Role of Irony in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

“My sweet little blue-eyed girl,” he said, in a half-sung voice that had nothing to do with her brown eyes…” (Joyce Carol Oates 466) Irony has a funny way of expressing itself. It could be conveyed as comical or it could be elucidate as enraging. Either way, irony plays an important role in the success of Joyce Carlos Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” In a way, Connie herself is ironic. Some may say that she is “two-faced”. In Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” irony is successfully used to bring her readers to the realization of how disconnected culture can be.

“The father of Connie’s best girl friend drove the girls the three miles to town and left them off at a shopping plaza, so that they could walk through the stores or go to a movie, and when he came to pick them up at eleven he never bothered to ask what they had done” (Joyce Carol Oates 454) This is the only time that Oates straight up tells her reader that a parent does not care where or what Connie and her friends do, nor does he want to know.

This excerpt reflects the title of this story. The title provides irony for the reader to identify.

This identification is just a guessing game for Oates readers until it gets clarified in the quote above. Her title asks a question that one would think that every parent would ask their child.

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However, this is not the case. Not once in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” did Connie’s parents ask where she was or what she did. Her mom criticized and questioned everything other than where she was or what she did. Her dad was completely disconnected from the family so he could care less. This ironic correlation between reality and assumptions creates an understanding for Oates readers that this is culture and society. It’s an ironic rollercoaster that has just reached its peak and is now waiting for the drop.

Connie walked out of the house with Arnold Friend at her own free will, or so one would think. Oates describes Connie’s seduction as if Connie had no control over her own body, as if she was possessed, “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were safe somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited.” (Joyce Carol Oates 466) She doesn’t think of her family as she walks across the house, at least not that the reader is aware of. She is blank and watches herself do as told by Arnold Friend. Connie didn’t have an intention; she was in a trans that took ahold of her like an eagle seizing its prey.

Deception and reality are very vivid words that have a lot of meaning. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” seems to incorporate both of these things. Oates creates a story that brings to light the deception that some people present themselves with, “I wanta introduce myself, I’m Arnold Friend and that’s my real name and I’m gonna be your friend…” (Joyce Carol Oates 458)

This is a very suspicious line that makes one question whether or not he is telling the truth only to find out later in the story that he wasn’t. The reality of this successful story comes at the end of Oates work. After Arnold Friend seduces Connie, the reader comes to realize that this is how their culture and society is it is disconnected, deceptive and carefree. It’s just a big black hole waiting to swallow anything in its path.

Irony is needed to emphasize the point of a story. Joyce Carlos Oates creates a very clear and lucid point in her “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” She presents the idea that Connie and her parents are disconnected through the use of irony to bring readers abroad to the realization that this is how culture and society is.