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Jacob Ellsworth
Mrs. Carter
AP Literature and Composition
2 November 2014
Foreshadowing in "Where Are You Going, Where have You Been?"
In literature, authors often use literary devices to foreshadow upcoming events.
"Where Are You Going, Where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates is no exception.
Throughout this short story, Oates uses many literary devices such as characterization,
symbolism, and plot structure to foreshadow the intense and surprising ending that later
occurs.
As she develops the characters of this short story, Oates purposefully and
strategically causes readers to make inferences that foreshadow the ending of the story.
In the exposition, Oates develops the character of the main protagonist, Connie,
perfectly when she says, "She and that girl and occasionally another girl went out
several times a week, and the rest of the time Connie spent around the houseit was
summer vacationgetting in her mother' sway and thinking, dreaming about the boys
she met." This one quote categorizes Connie as a normal, stuck up, spoiled 15 year old
girl who cares only about herself. Connie is shown to be nave, reckless and care-free
which accurately foreshadows that her carelessness would come back to hurt her in the
end. Also, it caused the reader to distance themselves and even develop dislike for
Connie, which makes it more believable that something bad will happen to her in the
end. Arnold Friend, the story's antagonist, also had a unique characterization that
foreshadowed later events in the story. When Oates first introduced him, she wrote, "he

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had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her."
Just through this line, the reader is able to make inferences about Arnold Friend that
foreshadow events that will occur as the plot progresses. His black hair gave him a dark
appearance, which hinted that he had negative intentions, even though he was grinning
at her. Oates says his hair looked crazy, which tells that the reader that he is reckless,
unstable, and cannot be trusted. Just through this brief description, Oates foreshadows
the character of Arnold Friend that will later be revealed.
As well as characterization, Oates skillfully uses symbolism to foreshadow the
ending of the story. An early occurrence of symbolism in the story is when Oates says
that Connie did not even bother to go to church. This symbolizes Cassie's sinful nature
and foreshadows that she will have to pay for these sins in the end. This also occurs
later when the car pulls up and Cassie says, "Christ. Christ," wondering how bad she
looked, again emphasizing her arrogant and immature sins and how she will later regret
it. Another occurrence of symbolism is in the antagonist's name, Arnold Friend. Oates
obviously named him this to be ironic and humorous, symbolizing that Arnold Friend
isn't really who he says he is, but in fact quite the opposite of a friend. This symbolism in
his name foreshadows Arnold's attempt to deceive Connie into believing that he is a
friend and eventually even his kidnapping of her. Arnold Friend's car also used
symbolism to foreshadow the ending. While the car had many writings on it that can be
interpreted as symbols, one that was most obvious was the one that said, "MAN THE
FLYING SAUCERS." Flying saucers, or UFOs, are known in many stories to kidnap
people, so this expression obviously foreshadows Connie's kidnapping in the end.

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The plot structure and events that occurred at the beginning of the story also
were used to foreshadow the ending. Oates starts the story explaining Connie's
disconnection from her family. Next, she tells of the event when Connie goes to a DriveIn Restaurant with her friends. As Connie leaves the restaurant, she briefly encounters
who she will later learn to be Arnold Friend as Oates writes, "He wagged a finger at her
and laughed and said, 'Gonna get you baby,' and Connie turned away again without
Eddie noticing anything." Oates is not just foreshadowing but explicitly telling the reader
that Arnold Friend will appear again and try to kidnap Connie. Later, Connie stays home
alone as her family goes to a barbecue. In any story, it is known that when the author
explicitly tells that the character is home alone, something bad, likely to be a
kidnapping, will probably occur. Therefore, the fact that Connie stayed home alone is
another obvious instance where Oates foreshadows the Kidnapping of Connie at the
end of the story.
Characterization, Symbolism and Plot were only three of the many devices the
Oates used to foreshadow the end of the story, therefore adding Irony to the story's
already intense climax. At first read, many of these elements are easy to surpass, but
going through the story again it is interesting to notice all the small bits of foreshadowing
that Oates added all throughout the plot. With close examination, a reader can use
these devices to accurately estimate the ending of the story without actually reading it.