How the Past Possesses the Present in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

What are humans constantly trying to do? Avoid temptation. Everyday, people make the choice to do one thing instead of another which is what they really want to do. Whether that choice was made due to an obligation, to pass a class, or to maybe live a healthier life, humans avoid temptation in their daily life. Some are better at it than others, but no one can hide from it completely. In the short story by Carol Oates, she puts temptation out on the table where everyone can see it, and understand how it possesses us.

Connie is a pretty fifteen year old girl who only cares about how other people see her. We all knew someone like this when we were that age; perhaps we were that person. From the very beginning, Oates sets up a character we can all relate to and understand. Then one day, Connie is confronted by a man named Arnold Friend, the epitome of temptation.

The notion of temptation can be traced back to several myths and stories throughout history. It is also central to many religions. In the story of Psyche and Eros, Psyche is convinced by her jealous sisters to give in to temptation and look upon the face of her husband and captor. Another tale, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, centralizes on this theme. When Orpheus has been granted his plea to Hades to return his loved one Eurydice back to him, the one condition Hades sets before him is disobeyed because Orpheus could not stand the temptation. In Rapunzel, the same theme arises. In the Bible, Jesus goes out into the desert and Satan tempts him. Over and over again, the notion that we cannot overcome the temptations laid before us is present. Carol Oates portrays this through her story, from the perspective of a young girl.

Not only does Oates' story centralize on our willingness to succumb to the temptations laid before us, but she focuses on the desire of love. The myth of a demon lover. Connie knows she should not be with this man, or much worse want to be with this man, but something inside her is curious, lustful almost. The story plays on the ancient myth of Demeter and Persephone, where a confrontation between love and death occurs. Connie is confronted by both love and death from Arnold Friend, as he confesses his love for her, but then comes on to Connie in a sexual, stalker-type way. Connie is horrified, yet the reader is perhaps more horrified when the end of the story comes. The end begs the question: are we supposed to just give into temptation? Or does that depend on the kind of temptation? Because love tempts us all, all we have to do is give in.