Impact of Setting on Characters
The goal of every author is to build a story that is captivating in the eyes of the readers. An interesting story borrows a lot from the characters and the way they work in unity to build the theme, or themes that the author intends to pass across. The setting is mostly created by imagery and involves the locations in the story, the time, as well as the social structure from where the story is built. Setting and imagery play a significant role in building the characters, and decision making in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Oates.
The story is set in a family structure where conflict is growing between a girl and her family. Connie feels targeted by her sister and her mother for mistakes that she thought was petty. Connie’s mother had lost her pretty looks, and she always confronted Connie for what she termed as being ignorant. In most of the times, Connie would be compared to her sister who worked as a secretary in her school, and the comparison did not always go down well with her: “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister?” Oates (1). The conflict was so great that at some point Connie changed her perception about life and started wishing that she and her mother were better off dead than being alive. The setting affects the behavior of Connie in that she thought the society was wrong to believe that a young sister should take after the behavior of her older sister.
The timeframe of the story influenced the behavior of several characters. The story is set at a time when Connie’s mother has advanced in age, and her pretty looks have faded. Such a setting changes Connie’s mother’s perception of beauty. The image created by the author concerning Connie’s gawking behavior showed how beauty possessed her. Connie’s mother thinks that Connie’s behavior of being lazy is impacted by the fact that she is pretty. Also, the age gap between Connie and her sister could have caused the difference between the behaviors of the two sisters. However, the judgment seemed equal for the two sisters despite the difference in their ages.
A story set in a social structure where men are always assumed to have authority over women creates women who feel inferior in front of men. Arnold feels that he has authority over Connie and that he should take her for a ride although they have just met for the first time. On the other hand, Connie does not see the request by Arnold as odd although she appears to reject the offer. The tone used by Arnold is full of authority and does not listen to any excuse given by Connie: “But I know what it is. I know your name and all about you, lots of things” Oates (4). Connie agrees to accompany Arnold either because it was normal for ladies to go out with strange men, or maybe because she was too weak to give any resistance. Also, the social structure allowed girls to go out on their own to have fun without parents taking any serious concern.
In sum, the setting of the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” presents the main factor affecting the behavior of several characters. Connie is the main character whose behavior has been built through setting and imagery. The social context of the story acts to allow the actions portrayed by the characters.
Work Cited
Oates, Joyce Carol, and Tobias Wolff. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?. Difusión, Centro de Investigación y Pubicaciones de Idiomas, 2013.