Fifteen ( Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

I ended up missing the first two days of class, and although it was only two days I feel as though I missed much more. I have never blogged before, and am slightly hesitant in figuring out what to say/ how to set the entire thing up but here goes…

The first day of class I attended, we talked about Bob Dylan’s song “Its All Over Now, Baby Blue” in relation to the Joyce Carol Oates story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? First of all, I would like to say I found the story fascinating. In many ways it is such an accurate depiction of a young high school girl. The stereotype of a girl this age is someone who is just beginning to look for who they are, and who is looking in all the wrongs places.

At the age of fifteen, the main character Connie is absorbed with material things, reputations, trends and growing up more than anything else. This is a trend that seems to be timeless; many young girls are consumed with the idea of growing up. I can remember when I was in kindergarten I wanted homework so I could be more like the girls which seemed so grown up in elementary school. When I finally reached elementary school I wanted to have braces so I could look like the same girls I idolized who were now in middle school. When I finally reached middle school and got the braces I craved so badly, I wanted them off so I could be more like the girls in high school who got attention from the older boys.

In class, the question was raised, “Is Connie stupid or what?” The aspect of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? that I find to be the most interesting is the fact that Connie so accurately represents a fifteen year old girl. She is not stupid, nor is she smart, she is simply fifteen. The battle that begins within every female when adolescence hits is so honestly displayed in this story. There are so many instances in which young girls get themselves into dangerous situations and we are forced to ask, “What were they thinking??” As an adolescent girl, the pull to grow up is so strong it often times undermines common sense. The fact that Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? was written by Joyce Carol Oates, a female, makes me wonder about her childhood, and her adolescence, what inspired her to write this story in this manner? Were there any incidents in her childhood that make this more appealing to her, or did she simply find the true story which this is based off of to be interesting.

Second of all, I love this Bob Dylan song, my favorite thing about Bob Dylan is the fact that in all honesty he has a pretty horrible voice, but he communicates so strongly through his lyrics and passion that it does not even matter. I would have had no idea what this song was about had it not come up in class, nor would I have taken the time to read the lyrics a few times through which are actually really interesting….

Its All Over Now, Baby Blue- Bob Dylan
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last

But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast

Yonder stands your orphan with his gun

Crying like a fire in the sunLook out the saints are comin' throughAnd it's all over now, Baby Blue.The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense

Take what you have gathered from coincidence

The empty handed painter from your streets

Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets

This sky, too, is folding under you

And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home

Your empty handed armies, are all going home

Your lover who just walked out the door

Has taken all his blankets from the floor

The carpet, too, is moving under you

And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you

Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you

The vagabond who's rapping at your door

Is standing in the clothes that you once wore

Strike another match, go start a new

And it's all over now, Baby Blue.