Beauty's Destruction

Danielle Armour
Henning
English 1102/Short Story
9 February 2010
Beauty's Destruction
How does Connie's point of view in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, in reference to beauty, give her a since of false security that leads her to destruction? Throughout the past, many young girls have used beauty to obtain their desires until it has blinded them, similar to fifteen year old Connie. At the beginning of the story, Oates, the author, automatically points out that Connie believes she is superior to her family and invincible. Connie has the impression that her family is jealous of her looks, all the while believing she can deceive her parents. This mindset leads her to believe that she can exploit her beauty to be superior over boys and use them sexually to gain self-confidence; however, vanity begins to badly affect Connie's common sense which leads to her being abducted by two strange men.
As Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? begins, Connie is scrutinized for always looking at herself in the mirror by her family and has the idea that she can get away with anything she does. June, Connie's sister, is described by the main character as a dull, homely looking girl who does nothing exciting with her life. The description of June gives the reader the impression that Connie views herself as being better than her sister. “She wore a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home,” (1369) gives the idea that Connie also deceives her parents through her looks. She walks and looks a certain way at home, but when she goes out her entire demeanor changes. Her father {text:soft-page-break} is extremely distant while her mother still reminisces about her younger years. The lack of attention Connie's family gives her leads to a search for that sense of security elsewhere. Connie's friends are also able to do whatever they want. The father says, “...when he came to pick them up again at...