It's All Over Now Baby Blue Analysis

Brooke Howell

English 1B - MW 10:30

Professor Kaefer

May 9, 2012

Sometimes We May Have to Say Goodbye Even if We're Not Ready

The 1960s marks a decade of change for America. The words of one person spread like wildfire in this period; he is singer, songwriter, and poet Bob Dylan. In his song, The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan states, "You better start swimmin’/ or you’ll sink like a stone/For the times they are a-changing." Society showed its awareness of these changes through the music, media, clothing, the change in women’s roles whether it accepted them or not. Dylan's song It's All Over Now, Baby Blue is all about change, and this song greatly influenced Joyce Carol Oates's short story, Where Are You Going,…show more content…
The parents lack interest in their own daughter. Connie's father is rarely present in her life because he is "away at work most of the time and when he comes home he want[s] supper and he read[s] the newspaper at supper and after supper he [goes] to bed. He didn't bother talking much to them" (Oates). Her mother continually praises her older sister right in front her while complaining about Connie. For example, her mom nags her by asking, "Why don't you keep your room clean like your sister?" (Oates). It is normal for most parents to encourage their children, letting them know they are proud of them and allowing them to see themselves as beautiful. On the contrary, Connie's mother tells her to, “stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (Oates 1). Thus, completely denying the reassurance needed for the normal development of the child. In addition, Kurkowski claims it adds to the resentment that Connie feels toward her mother causing Connie to "wish… her mother was dead and she herself dead" (Oates 1). It appears as though Connie's leap into adulthood will be sooner than later due to a complete lack of parental…show more content…
Oates argues that the fight for freedom is not always easy, while bringing perspective to the struggles women have and continue to face in an ever changing world where one’s sexuality and the cross over into adulthood is forever questioned. Oates short story begs the question, does one’s sexual maturity determine their adulthood and do we ever have control over it? Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? answers yes, this is the determining factor whether one is ready to face it or not.

Works Cited
Barstow, Jane M. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition: (1-3) United States: Salem Press, 2004. Print.
Davidson, Rob. "Dedication Of Joyce Carol Oates Short Story To Dylan." Sidewalk. 31 Aug. 1997. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
Dylan, Bob. "The Times They Are A-Changin' Lyrics." Bob Dylan. Web. 01 May 2012.
Filliez, Abbey. Symbols on Meaning. 20 Sept. 2010. Print.
Kurkowski, Clifford J. “A Psychological Analysis of Connie: A Feminist Viewpoint of ‘Where

Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” MindSpring. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1994. Print.

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 20 Apr.