Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Literature is common ground to exhibit a person's grit and how they overcome or avoid challenges placed throughout a story. The easy way out of any obstacle is to avoid it, but this inclination will slowly become ingrained in one's psyche. Characters can exhibit symptoms of self-victimization, thinking problems they have caused do not stem from their actions but instead were forced to because of other people. This sentiment causes a character to form an idealized version of what is going on, thinking of themselves as innocent bystanders to their own lives. This delusional personality type was seen in Connie from "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and Mrs. Das in "The Interpreter of Maladies." As people grow, they will be able to recognize …show more content…
Das exhibit similar traits; Connie is still in an early stage where she can grow as a character, and Mrs. Das is a grown woman with children who will most likely not change her thinking. The levels of self-awareness are starkly evident, depending on other people to justify whatever action they're facing. Connie is a young girl dealing with feelings of being out of place with her friends and family, so she creates a daydream to escape her sordid reality. Mrs. Das is a mother of two children, one of whom is a child of an affair her husband isn't aware of. She uses Mr. Kapasi to gain comfort and encouragement for her bad decisions, and when not adulterated, she shuts down. Both characters use self-deception to deflect their problems; this leads to their lack of empowerment, which is displayed in their stories. In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie's encounter with self-deception in her journey for independence and validation is a cautionary tale. Her interactions with men have been in an isolated environment in which she has been able to control the situation. This status quo has allowed her to develop an aloof facet around males, not quite recognizing they were also their individuals rather than fantasies cooked up for …show more content…
The fundamental rule of her character is that she has tricked herself into believing she is in control of every situation; when this dissipates, she is left faulty. There is no defense mechanism built inside her because she has lied to herself that she doesn't ever need one, and the naive belief that she cannot be harmed has been proven false. Due to her self-deception, Connie is left unable to fight back, thus leading to the end of her short story. In "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri, Mrs. Das grapples with self-deception as she struggles to be satisfied with her marriage and family. The sanctity of marriage remains unimportant to Mrs. Das throughout the entire story, feeling disillusioned by the man she married when she was so young. While their relationship is crumbling, a guilt-ridden Mrs Das refuses to acknowledge it and fills the gaps in their marriage with superficial interactions to distract herself. This self-medicated therapy is made apparent when she and Mr Kapasi interact in the car, and she feels charmed by his

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