Comparing Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? and Smooth Talk Essay

How Much is too Much?

Joyce Carol Oates' short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? and Joyce Chopra's film, Smooth Talk, have similar meanings, but different events that happen. The characters in the film and short story do not behave the same way, they learn different things, but meet the same ends. Although Smooth Talk was based on Oates' short story, Chopra adds more detail in the characters and more suspense. Oates starts the short story off by describing the characters, while Chopra's showed the setting of the first. How much is too much? In this story, the main character sacrifices herself for her family, not knowing where she was going or was she ever coming back. The Events in the story had their differences but some were similar.

In the film, Chopra Changes the setting to the beach instead of the mall. The main character, Connie looks older, and less worried about how she looks in the film, than in what Oates describes her as being Fifteen, and having a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck glance into mirror...(Oates 1155). Both Stories have a family that are pushed from each other. Chopra adds another friend in the film, and makes her as the one telling Connie and her other friend not to take daring challenges, that may cause trouble. The restruant looks different in the short story than in the film. Oates described the restaurant as big bottle, though squatter than a real bottle, and on a cap was a revolving figure of a grinning boy who held a hamburger aloft(1156). There are some events that take place both in the short story and film.

June, Connie's sister, is one of the characters that stay the same in both the film and short story. She is very plain; the director and author's view of June is the mother describing her as the good child. In the film, June communicates more with Connie than she did in the short story. June actually comes in Connie's room and have a conversation; but in the short story, we really do not know anything about her. The Mother's attitude towards Connie was still the same, but in the film, She was concerned, Where are you going...(Chopra). The Father was always away in Oates' story but in the film Chopra gave him an active part and he was around more. The father was concerned about his family and played a role in the film. The Director, Chopra, added more suspense at the end when Connie meets Arnold Friend.

Chopra gives more detail but similar in many ways to Oates' short story when it came to Arnold Friend. In the film, Arnold wasn't as funny made like Oates described him. In the short story he was described as shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig....(Oates 1158). Chopra had Arnold Friend moving more than in the short story. Chopra directed Arnold Friend to open the house door instead or staying out side like Oates' short story. All of these events led up to the end that was very mysterious.

Both Chopra and Oates kept it a mystery where Arnold Friend and Connie rode to. Chopra expands the end of the film by showing the car in a field then Both returning to Connie's house. Oates leave the story at a point where no one knows if Connie is returning. Chopra leaves the audience in suspense by not knowing if Connie was dreaming or did it really happen when she tells June, We just went for a ride...(Chopra) Connie knew if she did not go on this ride something bad may have happened to her or her family.

In Conclusion, both short story and film have similarities. However, Oates and Chopra had different views even though the film was based on Oates ideas. Chopra's and Oates's treatment had the same meanings. How much Connie was willing to sacrifice for her family? How much is too much? Even though she did not know what was going to happen, she took the ride anyway, which that sacrifice payed off at the end.