In both short stories "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?  and "Teenage Wasteland  by Joyce Carol Oates and Anne Tyler respectively, try to convey a message about teenagers who have dilemmas with their parents and end up running away from home. Both authors talk about very similar reasons that influence Connie's and Donny's decision one way or the other. Issues related to self-esteem, level of parental involvement, manipulation by powerful male figures and the significance of music are the main factors of why Connie and Donny run away. Connie is a fifteen year old teenager who considers herself very pretty, and thinks that's all that matters. In a physical way, Connie has an inflated self esteem. Nevertheless, her inner self esteem is affected by the constant arguments she has with her mother. She becomes weaker allowing herself to self-destruct. Conversely, Donny is lacking self esteem. His mother, Daisy, argues that she has always complimented him and doesn't understand how his self esteem can be so low. "She had always been free with her praise. She had always told Donny he had talent, was smart, and was good with his hands  (Tyler 703). However the problem is, "this kid's feeling ¦ underestimated  because his parents "expect the worst of him  (Tyler 704). Donny feels as if he was a little child, and therefore believes he needs to do something else with his life. There is no evidence that Connie's mother has ever admired her. Instead she is always comparing her to her older sister, June. Comments like "Why don't you keep your room clean like your sister?  (Oates 547). As a result, Connie feels as if nothing she does is ever satisfactory in the eyes of her mother. She feels unappreciated by her parents because her father doesn't care, and her mother wants her to be like June. So, her mother doesn't really interact with Connie in a positive way. But if her mother, rather than picking out all her mistakes, would admire her, Connie would most likely feel different about her mother. She would no longer "wish her mother was dead ¦  (Oates 547). Aside from that, Connie does not have the support from his father. Her father lacks attentiveness towards Connie because "[Her] father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed  (Oats 547). Even though Connie never says anything about what she wants or needs, it is very probable that inside of her, Connie wants her parents to be a little bit more involved in her life, in a good way obvio