Summary Of The Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

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In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie, the fifteen year old main character, loves to admire herself. Her family tends to criticize her for being so obsessed with herself. Connie is expected to follow in her sister, June’s, footsteps. The only good custom Connie is thankful for is June going out with her friends occasionally. This allows Connie to be able to go out as well. When Connie goes out with her friends, they like to sneak around to meet boys. She meets this one strange named Arnold Friend. Later, when he shows up to her house unexpectedly, Connie realizes that Arnold is a threat and becomes violent, and he threatens to harm her family if she calls the police. Connie tries to call the police anyway, but has a panic attack and cannot make the call. In the end, she leaves the house and joins Arnold. Oates ends the story quite abruptly, which allows the reader to ponder and make their own conclusion as to what happens to Connie “…so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it.” (326). Oates allows the reader to …show more content…
Oates gives her readers a slight glimpse to the end when Connie sees a man in a gold convertible while she is out with her friends and says “Gonna get you, baby.” (314). The man in the gold car that was introduced towards the middle of the story shows back up around the end. The reader learns that this strange man’s name is Arnold Friend; each vivid detail Oates provides shows that he is acting as if he is a friend: “His smile assured her that everything was fine” (318), although some of the subtle gestures he makes and things he says portray otherwise: “He was standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing himself.” (317). This would make the story especially terrifying to every reader, especially young
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