Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis

Darkness in Broad Daylight
Joyce Carol Oates’ story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” describes an adolescent’s perspective of life. Connie is fifteen years old. Her mind and body are transitioning from that of a child to that of a young woman. She worries about her appearance, and she worries about how other people might see her. Her sexuality is unleashed by puberty, and her sexual desires constantly occupy her mind. She fantasizes about how it would feel to be touched by a boy. Moreover, Connie spends a lot of time with her best friend Betty, for they have a lot of interests in common. They dress and talk alike, and they fantasize about boys. Both girls are out of school for summer vacations, and so they have a lot a free time

She is taken aback when Arnold calls her by her name, but she decides to ignore it. She is excited that this guy remembers her. He came looking for HER, and he is inviting her for a ride. She reminds him that she has not yet said her name, and he responds, “But I know what it is. I know your name and all about you, lots of things” (556). “I took a special interest in you, such a pretty girl, and found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewhere and I know where and how long they’re going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friend’s name is Betty. Right?” (556). It scares her that he knows so much about her and her family, and she observes him more carefully. She notices that he dresses and acts like a boy her age would, but he seems odd now, for he looks old. He looks like a man in his thirties. “At this knowledge her heart began to pound faster” (557). Then, Connie takes a look at the other man in the passenger seat, and realizes that this man looks older than Arnold. “Ellie turned for the first time and Connie saw with shock that he wasn’t a kid either…” (557). At this point Connie should understand that the situation is dangerous. There are two grown men at her door. They have a car ready to take her, and they know she is alone. She should invent an excuse to go in her house, and lock the door behind her. However, she does not try to get away because it is still unclear to her that this men are at her house to hurt her. As Gretchen Schulz and R.J.R. Rockwood put it, “Toward Arnold friend and what he represents, Connie is ambivalent: she is both fascinated and frightened. She is after all, at that confusing age when girls feels, thinks, and acts both like a child, put off by a possible lover, and like a woman, attracted to him”(577). In other words, Connie’s actions are led by her shallow emotions and desires. Her intuition warns