Summary Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the main character, Connie, is on the brink of adulthood and is experimenting with the sexual freedom that comes with it. On the weekends, Connie and her friend go to the mall or the diner and pursue older boys with which they will slip into dark alleys or cars. One night, when leaving the diner to go hang out with a boy, a man in a gold convertible catches Connie’s eye and says to her, “Gonna get you, baby”. Later in the story, Connie is tanning outside while her family is at a picnic. She hears a car pull up in her drive and she recognizes the gold convertible and the man driving it. This man, who she has never spoken to, immediately tries to get Connie to go for a ride. A little later he is
The black, tar-like sayings and pictures are a major contrast to the bright, gold paint of the car. One of the painted on sayings states, “Man the flying saucers”, which was an expression that was used the year before but it was no longer being said. Connie noticed that she knew this saying and thought it was unusual, “She looked at it for a while as if the words meant something to her that she did not yet know”. She knew that this expression was used by her younger peers but did not give it enough thought to realize that it was strange that someone Arnold’s age would have it painted on his car. Another symbol painted on his car was his name with a grinning face with sunglasses. These two paintings are conversation starters and his attempt to lure Connie to come closer. They also show Connie that Arnold is not as genuine as he is trying to seem and that he is definitely not eighteen like he claims to be. Arnold Friend is trying to seem youthful, humorous, and approachable to younger girls by putting these meaningless sayings all over his
He is a stalker and creep who wants a girl that is exceedingly too young for him. His car is important to him because it is his attempt at getting Connie to leave with him. It shows that he is trying to seem young, that his true nature is intensely threatening, and that he uses his car to show that he has all of the power and freedom. Connie was given an impossible decision to make and she, unfortunately, makes the wrong one because of the lack of control and freedom she