Where Are You Going
Kevin Coffman
College Composition 2
Mrs. Johnson
March 8, 2013
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
The story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a very interesting short story written by Joyce Carol Oats. Her story begins in the summer, and 15-year-old Connie spends much of her time lounging around the house, going out with friends, and meeting boys. One night a strange guy makes a threatening gesture to her in the parking lot of a local drive-in restaurant. She thinks nothing of it until one Sunday afternoon, when the rest of her family attends a barbecue at an aunt's house, leaving her home alone. The strange guy pulls up in her driveway in a gold-colored car, accompanied by a friend. The driver introduces himself as Arnold Friend and asks Connie to join him for a ride. During the course of their conversation, Connie realizes that Arnold is a threat. Arnold's language becomes more sexually explicit and violent, and he threatens to harm her family if she calls the police. Connie makes a last-ditch effort to call the police, but panics and is unable to make the call. In the end, she leaves the house and joins Arnold. As you can see Connie is just an average teenage girl, which means she is only worried about boys and what they think about her. I think she is so worried about boys because she doesn’t have much of a father figure. Her father is always at work and when he is home, he never talks to anyone. Since she is missing that man, she searches for attention from other boys, but she seems to attract the wrong kind of guy. She attracts Arnold
College Composition 2
Mrs. Johnson
March 8, 2013
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
The story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a very interesting short story written by Joyce Carol Oats. Her story begins in the summer, and 15-year-old Connie spends much of her time lounging around the house, going out with friends, and meeting boys. One night a strange guy makes a threatening gesture to her in the parking lot of a local drive-in restaurant. She thinks nothing of it until one Sunday afternoon, when the rest of her family attends a barbecue at an aunt's house, leaving her home alone. The strange guy pulls up in her driveway in a gold-colored car, accompanied by a friend. The driver introduces himself as Arnold Friend and asks Connie to join him for a ride. During the course of their conversation, Connie realizes that Arnold is a threat. Arnold's language becomes more sexually explicit and violent, and he threatens to harm her family if she calls the police. Connie makes a last-ditch effort to call the police, but panics and is unable to make the call. In the end, she leaves the house and joins Arnold. As you can see Connie is just an average teenage girl, which means she is only worried about boys and what they think about her. I think she is so worried about boys because she doesn’t have much of a father figure. Her father is always at work and when he is home, he never talks to anyone. Since she is missing that man, she searches for attention from other boys, but she seems to attract the wrong kind of guy. She attracts Arnold