Description of The Plot of The Novel by Joyce Carol Oates

Connie is the 15-year-old protagonist in the story “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. She has a emotional conflict as Connie recognizes that she does not want to go with Arnold, but also grasps that she has little choice, as Arnold Friend threatens her family and leaves her with little choice. The conflict between Arnold and Connie clear cut good and evil with a complex aggression build. As Arnold advances start off sweet by him trying to lure Connie in the car with the music box, but soon gets aggressive when he sees she's questioning him about his age and that she doesn't want to go with him.

The suspense is first built when Connie has her first run-in Arnold friend when he says 'Gonna get you, baby'.The interest is the larger concern on how he got all that information on Connie's family , how he knew they wouldn't be back and then what's gonna happen to Connie when she goes with him. The title its self is a mystery on it's on makes us think about the meaning of the words “where are you going, where have you been?”. On page 9 “The place where you came from ain't there anymore,' Arnold tells her, 'and where you had in mind to go is canceled out' this is an example of Connie's dilemma as she confronts Arnold Friend, who wants to take her away from everything familiar off to an unknown.

The climax and turning point are the same because this is when Connie finally realizes the threat Arnold poses too her and moves away from her doorway locking the door .But Arnold threatens to harm her family if she doesn't come with him.connie becomes obedient to Arnold and almost broken somewhat as she does everything he says and walks out the door. Overall the story uses the third person point of view which is consistent throughout the story.

The theme of the story is sexual violence which is depicted by Arnold when he forcefully targets and manipulates Connie for her beauty and young age. The central idea is the threat of sexual violence especially in teenagers. The theme of sexual violence reinforces popular notions of life such as morality. The story is set in the suburbs in an unknown town in the US. This setting is essential and contributes to the story greatly by giving an insight into Connie’s teenage life, particularly in a town’s social scene.

To summarize, the imagistic style of the author is very appropriate to the nature of the story. For instance, the author brings an image of Connie in the reader’s mind by the description, ‘Connie had long dark blonde hair that drew anyone’s eye to it, and she wore part of it pulled up on her head and puffed out and the rest of it she let fall down her back.’The character, Connie, is the primary interest in the story. This is because the story revolves around her from the start to the end.