Reaction to "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"

I thought it was interesting how the only person to mention Connie’s friends’ names is the creepy man stalking Connie. It adds to Connie’s overall narcissism, as if her friends are not important enough to receive names, even though they spend all of their free time together. Connie’s life centers around herself and everyone else in her life are merely supporting characters. I hated Connie at first; she is vain, obnoxious, and rude to everyone around her. Yet as the story continues, I feel like she did not deserve to be treated the way that she was by the two unsettling men. While she should have exercised more caution and gotten away before things progressed as far as they did, she found herself in a position with no real escape route. The men were clearly stalking Connie, as well as the rest of her family, and had grossly overstepped boundaries. Connie did bring it upon herself by going over to the restaurant, but I felt that her bad decisions were not enough to warrant her getting kidnapped and probably raped by some creepy men. She did not talk to them at the restaurant and did not seem to lead them on in any way. Connie used to live in a fantasy world where she could hang out with boys and escape the eyes of her parents and perfect sister, and while her behavior is immature and dangerous, the area that she describes her friends going to seemed safe enough and I was surprised that the men turned out to be as disconcerting as they were. As much as I dislike Connie, I am not entirely sure that she deserves the troubling end that awaits her.

I loved the way Oates used Arnold Friend to flesh out the observations that the narrator gives us. Connie never mentions her friend’s names and keeps all of her observations vague, but Friend explains all of Connie’s friend’s first and last names, plus several other disturbing images. He knows the color of June’s dress, while Connie only notes that her sister is dressed up, and the most disturbing details about Connie’s family. Arnold gives the reader a clearer image of the setting and characters in the story, while developing his own character as frightening and exceptionally disturbing. Connie only offers information about herself, from her hair to her shoes and charms bracelets, but Friend cleans up the vague information Connie gives, while once again establishing how narcissistic Connie is and how creepy he and Eddie are.