Structure

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is structured around one event in the life of the protagonist, Connie – an encounter with an enigmatic man and his subsequent sexual harassment of the girl while she is home alone.

The story relies on suspense and respects most of the elements of the plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action. However, the resolution is replaced by a cliffhanger, open ending.

Title

The short story was initially titled “Death and the Maiden”. This original title was more straightforward and clearly indicated that the plot is about a life-threatening situation concerning a young woman. Also, “Death” can be interpreted as a symbolic name for Arnold Friend or as a symbol for the loss of innocence.

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Beginning

The short story begins with an extended exposition in which the narrator presents the main character, Connie, giving readers details about her faulty relationships with her mother and sister, about the girl’s preoccupation with her looks and her habit of hanging out at a diner where older boys like to go, without telling her parents. The opening lines leave no doubt that Connie is going to be the central character:

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Middle

The middle of the short story presents the rising action. In this part, the narrator continues to give some details about Connie’s psychology, mostly regarding the way she views her mother and sister:

This did not really mean she disliked Connie, and actually Connie thought that her mother preferred her to June just because she was prettier, but the two of them kept up a pretense of exasperation, a sense that they were tugging and struggling over something of little value to either of them. (p. 164, ll. 37-41)

Tension, however, begins to build up as Connie is left home alone by her family who goes at a barbecue at her aunt’s place. During this time, Arnold drives by with his sidekick Ellie and tries to get Connie to go with him for a ride. At first, the teen is attracted by the attention she gets from Arnold, although she does not know him: “Connie blushed a little, because the glasses made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldn't decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk...” (p. 166, ll. 29-31)

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Ending

The falling action is marked by Connie simply being exhausted with fear and panic, unable to fully reject Arnold and slowly giving in to his demands, nearing the door of the house, as he threatens to hurt her family:

"You don't want them to get hurt," Arnold Friend went on. "Now, get up, honey. Get up all by yourself."
She stood.
"Now, turn this way. That's right. Come over here to me. (p. 175, ll. 5-8)

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