Flashcards for Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Arnold Friend

Arnold Friend is the main antagonist of the story and the source of its terror.

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Connie

Connie is the fifteen-year-old main character in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" — a girl stuck between the dreamy world of adolescence and the harsh realities of adulthood.

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Connie's Father

Connie's father plays a peripheral yet symbolically important role in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

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Connie's Mother

Connie's mother plays a secondary yet crucial role in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

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Eddie

Eddie is Connie's boyfriend, fitting for her age and a minor yet symbolically significant character in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

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Ellie Oscar

Ellie Oscar is Arnold Friend's silent and unsettling companion in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

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June

June is Connie's older sister in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and serves mainly as a foil and structural contrast to the story's protagonist.

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“The place where you came from ain't there any more, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out.”

This chilling line is delivered by Arnold Friend, the story's mysterious and predatory antagonist, during his menacing visit to fifteen-year-old Connie's home while her family is away.

Arnold Friend

“Arnold Friend said, in a gentle-loud voice that was like a stage voice, 'The place where you came from ain't there any more.'”

This unsettling line is delivered by Arnold Friend, the story's mysterious and predatory antagonist, as he stands outside Connie's family farmhouse, trying to coax her into his car.

Arnold Friend

“Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home.”

This line comes from Joyce Carol Oates's well-known 1966 short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and is part of the third-person narrator's early portrayal of the teenage protagonist, Connie.

Omniscient Narrator

“She thought, I'm not going to sleep in my bed again. Her bright green blouse was all wet.”

This line occurs near the climax of Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Connie (narrative/free indirect discourse)

“Don't you know who I am? ... I'm your lover, honey.”

This chilling line comes from Arnold Friend, the story's mysterious and predatory antagonist, directed at fifteen-year-old Connie during his menacing visit while her family is away.

Arnold Friend

“I ain't made plans for coming in that house where I don't belong but just for you to come out to me, the way you should.”

This chilling line is delivered by Arnold Friend, the story's mysterious and predatory villain, to fifteen-year-old Connie as he stands outside her family's farmhouse in Joyce Carol Oates's 1966 short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Arnold Friend

“We'll go out to a nice field, out in the country here where it smells so nice and it's sunny.”

This chilling line comes from Arnold Friend, the story's mysterious and predatory antagonist, as he tries to lure fifteen-year-old Connie into his car while standing outside her family's home.

Arnold Friend

“My sweet little blue-eyed girl, he said in a half-sung sigh that had nothing to do with her brown eyes.”

This line comes toward the end of Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Arnold Friend

Arnold Friend's Boots

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Arnold Friend's boots reflect his demonic, predatory nature and the false sense of power he tries to project.

Arnold Friend's Car

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," Arnold Friend's gold convertible serves as a symbol of predatory seduction and the chilling clash between fantasy and reality.

Connie's House / The Screen Door

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," Connie's house and its screen door illustrate the delicate line between teenage innocence and the dangers posed by adults.

Music

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", music acts as a symbol of seduction, false intimacy, and the seductive pull of popular culture.

The Open Road / Outside World

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", the open road and the world outside Connie's home embody the alluring yet dangerous promise of freedom and adult experiences.

Tone

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", the tone is the story's most unsettling weapon.

Suspense

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", suspense builds gradually through the oppressive atmosphere of Arnold Friend's visit to Connie's home.

Imagery

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", imagery serves as the story's main tool of dread.

Symbolism

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", symbolism serves as a powerful source of dread, turning surface realism into a more mythic and sinister experience.

Foreshadowing

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", foreshadowing builds a slow sense of dread that makes the ending both shocking and feel like a foregone conclusion.

Irony

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", irony acts as a slow-building trap that draws the reader into Connie's experience.

Juxtaposition

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", juxtaposition drives the growing sense of dread.

Allegory

In Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", allegory unfolds through the complex identity of Arnold Friend, who serves both as a realistic predator and as a representation of Death or the Devil come to claim a soul.

Motif

In Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", music plays a crucial role in the narrative, representing both allure and danger.

jalopy

An old, beat-up car that is in poor condition and barely runs. Used here to describe the kind of rundown vehicle that contrasts with the flashy car Arnold Friend drives.

noun · Chapter 1

convertible

A car with a roof that can be folded back or removed entirely, associated here with youth culture and a flashy, dangerous freedom.

noun · Chapter 1

trashy

Cheap, vulgar, or of low moral character — used here as a social judgment about a girl's appearance or behavior, especially in the eyes of family.

adjective · Chapter 1

raucous

Unpleasantly loud, harsh, and disorderly. Used here to describe a kind of noisy, rough energy associated with the music or the crowd.

adjective · Chapter 1

purred

Spoke in a low, smooth, almost purring tone meant to be seductive or soothing, the way a predator might lull its prey into a false sense of calm.

verb · Chapter 1

cajoling

Persuading someone to do something by using flattery, gentle coaxing, or persistent sweet talk rather than force or direct argument.

verb · Chapter 1

earnest

Sincere and serious in manner or intention. Used here with an unsettling quality, as the character's apparent sincerity feels threatening rather than reassuring.

adjective · Chapter 1

glazed

Having a blank, unfocused look, as if the eyes are covered with a glassy film — suggesting a dazed, disconnected, or trance-like mental state.

adjective · Chapter 1

chassis

The base frame of a vehicle on which the body is mounted. Used here in a way that draws attention to the car's structure as something slightly off or disguised.

noun · Chapter 1

mutter

To speak quietly and indistinctly, often in a low grumble, so that the words are hard to make out — suggesting secrecy, anger, or unease.

verb · Chapter 1

leer

To look at someone with a sly, unpleasant, or sexually suggestive expression that makes the subject feel uncomfortable or threatened.

verb · Chapter 1

trance

A half-conscious, dreamlike state in which a person seems detached from their surroundings and unable to act on their own will.

noun · Chapter 1

filthy

Morally corrupt or obscene, not merely physically dirty — used here to describe language or suggestions that are sexually degrading.

adjective · Chapter 1

imploringly

In a way that begs or pleads desperately, expressing urgent need or appeal to another person's mercy or sympathy.

adverb · Chapter 1

daze

A state of stunned confusion or shock in which a person cannot think clearly or respond normally to what is happening around them.

noun · Chapter 1