"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates is a story about a teenage girl in the 1960's, named Connie, and her struggle to escape reality while simultaneously resisting authority and playing the role of beauty queen. Connie wants nothing less than to be like her mother or sister. She thinks that because she is prettier than them that she is above them. Connie's fascination with her beauty and her inability to distinguish reality from fantasy ultimately lead to her own downfall in the end. Connie, a victim of terrifying circumstance will be forever changed by her interactions with the antagonist of the story, Arnold Friend. Connie resists falling into the role of what a daughter, sister, and young girl should be.
