Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

When a main character of a story is confident the reader expects just that, confidence, cool under pressure, ready to take on a challenge. But the main character, Connie, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” exhibits much less of a confident role in the story as the pages turn. Connie’s character is an example of a person who flaunts false confidence in any reasonably comfortable situation, only to drop it all in the face of danger. Connie is not what you would expect from a major character and ultimately pays for her over abundance of false confidence in the final pages of the story. The transition from confidence to terror can be measured as Arnold Friend pushes and prods Connie, eventually pushing too far and bringing her to the breaking point. Connie’s confidence can be seen as a veil from the very beginning of the story. With her own mother scolding her for her vanity, it can be assumed that Connie has a …show more content…
As she goes to the drive-in movie with her friend Eddie, Connie has the slightest of interactions with Arnold Friend, “…just at that moment she happened to glance at a face just a few feet from hers…He stared at her and then his lips widened into a grin. Connie slit her eyes at him and turned away…” (314). For Connie, that may have seemed like a smart move. Slitting her eyes and disregarding this person like they meant nothing to her. You would think that kind of confidence would immediately shut down any hopes of officially meeting someone, but not for Arnold. “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, ‘Gonna get you, baby,’ and Connie turned away again…” (314). In the moment that Connie turned away, her veil of confidence could be seen right through. Turning away and ignoring the situation shows that not only was she uncomfortable, but that she would not be confident enough to confront this person head on. Little did she know, she would have to do just