Introduction Usually, authors of the most outstanding pieces of literature explain their attitudes towards some significant issues with the help of dozens of chapters and hundreds of pages. Many people believe that it is impossible to create a full-fledged literary work consisting of just a few pages except for stories for children and rhymes. However, the opinion above is denied by many writers, and Joyce Carol Oates is among them. The writer is famous, thanks to her short stories addressing crucial topics for individuals and the whole nation. Thus, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is one of her best works that describes essential themes with the help of not many characters, and it evokes relevant thoughts among readers. Summary To begin with, this piece of literature tells the story of a pretty 15-year-old girl, Connie. As it often happens, this girl is superficial – all she likes is watching movies, listening to music, and dating boys. At the same time, she is not very comfortable with members of her family, her mother, and her elder sister, June. Thus, Connie is said to be one of the most ordinary American teenagers. One night, Connie goes on a date with Eddie, one of her numerous boyfriends. At some point, the girl notices another guy who points with his finger at her and says: “Gonna get you, baby” (Oates 2016, 1). After a while, Connie recalls this stranger when he, Arnold Friend, and his companion, Ellie, appear in front of her house in a gold-colored convertible. Arnold explains that he has come to invite Connie for a ride. At first, the girl is intrigued by this stranger, but a further conversation makes her nervous. The threat is intensified by the fact that she is alone at home because all her relatives are attending a barbecue. Arnold tries to make Connie leave her house and get into his car. In addition to that, she realizes that Arnold is almost twice older; Connie wants to call the police. However, she fails to do it because the man promises to harm her family in this case. Scared to death, Connie leaves her house and joins Arnold Friend for a ride. The story has an open final, and Connie’s further fate leaves unmentioned. Short Story Analysis As has been mentioned, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is a short story with its peculiarities. One can suppose that this piece of literature does not include many characters and themes. Even though it might be true concerning the first element, since Connie and Arnold seem to be the only meaningful persons in the story, the situation is not straightforward when it comes to topics. Thus, further analysis is required to analyze this short story and its content entirely. Characters Connie is a selfish girl who takes care of nothing and nobody except herself. In addition to that, she perceives the world through primitive concepts only ( Study Guide 2016). This fact appears to be dangerous for her because the first encounter with Arnold seems to be positive thanks to his appealing clothes. However, Connie is not an unchanged character since her final decision to join Arnold shows that she can sacrifice herself to save the family. Thus, the author shows that even the most usual people can become extraordinary in exceptional cases. On the contrary, Arnold Friend is a determined antagonist of the short story. This man is much older than Connie is, but he tries to look younger using clothes. However, his appearance does not correspon