Everyone experiences transitions in their lives. Some changes are minor, like moving from one class to another. Other times, these changes are major, such as the transition from youth to adulthood. Author Joyce Carol Oates attempts to convey the powerful effect that the opposite sex can have on a teenage girl and shows the potentially dangerous consequences that can result from succumbing to your desires without even thinking about it. Oates dramatizes a real-life story of bad deeds to test and examine the defining moment people face when they find themselves at a crossroads between the illusions and innocence of youth and the uncertain future that awaits them. “Where are you going, where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. tells the story of a teenager named Connie who struggles to transition from being a teenager to becoming an adult. She's a shallow, selfish teenager who finds herself in a horrible situation that she has to accept unless she wants her family to be in the place she finds herself. the same horrible situation. Like most teenagers, Connie explores her surroundings and many temptations confront her along the way. Connie's mother and her own intuition try to protect her from the nastiness of society, but sometimes the allure of these attractions "yells to someone." “like fire in the sun” (Dylan 613). The main character is Connie, a fifth-year-old who rebels against her mother's wishes. First of all, Connie was not happy at home, her father was at work most of the time. time and didn't bother to talk to them according to the story, so Connie didn't have a relationship with him. Connie found happiness by running away with her friends, going to the square and daydreaming about boys. ..... middle of paper ...... and he was at her house, and who was really Arnold Friend. Some people think Arnold Friend is a predator looking for a new victim, but I think in a strange way Arnold becomes Connie's way of escaping into her fantasy world. When she learns his true intentions, she is scared to death at first, but eventually this fear gives way when she gets into his car. Connie may think she won't see her mother again or sleep in her bed, but at the same time, she will escape her old life. Maybe she made her decision then; Connie no longer resists Arnold after this point and does everything he says to do. As she walks through the door, she sees the "vast, sunlit expanses of the earth behind him", in contrast to the house she leaves, which "looked small". This shows her entering his fantasy world, or at least that's what she thinks..