Early in the story on a Sunday morning, Connie's family leaves to go to a family barbeque down the street. Connie is left by herself and chooses to wash her hair instead of going to church. When she hears a car driving up to her house, her heart starts pounding, she pulls at her hair and says, "Christ. Christ.," not in reference to the Lord or religion in general but because she is worried

"I... found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long they're going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night..."

As the story progresses, Connie's language takes an obvious turn. When Arnold Friend, someone she has seen but never talked to, shows up on her doorstep, she is somewhat defensive, but curious. "I ain't late, am I?" is the first thing he says to her when she opens the screen door. Connie replies by saying, "Who the hell do you think you are?", a typical response of someone in that situation. If a complete stranger showed up at my house and talked to me as though we were best friends I would respond the same way.

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" uses language to gradually increase suspense. Religion is a part of the story, but it doesn't bring Conn

Some common words found in the essay are:
Soon Arnold, Arnold Friend, Where Connie, Christ Christ, Language Terror, Connie Arnold, arnold friend, Carol Oates's, typical teenager, connie replies, religion story, connie's language, throughout story,
Approximate Word count = 573
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)