When a person finds themselves in an incredibly horrible situation where the outcome is unpredictable, many physical and emotional changes occur. Joyce Carol Oates' story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" places Connie, a typical teenager, in this situation. Over the course of the story, occasionally using religious overtones, Connie's typical language as a teenager gradually changes, from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified. As the story begins, one Sunday morning, Connie's family goes out to a family barbecue down the street. Connie is left alone and chooses to wash her hair instead of going to church. When she hears a car approaching her house, her heart starts pounding, she pulls her hair and says, "Christ. Christ.", not in reference to the Lord or religion in general, but because she is worried about how much she is bad. it seems. This gives an indication of how the author interprets religion in the story, not important and not serious. As the story progresses, Connie's language takes an obvious turn. When Arnold Friend, someone she's seen but never spoken to, shows up at her door, she's a little defensive, but curious. "I'm not late, am I?" is the first thing he says to her when he opens the screen door. Connie responds by saying, "Who the hell do you think you are?", a typical response from someone in that situation. If a complete stranger showed up at my house and talked to me like we were best friends, I would respond the same way. Throughout the story Oates continues to use foul language to illustrate the story and show how much Arnold Friend knows about Connie. The more Arnold talks, the more he reveals his knowledge of Connie and the things and people around her. Soon, Arnold begins naming all of Connie's friends, assuring her, "I know everyone." Arnold also knows things about her that he would only know if he was with her the whole time, "I... I found out everything about you like I know your parents and your sister went somewhere and I know where and how long they're staying you're going to leave, and I know who you were with last night..." Connie's fear of the situation sends waves of dizziness through her body, makes her hands shake, and causes "Her heart [to be] too big now for her his chest and pulse made her sweat everywhere.