Language of Terror When a person is put in an incredibly horrifying situation where the outcome is unpredictable many physical and emotional changes take place. Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” places Connie, a typical teenager, in this situation. Throughout the story, occasionally using religious undertones, Connie’s language of a typical teenager gradually changes, from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified. 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 t