Article "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates (1966).
Discuss in your initial post how you see the first part of this story relating to the second part. By "first part," I mean everything up until Arnold Friend shows up at Connie's house (page 991). The second part is everything after that. Keep in mind that what you are focusing on here is Connie's character.
Here are some different questions you could respond to in your post. Don't try to answer them all. Hopefully, different people will respond to different ones, so then you can respond to what others have said easier.
How does Connie's relationship with her parents (or her sister) affect the way she behaves?
Is there some sort of cause and effect in the behavior we see in the first part with what happens to her in the second part?
What about Connie makes her a target to Arnold Friend?
Is Connie immature? Does she grow up or mature over the course of the story?
If the story is not entirely meant to be realistic, then is there some sort of moral, like in a fairy tale?