A Taste Of Heaven By Oates: Summary

In this story, Oates writes about Connie who is a fifteen-year-old girl who, like most, notices her good looks in the mirror. Her mother has never approved of her and her actions and compares her to Connie’s older sister, June, who is twenty-four. June lives at home and works at Connie’s high school as a secretary (Oates, 1). Connie and her friends enjoy going to the movies, at least that is what she tells her father. They really go to a restaurant across the street to meet boys. Connie met a guy, Eddie, and has dinner with him. While out with Eddie, Connie sees another guy in a gold jalopy who was watching her. He wagged a finger and laughed and said, “Gonne get you, baby” (Oates, 2). Connie brushes it off and continues with dinner with Eddie. She then met back
The next day Connie’s family goes to a barbeque, but she decides to stay home. After they left, Connie went outside and sat in the sun until she got too hot, and went inside (Oates, 2). She turned on the radio to a program called XYZ Sunday Jamboree. After a while she heard a car coming up the drive and she sat up, startled because she knew it could not be her family coming home (Oates, 2). She looks out the window and sees a gold jalopy that caught the sunlight. Her heart began to beat and she checked her hair and whispered, “Christ. Christ,” wondering how bad she looked (Oates, 2). He asks her if she wants to ride around, but she does not know him. He compliments her looks and makes her feel good about herself, but she is trying act like she is not interested. They talk about the radio; his friend Ellie is playing the same station she was listening to. He introduces himself as Arnold Friend, which is written on the side of his jalopy (Oates, 3). As time goes on, he continues to pressure Connie to go for a ride, and when she says no, he is very persistent in her going with him. She says she has things to do, but he is