“ An Incarnation of evil “
Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” follows the story of a 15-year-old girl, in the summer of the late 1960’s named Connie; who loves to act older than she actually is. And by doing this, she attracts the wrong kind of attention, in other words, she succumbs to her own vanities and insecurities. It is clear that the portrayal of Arnold Friend represents an incarnation of evil or Satan himself, who tries to lure Connie into his world of sex, drugs, and false promises. And the harsh reality is, Oates connects the story to real life scenarios, in which young girls, or even grown women are lured and taken away, due to false promises and a good time. Arnold Friend represents an incarnation
The story describes Arnold Friend as, “he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig.” (Oates 3) And as the story continues, “he placed his sunglasses on the top of his head, carefully, as if he was indeed wearing a wig.” (Oates 12) And when he takes off his glasses he appears to have really pale, almost translucent skin around his eyes, “then he began to smile again. She watched this smile come, awkward as if he was smiling from inside a mask.” (Oates 13) And when Connie is confronted by Arnold, her heart begins to pound hard and she feels as if she had no control over her body almost like she isn’t in control of herself. Arnold Friend physical traits and non-human characteristics leads the reader to believe that he is trying to hide his true identity. Furthermore, while reading this story, it reminded me of a verse in second Corinthians 11-14, where the apostle Paul describes Satan as an “angel of light” who can charm and give people a false sense of security and hope. And after reading this short story, it is clear that Joyce Carol Oates incorporated Arnold Friend to represent an “angel of light” who tries to charm Connie, with false promises and take her away from her unhappy teenage life. And at first glance Connie does develop an attractiveness to Arnold because of his bad boy look and care
Ultimately, without Arnold doing any actual harm to her, his manipulation towards Connie actually works and she ends up taking a “ride.” Furthermore, I believe Joyce Carol Oates choose to name the protagonist Arnold Friend because, if we would to remove the “R” out of Arnold Friend name, then the story could change drastically from a name that sounds pleasant and safe to “An Old Fiend” something that roams the earth and collect souls, hence double entendre “angel of light”. Furthermore, Oates represents Arnold as the devil through the way he talks because of his ability to change his voice “He spoke in a simple lilting voice, exactly as if he were reciting the words to a song. His smiled assured her that everything was fine.” (Oates 9). One interpretation that I have come up with is that Ellie, the one who is fiddling with radio in the car, is controlling Arnold’s voice and trying to adjust it, to make it sound modern
At the end of the movie, a stranger named Arnold Friend encountered Connie at her home while she was home alone. Arnold was a vicious, but alluring character. The way he dressed was as if he tried to imitate a young teenage boy. First, his intentions for Connie were kind of blurry. Connie, being as
Connie first encounters Arnold in a parking lot while she is out with her friends, but she does not yet know who he is. She notices him standing near his car, a gold colored convertible jalopy, staring at her. When she walks by he says he is going to "get" her, but Connie does not think anything of it and just turns away.
Oates uses a great number of symbols in her short story "Where are you going? Where have you been? to create an aura of unease and Devilishness. Her principal symbols are Arnold Friend, his disguise, and the music Connie listens to. Oates' use of symbolism and Biblical allusions to Satan force the reader to raise an eyebrow to the character of Arnold Friend and the doomed future of Connie.
Arnold Friend is an important character in Connie’s story because he is one of the main reasons she goes undergoes a change. In short, while Connie is going through a teenage phase of exploring sexuality, he comes to Connie’s house to take her with the intention of raping her. More importantly he is portrayed with some of devilish appearances and behavior, to stress the idea of the situation Connie has gotten into and the meaning of her transition. The devil archetype is seen as an evil character that embodies devil characteristics as well as tempting the protagonist with things that will ruin their soul. Thesis Statement!!!! Some evidence that Arnold Friend is the devil incarnate are the facts that he does not cross threshold, he seems to be all-knowing and he has to tempt and persuade Connie to leave with him.
Arnold Friend could possibly be a symbol of the devil. Friend tries to be kind and tells Connie he will take care of her and everything to try and get her to come with him. Oates says, “His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down onto his throat…”; this could symbolically be connected with the devil. The devil would never be out in the open he would be in disguise. McManus also talks about how Friend is related with the devil. “Friend’s suggestion is that if Connie’s house was on fire, that she would run out to him, may also suggest symbolism. Fire being associated with devil.” This is a great symbol of Friend and the devil because fire is most definitely associated with the
There are many notorious characters in literature, all with their own menacing qualities and depraved actions. None, however, have struck such a devastatingly creepy chord as Arnold Friend of Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Seducer of young girls and embodiment of Lucifer, Arnold Friend is anything but a friend. Arnold Friend is presented through both actions and appearances, and these combine to diminish his likeability, while adding to his devilish persona. Although Arnold Friend's traits are never stated outright, they are presented through his speech and interaction with other characters, which ultimately creates a more impacting effect and lasting impression.
In “Where are You Going, Where Have you Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses an allegorical figure of evil to illustrate the theme of temptation. Oates alludes to hell through the character Arnold Friend, as the devil, and his victim Connie, who invites him in by committing the sin of vanity.
Connie's actions also played a big role in her abduction. Connie liked to go out and hang out with guys. She liked to hang out with different guys, not the same one every night. Guys talk about girls like this and spread nasty rumors about them. These rumors probably did not escape the ears of Arnold Friend. So even before he saw Connie for the first time he probably had the idea that she was easy. He said as much towards the end of the story when he started naming people she knew and telling her that they told him things about her (Oates 983).
A mysterious car pulled into Connie’s driveway and the driver proceeds to get out of his vehicle, showing that he belonged there, not recognizing the car Connie opens the door to her house and leans out it. “She went into the kitchen and approached the door slowly, then hung out the screen door,” (2). Without even knowing who or why this person has come to her house, Connie opens her door and leans out to possible talk to the driver, who would turn out to be Arnold Friend and wants to take her on a “date”. Connie’s ignorance towards Arnold and his arrival almost immediately puts her in a vulnerable state without her even realizing it, this vulnerability would be the first event to foreshadow Connie’s inevitable kidnapping. After greeting and talking to Arnold for a little, he proceeds to ask Connie if she wants to go for a ride in his car. Instead of turning down the offer since she barely, if at all, knew Arnold, Connie somewhat debates it. “Connie smirked and let her hair fall loose over her shoulder,” (3). Though she lacks any information about Arnold, Connie kind of debates taking up his offer to go for a ride, further letting her ignorance towards the entire situation usher her into an even more vulnerable
Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" written in the late sixties, reveals several explanations of its plot. The story revolves around a young girl being seduced, kidnapped, raped and then killed. The story is purposely vague and that may lead to different interpretations. Teenage sex is one way to look at it while drug use or the eerie thought that something supernatural may be happening may be another. The story combines elements of what everyone may have experienced as an adolescent mixed with the unexpected dangers of vanity, drugs, music and trust at an early age. Ultimately, it is up to the reader to choose what the real meaning of this story is. At one point or another one has encountered, either through personal experience or through observation, a teenager who believes that the world is plotting against them. The angst of older siblings, peer pressure set upon them by their friends, the need for individualism, and the false pretense that at fifteen years of age, they are grown are all factors which affect the main character in this story.
When approached by Arnold Friend at first, she was skeptical but was still charmed by him. As she began to feel uneasy, Connie could have used her intuition to realize that he was trouble. Once she had been engaged by Arnold, her life was over. The influences on Connie and her lack of instilled reasoning led to her down fall. Her family’s fragmented nature was echoed in her actions; consequently, she was unable to communicate with her parents, and she was never was able to learn anything of significance. She felt abandoned and rejected, because no one took the initiative to teach her how to make good decisions. Connie was unable to mature until she was faced with death and self sacrifice. In the end, her situation made it difficult for her to think and reason beyond the position she was in. By not being able apply insight, she fell into Arnold Friends lure. Misguidance by the parents strongly contributed to Connie’s
Connie’s clothes and infatuation with her own beauty symbolize her lack of maturity or knowing her true self, which in the end enables her to be manipulated by Arnold Friend. Connie was enamored with her own beauty; in the beginning of the story Oates states that Connie “knew
Rubin attempts to convey the idea that Connie falls asleep in the sun and has a daydream in which her “…intense desire for total sexual experience runs headlong into her innate fear…” (58); and aspects of the story do seem dream like - for instance the way in which the boys in Connie’s daydreams “…dissolved into a single face…” (210), but the supposition that the entire episode is a dream does not ring true. There are many instances in which Connie perceives the frightening truth quite clearly; she is able to identify the many separate elements of Friend’s persona - “… that slippery friendly smile of his… [and] the singsong way he talked…” (214). But because of the lack of attachment with her own family, and her limited experience in relating deeply to others, “…all of these things did not come together” (214) and Connie is unable to recognize the real danger that Arnold Friend poses until it is too late.
The story creates the dream of Arnold Friend, which when I was rereading, was interesting. Oates creates an identity of mystery for Connie which I believed was a great way to shake up her life. As the dream progresses, Connie is gradually freed by Arnold Friend. In Connie’s dream state she creates Arnold Friend who embodies the Devil. She chooses to cast Arnold Friend as the Devil in her self-created illusion because she associates sex with sin and sin with the Devil. The Devil has many faces, usually horns growing out of his head and hooves for feet. To cover his horns, he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig. Arnold Friend also “wobbled in his high boots” due to the fact that he has stubby hooves in place of feet (240). Arnold Friend’s “whole face was a mask” to cover his true identity as the Devil (240). Connie is unable to accept the full reality of her sexual nature, but instead turns it into something evil and frightening and projects it into the form of a devil. Oates uses symbolism with fusing the idea of Arnold Friend with the devil. The Devil is symbolic of Connie’s cravings to be lustful and to have sex. Connie is overflowing with guilt at the thought of fulfilling her sinful desires. She sees Arnold Friend as an older man because she associates sex with becoming a woman and leaving her
In the first scene with Arnold Friend he says something unusual to a girl he does not even know, according to how Connie first describes him, but in all scenes of the short story, Arnold Friend talks to Connie as if he’s known her for years. In the parking lot Arnold Friend “wagged a