Arnold Friend Analysis Essay

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Literary Analysis: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oats, the writer includes a very interesting character. One of the main characters, Arnold Friend, is a dynamic character due to the sudden changes of this physical appearance and personality. At first he seems charming and a little on the sweet side, but then his dark side starts to show as the story progresses. He first appears when Connie abandons her friend to go with a boy named Eddie. Arnold is seen in his gold convertible Jalopy, which is the first sign that he wants to be alluring. His first words in the story are "Gonna get you, baby" this foreshadows his intentions when it comes to Connie …show more content…

The foreshadowing statements made by Arnold when he says that he wants to "come inside you where it 's all secret" and show her "what love is like" (1104). No matter what Connie says or does, Arnold keeps talking, but reveals nothing about himself. He never physically forces Connie to join him, but his words have the same force and pull as actions, like the ones he only threatens to take. It is easy to support the sense that he has no good intentions. Arnold also threatens her family, while making his intentions quite clear. “It 's all over for you here, so come on out. You don 't want your people in any trouble, do you?”
A final conclusion that Arnold Friend is a dynamic character is that the whole story there are questions that the reader has questions about who this character truly is. If he was not a dynamic character then there would be little to no questions about who this character is.tells her to get up and start moving, it was as if he put her under an evil spell. First she did not recognize her own kitchen, and then she is going with him against her will. "Now turn this way. That 's right. Come over her to me" (1108). His words were not angry, but as if part of a spell. The spell was

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