Arnold Friend

The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates, hasn’t failed to leave readers captivated and terrified. Many critics analyze what exactly happened during the story, was the whole scene a dream or was Arnold Friend really the devil? Those two speculations represent a big part of the story, the character who is often forgotten in analysis, continues to be Ellie Oscar. Although he rarely speaks, Ellie’s mysterious and passive identity is still important. In the article titled, “The Identity of Ellie Oscar Reconsidered” by Anthony Ellis, he offers the idea that Ellie and Eddie were actually the same person, which would explain where Arnold got his information about Connie. In contrast, Alice Hall Petry’s

At first, Ellie just sits in the car without a care of what’s happening between Connie and Arnold. However, by giving him a second thought, it’s almost like he’s the last resort in the plan, the one to really cause trouble if Arnold couldn’t get Connie to come with them. It seems that he wanted to get the whole thing over with; he remained quiet throughout the whole scenario, and suddenly said, “You want me to pull out the phone?” (Oates) when Connie tries fighting back. After finally seeing Ellie’s face, it was the first time that Connie started feeling uncomfortable and says, “Maybe you two better go away” (Oates). This shows how big of an impact Ellie had because he made Connie realize that maybe something was actually wrong with the situation. There is much more to the character of Ellie Oscar than just being the strange man in the car, and it will take more analyzing to uncover

Connie meets Eddie the same night that she sees Arnold Friend wagging a finger at her saying, “Gonna get you, baby” (Oates). By making this connection, it would be easier to infer where Arnold gained his information about Connie. Arnold knew a long list of her friends, her address, and even her family. Eddie could’ve very well learned all this while spending the night with her. To solve the issue with Connie recognizing “Eddie” again in the car, he was careful to hide his face and never step out. However, Hall also points out how Connie states, “All the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face, but an idea, a feeling” which makes it even easier for Ellie to keep up his act. According to the article, more clues are given about Ellie when Arnold says, “This isn’t Ellie’s date. You’re my date…” and “Ellie keep to yourself, this ain’t your date-right?” (Oates) because it indicates that Arnold is reminding Ellie that he already had his turn to go out with Connie. These clues and opinions all point to the conclusion that Ellie is Eddie, and he played a big part in providing information about Connie during their first