Arnold Friend Interpretation

Simply put, Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is an ambiguous masterpiece, laden with text-based evidence to give significance to multiple interpretations. Perhaps, in addition to the story’s rich detail and its mark of literary skill, this is why the story is so widely read among the collegiate community. The story has caused numerous critics to put forth opinions about the characters, plot, and ambiguity; however, no one has largely agreed to accept all of them as a whole—as a single meaning or message.
Arnold Friend’s arrival on the scene of the story marks the beginning of most critical arguments and suggestions. His character is that of a sexually hungry predator who goads Connie into his embrace. The allusions

These include that of teenage serial killer Charles Schmid, Satan himself, and Bob Dylan along with his rock and roll influence. The strong evidence that exists for these different readings suggest that a deeper meaning can be attained from the story—that by connecting them, by establishing a relationship between them, we can see the social agenda that Oates has in store for the reader.
Comparing a character in any text to Satan, or even the satanic concept, is a bold move; however, critics have been doing just that quite incessantly with Arnold Friend since the story was published. The number of arguments and claimed references to Satan only grow as time passes. Marie Urbanski provides a strong argument for Friend’s satanic representation. She says that Friend’s “ominous” appearance includes his “shaggy, black hair” and his slitted eyes “like chips of broken glass”. His “long and hawklike nose” adds to such an interpretation. The fact that his boots seem to fit awkwardly on his feet is

Oates includes plausible evidence for all of the interpretations. Since they are all found in one character, we can reason that they are therefore connected. The most obvious connection that can be made is that Oates is relating serial killer Schmid to Satan, or an otherwise dark being. Most people would view Schmid’s actions as satanic; this isn’t that surprising of a conclusion. The rape and murder of numerous women is a devilish and condemnable deed. However, other relations are more suggestive. Oates could be insinuating through Friend that the musical agenda of the 1960’s, led by Bob Dylan and others, is satanic. In other words, that the effect of the music on the people of the nation is detrimental and undesirable. In the time period, she would be facing the full blown counterculture movement as a woman well past her teenage years—therefore not as a member of the rebellion, but as a third person who most likely retains traditions of the previous generation. As mentioned previously, people of the young generation looked to Bob Dylan and other rock and roll “kings” such as Elvis Presley for influence. Oates’s opinion of the sexually careless and unorthodox tendencies is shown through how the “savior” nature of Friend is related not to a kind of social awakening, as often sung about in Bob Dylan’s lyrics, but rather to rape and murder. We can expand this concept and say that the eminent rape and murder of Connie by