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Figurative language essays on where are you going where have you been
Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? symbolism
What literary devices are in where are you going where have you been
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In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Arnold Friend symbolizes Satan and temptation, and the encounter is a manifestation of Connie’s conscience. Arnold Friend represents Satan tempting Connie to sin. Throughout the encounter, he “wobbled in high boots” to hide his hoofs; in fact, one “was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn’t in it” (6-7). He smiles “from inside a mask” that does not cover past his neck (7). Furthermore, he mutters a “spat curse,” and “this ‘Christ!’ sounded forced” (7). He tries to appear human through a disguise and common language, but he has difficulty merely saying the name of his powerful enemy. As he attempts to lure her into sin, his smile that “assured her that everything was fine,” and his creepy, “lurching”
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.
"Connie, don't fool around with me. I mean—I mean, don't fool around," he said, shaking his head. He laughed incredulously. He placed his sunglasses on top of his head, carefully, as if he were indeed wearing a wig…” (Oates 6). Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” highlights an altercation, meeting, conflict and dispute between a teenage girl, named Connie, and a psychotic rapist named Arnold Friend. Throughout their altercation, Arnold Friend tempts and encourages Connie to get in the car with him and lead her to a variety of possible dangerous situations, one of which includes her getting raped . There is no doubt that Joyce Carol Oates’ uses Arnold Friend in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” to symbolize the Devil and embody all of the evil and sinister forces that are present in our world. This becomes apparent when the reader focuses on how deranged Arnold Friend is and begins to
My definition of evil is in its most general context, is taken as the absence of that which is ascribed as being good. Often, evil is used to denote profound immorality. In this situation I would have to say Arnold’s friend most exemplifies evil. Arnold Friend could be an allegorical devil figure, the protagonist who lures Connie into riding off with him in his car, or, in the contrary, far more a grotesque portrait of a psychopathic killer masquerading as a teenager. However, he has all the traditional, sinister traits of that arch deceiver and source of grotesque terror, the devil, with his painted eyelashes, shaggy hair, and stuffed boots. In the story, Oates does make Arnold out to be a psychopathic stalker, but never objectively states the diabolical nature to his character.
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
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.
He’s coming to get me” (8). In her vulnerability, Connie even seeks her parents despite previous efforts to distance herself, revealing her childish nature. This demonstrates a loss of innocence and a desire to return to the safety of childhood, as Connie realizes the danger of Arnold Friend. Despite her efforts, Connie is not ready for adulthood. In her pursuit of independence, Connie becomes entangled with a dangerously mature situation she is unprepared to handle. This parallels the loss of innocence many adolescents suffer as they venture into adulthood: many teens quickly lose their idealized vision of adulthood as they realize the challenges of adulthood. Connie’s confrontation with Arnold Friend is a metaphor for the loss of innocence all teens are confronted with as they seek maturity. Although the story encompasses a teenage girl's dangerous romantic rendezvous, it is more of an encounter with the expectations and reality of adulthood, through Connie's infatuation and later fear of Friend. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" is a metaphor for the loss of innocence teenagers face, as their idealized perception of adulthood
the lack of knowing her true self lets Arnold Friend overpower her in the end. The words and letters on Arnold’s car symbolize warnings that Connie should have picked up on. Because Arnold symbolizes the devil, the evil inside of him gives him advantages to manipulate Connie into leaving her house, despite everything inside of Connie screaming at her not to go. The symbolisms in these objects or people are all deeply rooted to the theme of this short story, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?”.
His appearance “was much older—thirty, maybe more..he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig... his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn't in it. It pointed out to the left, bent at the ankle”(Oates 4-5). The revealing of his true appearance reveals Arnold Friend to be something non-human and eerie. Towards the climax of the story, Arnold Friend continues to show signs that he is evil when he threatens Connie by saying he would enter the house and attack her if she were to try and use the phone, however he never once actually enters the house. As stated in the index of TV Tropes, “In various mythologies is the idea that supernatural beings — such as vampires, ghosts, demons, witches, what have you — cannot enter into a home unless invited to do so. Often such beings will try to gain entrance by tricking a person into believing they are someone else” (TV Tropes). Arnold Friend’s behavior resembles the behavior as one of the supernatural beings that cannot enter the house without an
In Joyce Carol Oates “Where are you Going, Where have you been”, one of the characters is revealed to have a sinister and malevolent agenda. This character’s name is Arnold Friend. A man with a charming tongue and a diabolical nature. He is a very mysterious person in the story. The question about him is who is he? or even worse what is he? He is primarily based on Charles Schmid and his acts Tucson. His character has readers questioning if he is a a real person, a figment of Connie’s imagination or a supernatural entity?
thinks they would ever come face to face with the Devil. Like Connie from the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates. Connie is a thirteen-year-old girl that is confronted by the Devil, otherwise known as Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend shows he is the Devil by his false appearance, cooked boots, and mask-like face. Arnold also has abilities like visions and drawing symbols in the air. When Connie opens the door, she is almost possessed or under a trance by Arnold. This demonstrates the control he has over people. Arnold Friend is portrayed as the Devil in the short story “Where Are You Going,
Simply enough, you take the “r” out of his last name to see what he truly is: a fiend, which is an evil spirit or demon. Arnold Friend is the Devil. The narrator says that “evidently his feet did not go all the way down; the boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller” (105). This suggests that Arnold may not have human feet, but rather hooves like the Devil is depicted to have. These hooves would mean that Arnold does not have a heel to support him, which is why he lost his balance. Also, having hooves would explain why he appears taller. Arnold’s character is also very sexual and controlling. The story hints at religion a lot, so if looked at from a religious standpoint, sex before marriage is a damning thing, which could again lead someone to assume Arnold is the Devil. Another factor that points towards Arnold being the Devil is the fact that he can make himself appear younger than he is. At first, Arnold is this skinny, muscular teenager with messy hair and sunglasses; but as the conversation between Connie and Arnold continues and he becomes more violent, his age starts to show. This is one example of how the story hints at Arnold’s true
First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan. Oates says that “There were two boys in the car and now she recognized the driver: he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her,” (Oates 316). The hair could actually be a wig hiding something that he didn’t want someone to see. Maybe he was hiding his devil horns. Also when he was standing Connie had mentioned that “He was standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing himsel...
Arnold knew who were the people around Connie, who are her friends, what was she doing the night he saw her outside of the restaurant, when he told her “gonna get you baby” (Oates 483). He was giving her a warning, he might be watching her for a long time, but Connie did not realized it. Arnold knew Connie was going to be home alone, so he comes to her house at that time to tempt her to go with him. He knew where her family went and what they were doing when he comes to her house, he even mentions what Connie’s sister was wearing. The devil is always tempting people to do bad things and since Arnold comes to tempt Connie that could be another reason why he might be the devil. Arnold knew that Connie was going to come with him. He has his strategies. “He had shaggy, shabby hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her” (Oates 484). Arnold knew how to manipulate Connie because he did not touch her, he just talked to her and she leave with him. Just with his mind, he make her go with him. Practically, he forced her to go with him just with his words. “I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because you’ll know you can’t and I’ll come inside you were its all secret and you’ll give in to me and you’ll love me” (Oates 489). When he said that it
Arnold represents a greater evil in her dream because he exemplifies a striking resemblance to the devil. According to the bible, Satan is the evillest figure in the history of creation, but will not always appear that way. He often presents himself as one’s friend or ally and deceives them to gain an insight into their lives. Arnold pulls up in Connie’s driveway and says that he just wants Connie to go on a drive with him without being forceful or hostile. Once Connie outs Arnold’s masquerade, he become more demanding, and continues to call her by pet names
Few characters in literature can spark such creativity and imagination in so many individuals as the biblical Satan, or the devil. Retellings of the great fall of Lucifer and his subsequent antics on Earth are subject of countless novels, plays, and books by some of the world’s greatest authors. The figure of the “fallen one” that utilizes deception, charm, and wit to achieve his self-serving goals has an allure that has drawn readers for centuries. It can be argued that among these lies Joyce Carrol Oates’s famous short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The character of Arnold Friend in the story is representative of the devil through his appearance, speech, and the many religious allusions of the story.