Arnold Friend Symbolizes the Devil in Where are you Going, Where Have you been? by Joyce Carol Oates

In many stories, there may be symbols relating to the devil or a savior. In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” the character Arnold Friend has many controversial views on whether he is a savior or satanic figure. As the main character in the story, Connie gets taken away by Arnold Friend to get raped. Although she gets raped, Tierce and Crafton argue that he is Connie’s savior because he is the “answer to Connie’s ‘unuttered’ call and to her ‘erotic’ desires”(Tierce, Crafton 222). By taking her away, he saves her from the family she hates and fulfills her sexual desires. Tierce and Crafton also argue that “the description of Arnold Friend also fit(s) Bob Dylan- a type of rock and roll messiah…”(Tierce, Crafton 220). By

Throughout the story, Arnold Friend blatantly displays a sense of evil and the devil in disguise. He also maintains the idea that he is sinister and dark and has no business being around Connie. The hidden figure within Arnold Friend is the devil himself in disguise. His manipulation and keen sense of words lures Connie out into the evil. The numbers and the detailed description of

He presents a façade, and embodies various forms to tempt and entice the struggling sinner. Oates illustrates the allegorical Arnold Friend as a devilish venus flytrap amongst the flowers. He is a charismatic psychopath with eyes "like broken glass that catch light in an amiable way" (Oates 982). He represents sex and rock 'n' roll, a parent's nightmare, and a young girl's lusty teenage dream. It is said the devil cannot enter a home unless invited in. Did Connie welcome him into her life with the playful batting of eyelashes that fateful night at the burger hop? Arnold most certainly believed she did, "Didn't you see me put my sign in the air when you walked by… And he drew an X in the air, leaning out toward her" (Oates 983). Just as the devil bears the mark 666, Arnold posses his own mark "X", a sign that perhaps marks or spares those chosen few out of this world. Arnold is a deceiver with rags stuffed in his boots, coming to take the frail and naive Connie captive for his own sexual pleasures. He strikes fear in her heart, by threatening to kill her family if she does not oblige him. The smooth talking menace invites Connie into her own personal hell, "If the place got lit up with fire, honey, you'd come runnin' out into my arms" (Oates 986). In a elegiac tone, Connie powerlessly walks through the delicate screen door, the threshold, the portal, to the death of innocence. Knowingly or unknowingly, she expresses the heroic gesture of self-sacrifice, and the death of her

Arnold friend is certainly a strange person and in my opinion it made him a better devil because it scared connie when she noticed he had a wig and was much older then he said he was.In today's society there are a lot of men

Another indication that Arnold Friend is the devil is his appearance. If Arnold was the devil he would have to hide what he looks like so Connie would not know who he really was. Arnold’s “whole face was a mask” (par 110) that looked “as if he had plastered make-up on his face” (par. 110). If Arnold Friend were the devil it would make sense that he would be wearing a mask to hide his devilish features. Arnold also was “wearing a wig” (par. 94) to hide his horns on top of his head. If he were the devil, then he would have horns and he tried to cover them up with his wig. Connie saw “how pale the skin around his eyes was, like holes that were not in shadow but instead in light” (par 55). The devil would have strange-looking eyes and this would

We feel, learn, and are confused about things at the same time she does. Since much of the story is limited to her perception, Arnold Friend remains cryptic, malevolent, and also extremely disturbing. A great example of this descriptive point of view is the part in which Connie is paralyzed with trepidation, and fear that she cannot bring herself to call the police. As she picks up the phone to call the police she calls out for her mother, who is at a barbeque with her father and sister. We are told that she is "locked" in a "noisy sorrowful wailing," but the image is so perplexing – how do you get "locked" in a "wailing"? – that it is difficult to interpret exactly what is going on. The misperception the reader feels aids in getting a sense of Connie's

Connie description of Arnold Friend, a hunting character personifies the Devil, he goes by the name of Arnold Friend, “Wearing a wig and brought the stems down behind his ears” (Oates 267). Clearly in the bible we know that the devil is the only one who’s is able to appear in different disguise, for he is the only one who can disguise as anything. Arnold Friend is wearing a wig, which is lopsided giving a hint for possible horns. As stated by journalist Kalpakian, “So omnipresent are the evil acts and consequences that the character faces” (1). This gives validation of what evil Connie is dealing with. Her description of Arnold Friend wearing some boots that he consistently has to adjust, “…the boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller” (Oates 270). This can be perhaps of him having hooves. Another thing that makes Arnold Friend, resemble the devil is that he seems to be very familiar with Connie’s life, and family whereabouts. He is Mr. know it all, the devil is known for knowing everything. “How you find out all that stuff? Connie said… ‘I know everybody’” (Oats 265). His uncanny ability to

As the story continues, the narrator finally introduces the antoganist. Arnold Friend, who is the second main character on the story. Connie initially thinks he is someone who she can be attracted too. Simply because she thinks they are about the same age. She likes the way he dressed and the way his body looked as well. None the less, he is categorize as a dangerous and creepy person. He has a demonic figure, or perhaps even a demon who tries to scare Connie by the way he refferes to her and knows everything about her and her family. As she continues to intereact more with him while having a conversation outside her home, she identifies how fake he is. Everything about him, the way his hair looks, his clothes and voice identify he is much

“I’ll have my arms so tight around you so you won’t need to try to get away and I’ll show you what love is like, what it does”. A chilling words from a terrifying character Arnold Friend, a name ending with friend we’d think he’d be one of those goofy yet creepy characters or even just plain odd. We should call him Arnold the demon because that is what he seems more like, and not figurlivity he literally a demon! Certain aspects of the story left quite a few hints that Arnold is supernatural figure than an ordinary human.

The delicate line between both fantasy and reality is also noticeably crossed multiple times by the other main character, Arnold Friend. It seems like fantasy and reality are blurred when it comes to Arnold, who does not quite fall into either category. The reason being that his personality and physical appearance paint him to be both human and nonhuman, allowing the reader to interpret for themselves whether or not he is simply a fantasy or reality. His interactions with Connie can also add to the confusion on Arnold's true nature. Little, yet constant, observations about him alert the reader, and Connie, that something is not quite right about Arnold Friend. He lies to her about his much older age, he seems to know more about her life and

In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates, the use of the symbolism of Connie’s clothes, her fascination with her beauty, Arnold Friend’s car and Arnold Friend himself help to understand the story’s theme of evil and manipulation. The story, peppered with underlying tones of evil, finds Oates writing about 15-year-old Connie, the protagonist of the story, a pretty girl who is a little too into her own attractiveness, which eventually gets her into trouble with a man named Arnold Friend. The story is liberally doused with symbolism, from the way Connie dresses to the shoes on Arnold Friend’s feet. In “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” the reader can pick up on some of the symbols

Arnold Friend is a mysterious, creepy man who takes over Connie when her parents are away. Arnold’s name is connected to “An Old Friend” if you take out the r on Arnold. Friend is misinterpreted though when the description of him states he is “a boy with shaggy, black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold”(1).  Oates

The character is so strange that the author and the readers cannot identify Arnold at first instance. In this essay I will focus on the demonic characteristics that show that Arnold Friend is a Devil. However, it is imperative to note that the interpretation of the Devil, in this paper, will be more than a counter figure to Jesus Christ. The Devil will embody a temptation,

Through subliminal revelations, Oates slowly expresses the true character of temptation in the form of Arnold Friend. Oates’s eerie introduction of Arnold can be utilized to extrapolate the true meaning of Arnold Friend’s name thus revealing its underlying satanic meaning. When the character Arnold first arrives at Connie’s house, it is stated, “This here is my name, to begin with, he said. ARNOLD FRIEND [...] I wanta introduce myself, I’m Arnold Friend and that’s my real name and I’m gonna be your friend, honey” (Oates 3). When Arnold is introduced he seems genuine although his words quickly spiral towards deception and the irony of his

Arnold and his friend are straight up serial killers going on a killing spree looking for their next victim. The author links religion into the story through Arnold and his friend giving them characteristics similar to the devil in bible stories. Arnold has a very persuasive attitude making people start thinking the way he does. Convincing them to do things they should never do just as in the biblical story of Adam and Eve and sadly Connie was victim to this. For example, when he first appeared to Connie at her house he was dressed like a young individual making the reader and Connie believe he’s just another normal teen.