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Arnold Friend Character Analysis

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In Joyce Carol Oats “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been,” we are introduced to two main characters. The names of the two main characters are Connie and Arnold Friend. In Oates’s short story, Arnold Friend is an imposter that tries to convince young Connie to go on a ride with him and his friend Ellie. Connie refuses to go on the ride but Arnold’s use unnatural techniques to force Connie to leave her house and go with him. Arnold Friend’s awareness of Connie’s family and friends and his ability to persuade Connie reveals that he is more than just a creepy old man trying to kidnap a young girl. With this being said, Arnold Friend is a representation of the Devil and the evil that lurks near young teenage girls.
At first, Arnold Friend looks to be an average teenage boy; but as the story progresses we see that Arnold Friend has numerous unnatural characteristics that leads us to believe that he is the Devil. Arnold Friend has “shaggy, shabby black hair that look[s] crazy as a wig” (Oates). Arnold Friend is said to be wearing a wig in order to cover up his Devil-like …show more content…

Arnold Friend uses his unnatural awareness of Connie’s friends and family to convince Connie to leave her home and go with him. Arnold knows exactly who her friends are and what her family is doing at any given time. We know that this type of awareness is impossible and could only be possible with some sort of supernatural powers. The powers would be related to a demon or an angel. The “x-sign” that Arnold Friends draws in the air is said to be the “initiation” of Connie being controlled by Arnolds’s powers (Weinberger). The letter “x” is said to symbolize the “essence of evil” (Seltzer). While some may argue that Connie leaves her home to save her family from the Devil, the truth is not completely revealed in Oates story. Perhaps, Connie becomes possessed with the “x” drawn in the air forcing her to go with

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In the short story, “where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Arnold Friend tries to get Connie to do bad things to please him, which is revealed through arnold friend him Arnold Friend makes a promise to Connie at the drive-in-dinner In the short story it said “I'm going to get you baby”Oates. This foreshadows what is going to happen later on in the story it foreshadows that arnold will come for Connie and try to get her anyway possible .The

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Myles Hypse February 3rd, 2017 English 1B 3:30-4:40pm Two Psychopaths Both of these stories give the reader a good look into the eyes of two psychopaths, who both refuse to take no for an answer. One of them, Arnold Friend although at first appearing friendly, is nothing more than a malicious predator, similar in kind to The Misfit, who greets his victims in a much more sinister way. The two characters, when stood side by side, almost seemed as they become one, yet are polar opposites. When one compares the character Arnold Friend to that of The Misfit, more similarities come forward than differences.

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Mrs. Walker’s abuse of her husband is only one facet of her twisted psyche. Washington Irving’s tale, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” satirically criticizes the people of 1720s Boston for their greed through characters such as Mrs. Walker. Because her motivation is control, Mrs. Walker’s psychological state is abusive and her actions result in her death. Mrs. Walker’s violent tendencies often victimize Tom and expose her as an abusive character. Irving writes (2010), “Her voice was often heard in wordy warfare with her husband; and his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words.”

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In the story, Connie looked at the phrase “man the flying saucers and she felt like “words meant something to her that she did not yet know” (p.) which if she was on drugs she might not be aware of the fact that what she is seeing is not real, but eventually when she is sober she will understand. The ambiguity of Arnold Friend leaves many unanswered questions for readers. Unless Joyce Carol Oates decides to reveal the real Arnold Friend, readers may never know if he was in fact the devil or just a figment of Connie’s

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Arnold Friend, as friendly as he seems in the beginning, has the ability to persuade people into an estranged thought process. He is manipulative in his facts of conversation with Connie, who shows to eventually be easily coerced. Is it Connie’s immature weakness as a teenager or Arnold’s undoubted tactics that make her final decision to join him? In the beginning Connie is impressed with Arnold Friend.

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by the author Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. Oates describes her idea for the story after briefly reading an article about the real-life murderer, Charles Schmid, who lured and murdered three teenage girls (Kirszner & Mandell 523). She uses this idea to create the character, Arnold Friend, and his victim, Connie. Connie is a typical teenage girl portrayed as naïve and self-centered. The short story appears realistic, given that the conflict in the story is based off of real events.

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One day while she was home alone, a man named Arnold Friend showed up at her door. He wanted to take her out for a ride and go on a date. Connie was cautious around him due to how old he looked and his sexual remarks towards her. Strange things began to happen and she eventually left with Arnold Friend. The story does not give a clear explanation as to what happened to Connie, but it was not a good thing.

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He knew her name even though she had only quickly glimpsed at him the night prior with no communication from her at all. He knows where her parents are, what they are doing, how long they will be, how they look he even knows who her best friends are. Essentially Arnold Friend is the very essence of nightmare to Connie he is everything she is afraid of. He pressures her in to a situation out of her control. He takes away her pride of rejecting people and forces her to choose her family being hurt of facing her demons and going with him.

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(Hawthorne 126). He is the epitome of evil, even the children notice his nefarious aura. He is the devil's adversary, and will stop at nothing to administer his

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Instead of realizing the danger that she was in, Connie was focused on what Arnold Friend was wearing and how attractive he was. Connie’s obsession with finding her own sexuality overpowered her gut feeling of danger. In an analysis of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Barbara Wiedemann discusses how the antagonist Arnold Friend is based upon serial killer Charles Schmid, who murdered several young girls during the 1960s. In the analysis, Wiedemann

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Arnold Friend’s Biblical Allusions In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story of a young, innocent teenage girl, Connie who enjoys listening to music and begins exploring her sexuality and being with boys “the way it was in the movies and promised in songs” (Oates 198). In fact she catches the attention of Arnold Friend one night while at the mall meeting up with a boy. Not knowing he would appear in her life, Arnold strangely shows up at her house assuming they made plans to get together. His character is seen as the devil.

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In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates can be interpreted in a multitude of ways due to its ambiguity. A psychological lens, however, provides the most accurate viewpoint for analyzing the story as it clarifies certain obscure scenes and actions of Connie. One psychological issue of Connie that is easily inferred from the beginning of the story is her insecurity about her looks. Connie constantly worries about the way that she looks and takes any opportunity to do so, “craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (1).

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