Arnold Friend Figurative Language

A good person is someone who is compassionate and shows honesty and integrity, while an evil person is someone who does not care about the needs of others. In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character Connie encounters a mysterious man in the parking lot of a diner. He later shows up at her house, tells her to go for a ride in his car with him, and introduces himself as Arnold Friend. After Connie speaks to him for a while, she realizes that he is a threat. Oates uses Arnold Friend to convey evil through symbolism and figurative language. In this story, Arnold Friend is evil and acts like the devil because of how he manipulates Connie and uses of temptation. The author uses symbolism in the story. An example of this is, “And he drew an X in the air, leaning out toward her. They were maybe ten feet apart. After his hand fell back to his side the X was still in the air, almost visible” (Oates 325). Arnold Friend’s sign symbolizes the devil. The devil leaves a mark on his victims, and Arnold Friend could

She says, “And his face was familiar somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened because he hadn’t shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawk like, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke” (Oates 323). Oates compares Arnold Friend to a hawk, a bird of prey, who is feeding on Connie. This is another indication that Arnold Friend is like the devil himself, and Connie is his victim. He is taking away Connie’s childhood and her innocence because of the way he tries to get her to give into temptation. Arnold Friend knows that Connie wants to fall in love. She wants to have someone by her side all the time. Arnold Friend tempts Connie because he knows what he can do to manipulate the mind of a young girl and make her do what he wants her to