Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

In Joyce Carol Oates’s, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, fifteen year old Connie is trying to combat the cunning verbal demands of a predator, Arnold Friend, who is aiming to lure her away for his own selfish purpose. Connie was constantly consumed by her thoughts, “Connie couldn’t do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams.” (Oates 158) Connie’s constant daydreaming made her vulnerable and open. Connie’s having a predictable mindset; she is easily consumed by Arnold Friend’s soothing incantations, which is evident through his predatory words, and eerie patience all allowed him to control her mind and her body followed.
Self-absorption and daydreaming are typical of teenagers and makes Connie beauty along with her

Christ,” wondering how bad she looked. This small, but simple act enters Connie’s thought before confirming who was outside. Having this thought in her working mind helps Arnold Friend process of luring her. For Connie, daydreaming was a habitual pastime in which she spent her time around the house, hanging with friends, getting in her mother’s way and thinking, dreaming about the boys she met. (Oates 160) Connie used daydreaming as a way of not having to deal with reality, and to think of opportunities with boys. “Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and daze….” (Oates 160) Because Connie is easily distracted by daydreaming, this allows Arnold Friend to enter her mind taking control. The use of charisma and smooth talking help Friend to create a false reality cunning enough for Connie to trust

Through Connie, Oates describes Arnold’s attire, “She recognized most things about him, the tight jeans that showed his thighs and buttocks and the greasy leather boots and the tight shirt…” (Oates 164). Connie realizes that he is not truly a teenager and that this could possible end bad. After realizing Arnold Friend is not a kid, Connie becomes ill: “Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise in her at this sight and she stared at him as if waiting for something to change the shock of the moment….” (Oates 165) At this moment Connie’s anxiety gives Arnold a new leverage to assist in luring her. Connie has reviled to Arnold that she is fearful. This allows his predatory skills to take control combine with the ability to control her emotions. In the mist of her emotions, his constant verbal advancements, and her slowly losing control, Connie grabs the phone. In this moment, Arnold Friend knows he has to make her feel as if she has lost. Her body allows him to gain total control, “something roared in her ear, a tiny roaring, and she was so sick with fear that she could do nothing… as if Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness.” (Oates 169) Arnold seizes his opportunity of letting know he has control, Arnold instructs, “Now put your hand on your heart, honey...Be nice to me, be sweet like you can….” This validates the moment that his attempts and hard