Arnold Friend Symbolism

“The Devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you ever wished for…” -Tucker Max. This idea is certainly proven in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates. The story recounts the day of Connie, a fifteen year old girl with neglectful parents, rebellious intentions, and an infatuation for older men. When Connie refuses to go with her family to a barbeque, everything takes a turn for the worst. She is randomly visited by two strangers, who later become known as Arnold Friend (AF) and Ellie. Connie continuously begs the men to leave, but they refuse, making her feel very uncomfortable. The story concludes shockingly when AF finally lures Connie into his vehicle. Although AF is not

For starters, AF “drew an X in the air, leaning out toward her” (par 77) indicating his ‘sign’ and “after his hand fell back to his side the X was still in the air” (par. 77). This astonishing act from AF reveals that he can play in the mind of Connie. No possible reason can explain why Connie would be able to see the sign AF places in the air linger unless he has devilish or special abilities inside him. Later when AF and Connie are conflicting about the Sunday stroll, Connie tells AF that her father will not be happy to come home and find him talking with his daughter. AF goes on to tell Connie that “he ain’t coming back [because] he’s at a barbecue [at] Aunt Tillie’s [where] they’re uh--they’re drinking and sitting around; [he squinted] as if he were staring all the way to town and over to Aunt Tillie’s back yard” (par. 98). AF talking about Connie’s family is a clear indication that AF is showing that he has the ability to see and interpret what is happening in other places where he is not present. By this point in the story, Connie is too scared to get any closer to AF. She is so scared that she rushes to the door to lock it. AF finds this to be a silly mistake of Connie because “it’s just a screen door [and] anybody can break through a screen door and glass and wood and iron or anything else if [they] need to, anybody at all” (par. 117). Although breaking through a screen door and

He is wearing a disguise to cover his devilish attributes. The Devil is known for having horns, wings, hooves, and other characteristics. AF must hide these from Connie to make sure he looks just like a normal boy. As Arnold first arrives at Connie’s house, she notices his “shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig” (par. 16). The Devil has horns sprouting out of his head, and Arnold is trying to hide these horns by wearing a wig. AF arrived to the house wearing sunglasses but when he takes them off Connie sees that “his eyes were like chips of broken glass that catch light in an amiable way” (par. 55). The Devil has bright little slits as eyes that look as if they glow and reflect light. AF has the same type of eyes and covers them with sunglasses at the beginning. After lying to Connie about his age, AF smiles to reassure her showing that “his teeth were big and white” (par. 84). Arnold’s teeth are scary like the Devil’s, who has big, monstrous teeth that look ready to devour easy targets like Connie. When Connie threatened to call the police, he also began to smile which looked “as if he were smiling from inside a mask” (par. 110). The Devil has an extremely distinguishable face, so AF has to cover it up with a mask to hide his devilish appearances. Later in the story, Connie notices that “one of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn’t in it” (par. 117). Since the Devil has