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What Is The Theme Of Arnold Friend

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Drew Dillon Juan Espinoza EN102 23 February 2023 Arnold is Not Your Friend In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates, the author presents the reader with a very dark tale featuring themes of predator versus prey, corruption versus innocence, and freedom versus control. The character Arnold Friend at first appears to be a charmer, thanks to his actions and statements made within the story we are able to eventually see his true nature as a a manipulative and evil predator, preying and corrupting the innocencne of the 15 year old protagonist, Connie. Arnold Friend is introduced into the story when Connie has declined an outing with her parents and she is home alone. He comes off as a very confident, self …show more content…

“Connie blushed a little, because the glasses made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldn't decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk, and so she dawdled in the doorway and wouldn't come down or go back inside”(89). From this quote it is obvious that Connie is curious enough to stay around and find out what he wants from her or what he is trying to achieve. Another quality that portrays Arnold as the predator he is is that he was willing to do his research to get information about Connie. He knows Connie is by herself and that is where his personality as a creep really comes out. Arnold truly is devoted in his own twisted mind to getting ahold of Connie …show more content…

Freedom is often associated with becoming a teenager and Connie’s downfall at the end of the day is her own freedom. Due to her increasing maturity and age her parents decided that is okay to leave her home alone and that she can temporarily manage to be alone. While this is the case much of the time. An situation in life that she was clearly not prepared for faces her. When Arnold arrives he is in a way already threatening her freedom. He is not allowing her to immediately leave her house but he does not yet appear to be a threat. As he becomes more aggresive in his pursuit of Connie, his control increases while he freedom declines. Eventually he restricts her freedom even further. “Promise was not to come in unless you touch that phone, and I'll keep that promise,” (94). Now she cannot even retreat back into her home that she no longer knows is safe and Arnold has all the control. Connie’s Freedom ceases to exist when Arnold intrudes upon her home and makes her come with

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Summary Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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(Oates). Also, her dad does not pay her any attention to her either. Her father goes to work and eats. If Connie’s family was more active in her life, then she would have never followed the wrong path and

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Arnold Friend Symbolism

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The dilemma is he is obsessed with her. “Each stage of Arnold Friend’s unmasking and Connie’s resulting terror and growing hysteria is carefully delineated” (Barstow). The way Arnold acts towards Connie causes her to fear him. Oates characterizes him as a creepy stalker. “I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because you’ll know you can’t” (Oates).

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Comparison

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It is quite possible that Connie has just invented Arnold Friend based on her love of music, at one point in the story it seems like Connie is falling asleep while listening to XYZ Sunday Jamboree and all of the sudden Arnold Friend shows up coincidently listening to the same thing. Instead of saying Arnold Friend knows Connie’s name and many things about her because he is the devil, you could say that Arnold Friend knows all of that because he is described as

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Character Analysis Essay

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This change is more than obvious when Arnold confronts her with a decision to save her family’s lives and sacrifice her own and Connie chooses to save the family that she despises. For Connie to save these people that she calls her family and sacrifice her own life that she normally sees as superior to others’ is of utmost importance in perceiving that Connie has undergone a momentous change as a person. Connie goes from wishing her mother dead at the start of the story to exchanging her own life for her’s. Although Connie is perceived as a pretentious brat at the beginning of the story, she undergoes a change in personality, and acts in spite of all her previous beliefs

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Summary

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In the beginning, Oates creates a false sense of security. She is at home and Connie seems safe, this is what makes what happens next unexpected. After this, a strange man rolls up to Connie's home, and Connie is only worried about how she looks, not her safety. This makes you wonder what is going to happen, and if their is a reason she is scared. Then, the pace of the story completely changes when Arnold Friend starts to approach Connie and say things that make her feel uneasy.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Victim Analysis

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Not only had Connie given up all the physical things she owned, but also her own free will to Arnold. She gave up everything she had available to her, a feat that could only be accomplished by a passive victim. A noble heroine wouldn’t submit herself to someone as easily as Connie

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Consistently presenting a self-absorbed attituded (like a typical teen), while still presenting the want

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Arnold Friend Symbolism

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A figure then incites fear in us by bringing the situation to light, which classifies the figure as uncanny. In Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” the egotistical character Connie goes through her stages of repression forgetting her past of sexual abuse, until the mysterious Arnold Friend appears and sheds light on her darkest fear. Through the ideas of Freud we can read Arnold Friend as an “uncanny” character who is symbolic of the sexual abuse that Connie represses. Friend expresses his sexual desires towards Connie as well as his harmful intentions which all seem so

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Arnold Friend In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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As we know, the devil was jealous of the God, so by calling Connie his lover, he was gaining his own bride. Also, on 325, Arnold verbalizes “This place you are now- inside you daddy’s house- is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time.” In other words, homogeneous to Satan, Arnold had an abundance of power to make you question the existence of good things, such as as a savior or

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Symbolism

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Joyce Carol Oates is a famous American writer. Oates has published numerous plays, poetry, novels, novellas, and volumes of short stories. One of her most controversial short stories is, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, because of one of her main characters, Arnold Friend. In her story, Arnold Friend can be portrayed as a negative entity, but Oates does not explain when she is asked about it. Arnold Friend can be seen as a demonic figure in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, because of the way he looks, the way he interacts with Connie, and the symbolism in the story.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis

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In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main protagonist finds herself in a very hostile situation. With an all most fateful encounter with a man known as Arnold Friend. Forcing her to choose whether to run off with him or taking her by force. This man known as Arnold Friend to the reader comes off as almost a demon. A person who uses many temptations, word play, and threats to take advantage of the young protagonist Connie.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Analysis

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This clairvoyance also points to the fact that he may be a demonic creature. Connie never actually tells Arnold her name but he somehow already knows it. The last detail that points to Arnold being a demonic being is his mind control over Connie. For some reason she is unable to dial for the police.

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Connie: The Dynamic Character Of Connie

171 Words | 1 Pages

Despite her interaction with adulthood, Connie is still a child when she faces harm because she cries out for her mother. She couldn’t handle Arnold on her own like a responsible adult would have done. Her broken identity completely fractures when Arnold threatens her. She argues with her mother and sister, and neglects family but when she’s hurt she relies on them.

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Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

984 Words | 4 Pages

Connie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis

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This interpretation of the story explains how Connie simply fell prey to the common theme of men acting as predators in society. Therefore, Connie had no say in her fate, so she just decided to go quietly with him. However, this theory completely disregards the psychological disorders that Connie has. Connie did not go quietly with Arnold because he was a dominating male. Instead, Connie left due to her numerous unconscious mental problems.

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