Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis

Joyce Carol Oates’s 1966 short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been has proven to give rise to many controversial topics. The main antagonist of the story, Arnold Friend, is Oates’s catalyst for these problems, with his character acting as the embodiment of a larger power. Most critics see Friend as a dark entity, often the devil himself. Joyce Wegs claims that “[Arnold] is not simply crazy but a criminal with plans to rape and probably murder Connie” (Wegs n.p.). Marie Urbanski argues that “[Friend’s] features appear … ominous [, as he has] slitted eyes ‘like chips of broken glass’ … ” (Urbanski 2). She continues to argue this point by stating that “[it] is apparent … Friend represents the devil who tempts a chast yet morally

When Connie first sees Friend at the drive-in restaurant, she notices that he is “in a convertible jalopy…” (Oates n.p.). Through this description, Oates parallels Friend to the Greek sun god, Apollo, who saves the human race daily by riding across the sky in an open-topped chariot, like Arnold’s convertible. Furthermore, when Connie sees Arnold’s car for the first time up close, she asks him, “‘What’s all that stuff painted on your car?’” (Oates n.p.). Written on the side of his car were the numbers 33, 19, and 17, which references a Bible verse in the Book of Judges 19:17, stating “ … he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveller in the open square of the city; and the old man said, ‘Where are you going, and where did you come from?’” (Judges 19:17). Oates uses the symbol of Arnold’s car to reveal his true intentions with Connie as, like the old man, he asks her what her past was like and what her future will bring her. Arnold wants to make Connie’s future better by separating her from her broken home, demonstrating this to her through the Bible verse painted on his symbolic jalopy. Oates then describes the car in more detail, stating that it is “painted [a] bright gold that [catches] the sunlight…” (Oates n.p.). In numerous religions, including those of the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Greeks, gold is a color and metal associated with their sun gods, which were their

When Arnold is at Connie’s doorstep, she describes him as having “shaggy, shabby black hair …” (Oates n.p.). In this description, Oates directly compares Arnold to Jesus, who also has shaggy black hair. Arnold’s action of keeping his hair like that of Christianity’s savior is symbolic, as it brings to light Arnold’s correct identity. Oates continues this comparison when Arnold reveals that he has a greater knowledge than previously conceived, as he states that “‘[Connie’s father] is [currently] at a barbecue [at] Aunt Tillie’s’” (Oates n.p.). Oates continues her analogy between Friend and Jesus by giving him the apparent ability to see through time and space, as a higher savior such as Jesus would do, shedding light on Arnold’s true identity. Nevertheless, critics still refuse to acknowledge the glaring evidence supporting Arnold Friend as a savior and only see him as the devil. Christina Marsden Gillis claims that “Arnold ‘leads his victim … to a quick and violent sexual assault’” (Tierce and Crafton 219), most likely due to his persistence in asking Connie to come with him. Supposing that this claim is coherent, it ignores Arnold’s true motive for asking Connie to come. He tells her, “‘I want you … Seen you that night [at the drive-in] and thought, that’s the one, yes sir. I never needed to look anymore’” (Oates n.p.). Through this statement, Oates not only explains Arnold’s claim