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

702 Words3 Pages

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a short story filled with ideas of vanity and judgment through references of music and the Bible. The main character, Connie, is a vain teenage girl in the 1960s who spends her days exploiting her beauty to fulfill her personal desires. Joyce Carol Oates uses the symbols of Arnold Friend, music, and the deceit of appearances to develop the allegory of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Oates uses several symbols through her characters, such as Arnold Friend, to create a religious allegory about the temptation of the devil. At first Arnold tries to come across as kind, but soon readers become aware of how truly dangerous he is. As stated in Marie Urbanski's analysis, "… he represents a superhuman force" (Urbanski 2) which is further explained by his manipulative …show more content…

Connie's vain personality is hidden behind her good looks that she uses to receive attention. When Arnold Friend first appears in the story, he catches Connie's eye as she walks by, but after learning more about his motives he appears fake. Joanne Creighton explains that "Connie's encounter with Arnold Friend is... not just one girl's perception of the deception of appearances and the terrible reality of evil, but a particularly vivid instance of a universal experience: the loss of innocence" (Creighton 3). Marilyn Wesley then describes Friend as a transgressive other "...who is defined by a narrative position in contrapuntal relation to domestic norms and standards of communicability within which the text is located" (Wesley 1). In other words, Friend is a character based on common practices during a specific time that shapes his personality. However, his appearance is only a mask because he disguises himself as a popular teenage boy, but in reality he was actually in his thirties. The serpent in the garden of Eden also disguised himself as a temptation towards

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Myles Hypse February 3rd, 2017 English 1B 3:30-4:40pm Two Psychopaths Both of these stories give the reader a good look into the eyes of two psychopaths, who both refuse to take no for an answer. One of them, Arnold Friend although at first appearing friendly, is nothing more than a malicious predator, similar in kind to The Misfit, who greets his victims in a much more sinister way. The two characters, when stood side by side, almost seemed as they become one, yet are polar opposites. When one compares the character Arnold Friend to that of The Misfit, more similarities come forward than differences.

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Satanic References in Literature Depictions of the ultimate force of evil have existed for thousands of years. In Christianity, the name Satan or Lucifer has been given to define this evil, depicting him as a half human and half goat. Lucifer is fabled to exist since the beginning of time. Due to Lucifer being the representation of the most ancient evil, he is presented in many different forms in dark literature. This is shown in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

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Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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Where You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis

1413 Words | 6 Pages

Connie’s vanity causes her make terrible choices about Arnold Friend. The Trouble of being notice is blaming yourself if what you deserve is horrible things like getting unwanted attention someday you get what coming to you. In Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where You Going, Where have you Been,” one of the protagonist Connie is a fifteen year old girl who wants to look and act like an arrogant child. She isn’t herself.

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Brief Character Analysis: Arnold Friend

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Arnold Friend, as friendly as he seems in the beginning, has the ability to persuade people into an estranged thought process. He is manipulative in his facts of conversation with Connie, who shows to eventually be easily coerced. Is it Connie’s immature weakness as a teenager or Arnold’s undoubted tactics that make her final decision to join him? In the beginning Connie is impressed with Arnold Friend.

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Analysis Of Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

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One of Connie “trashy daydreams” “Where are you going, where have you been” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966 about a young girl 15 year-old girl named Connie. In the story Connie is boy crazy and very into her looks. She is young and beautiful and because of this her relationship with her mother is strained with jealousy. She is left home alone one day while her family goes to a barbecue and a man by the name of Arnold Friend pulled into her very long driveway and tries to convince Connie to get in the car with him.

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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis

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Oates’s biography explained her fiction writing as a mixture violence and sexual obsession. The writing style definitely fits the plot point of this story with both of her literary ingredients being present in not only Arnold Friend but in Connie as well. The Protagonist Connie is presented in a very self-centered way. She is obsessed with her looks and often fantasizes about all the boys she meets.

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Oates's Short Story 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

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In Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1974), the main character, Connie, experiences a number of external and internal conflicts that lead to the conflict in the story, her interaction with the antagonist, Arnold Friend. In the beginning of this short story, Oates details on Connie’s materialistic tendencies and emphasis on her own physical appearance, much to her mother’s dismay. In order to get the attention she deserves, she seeks it from the opposite gender.

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Analysis Of Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is about a teenage girl named Connie who is in the midst of her adolescent rebellion. She wants to prove her maturity to others and herself. In the story, Oates describes that Connie always lets her mind flow freely in between her daydream. She even creates and keeps dreaming about her ideal male figure in her mind to make her happy and satisfied. Oates allows the reader to step into Connie’s “dream world” through the appearance of Arnold Friend.

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

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“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” is about a teenager named Connie who is trying to come to terms with her transformation from childhood to adulthood. Through this process, Connie attempts to act older than she is an tries to gain the attention of boys. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Oates portrays Connie as obsessed with men to symbolize how one’s obsession and narcissistic attitude can cause danger to seem surreal. In the short story, Carol Oates describes Connie as having two different personalities, one being a narcissistic attitude.

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Examples Of Allusions In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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He tries to seduce and persuade her to go with him for a ride similar to how the Devil lured Eve with a shiny and mysterious apple. Oates displays evidence of biblical allusions regarding Arnold Friend’s appearance and persona in the story by depicting his physical characteristics, his supernatural knowledge, and his demeanor as an image of evil. Connie wants to be desired for her sexuality and Arnold possesses this by his tone throughout the story. His appearance comes

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Literary Devices In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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In her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates utilizes a variety of literary devices to strengthen the story in its entirety. This short story is essentially about a 16-year-old girl named Connie and the conflict between her desire to be mature and her desire to remain an adolescent. Throughout the story, the audience sees this conflict through her words in addition to through her behavior. The audience is also introduced to Arnold Friend, a rather peculiar man, who essentially kidnaps her. This short story by Joyce Carol Oates functions and is additionally meaningful because of her usage of literary devices.

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Victimization In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

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A novel by Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" explores the concept of victimhood and victimization towards an adolescent named Connie. In the course of the novel, Joyce Carol Oates describes Connie's reactions to various situations and conflicts in her life, such as the situation with Arnold and his friend. Because of her mother's unfairness, Connie is in the position she is in today. Thus, we should never blame the victims.

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In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.

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