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

In Joyce Carol Oates short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been , the deception of appearances plays a colossal role in the development of the story. Characters are not what they seem and are portrayed differently than the person they truly are. When the main character tries to make herself become something she is not, she leaves herself open to a person doing the exact same thing. The story focuses on the protagonist, fifteen year old Connie, who believes that she is too far from adulthood and finds herself longing to be older. Her views of love and romance are altered by the music she listens to and the daydreams she has. She uses the only thing she has going for her, her beautiful looks, to pursue her fantasies and obtain

Although at first glance Friend appears to be a young boy, upon further inspection one begins to realize that something is wrong. Several physical characteristics set Connie off and make her believe that Arnold Friend is no friend. “..she had the idea that he had driven up the driveway all right but had come from nowhere before that and belonged nowhere and that everything about him and even about the music that was so familiar to her was only half real.” Connie see’s that Arnold cannot walk. He stumbles and has to hold onto things to get around, making him appear older than he is. This represents the hooves that lie within his stuffed shoes. “..To see Arnold Friend pause and then take a step toward the porch lurching. He almost fell. But, like a clever drunken ma, he managed to catch his balance. He wobbled in his high boots and grabbed hold of one of the porch posts… One of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn’t in it. It pointed out to the left, bent at the ankle.” Arnold’s face almost looks like a mask, as if he is wearing one. This covers his red face. The large, white teeth cover the sharp teeth of a devil-like figure. Finally Friends long black hair looks fake; it is a wig, covering the horns. “He had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at