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

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Maria Garcia Professor Galindo English 1302-NC8 6 November 2014 Where Did She Go, Where Was She Taken? “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by author Joyce Carol Oates and published in 1966. This short story is about a fifteen year old girl named Connie who experiments with her sexuality and because of that, she thinks of herself as a mature adult rather than a naïve little girl who still has a lot of growing up to do. She ends up catching the attention of a man by the name of Arnold Friend who is the epitome of creepy. He comes to her home knowing everything there is to know about Connie, and through his fierce manipulation and crafty ways he gets her to come with him, where it can be assumed that she is going to be raped, …show more content…

The car itself is the embodiment of who Arnold is as a whole. He tells Connie that he is a certain age, but then we find out that he is much older than she is and the car serves as evidence of that. “It was an expression kids had used the year before, but didn’t use this year” (327). The color itself will call out to anyone that sees it. “It was an open jalopy, painted a bright gold…” (324). Not only does it represent how outdated and bold Arnold is, but it represents Connie too. Arnold has come to take Connie on a ride away from the stuffy home that she despises as if it were some kind of prison. When Arnold starts getting a bit more aggressive with Connie the house becomes her only means of safety, and the car becomes the thing that she must avoid the most because it is what Arnold will use to take her. Her family and home will no longer suffocate Connie in the way that bothered her so, but the car will be her new means of confinement. Once the inevitable happens, and Connie gets in the car, there will be no way of escaping it or Arnold. The theme of confinement, relates to the symbol of the car because Connie will never get the freedom that she desires because she is now trapped by the psycho that is Arnold

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Arnolds Friends tries to get Connie into his car for a ride and most likely for something much cruel. When Arnold arrives in his car to Connie’s house and tries to lure her out, he tries to convince her that he is young and later on describes what he wants to do with her, that she is his “lover”. There are many symbols during this passage that wraps around the whole story. Arnold’s car in “ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” it is mostly seen in the story that the guys are always driving and when Arnold asks Connie to go for a ride he wants control over her, once you go inside you don’t have much power, the power is in the driver. His car symbolizes dishonesty, power and disguise

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Connie, the main character in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a young woman with palpably low self-esteem. This vulnerability allows Arnold Friend, the main antagonist of the story, to successfully attract and manipulate Connie. The story begins by highlighting Connie’s daily rituals of self-assurance (369). In order to feel secure with herself, even for a fleeting moment, Connie looks at herself in a mirror to make sure that she is satisfied with what she sees; this ritual is coupled with her tendency, when in public, to scan the area in order to make sure that no one is making any disgruntled looks about her appearance (369).

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The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates contains many symbols that reveal a hidden message. The car symbolizes freedom that mostly men got to enjoy as women sat in the passenger sit. The story does mention one driver who is a woman but she is noted as a “crazy woman driver” as she left a dent in Arnold Friend’s car. The man being the driver had the power which is what Arnold wants when he asks Connie to get in the car so that he can take her “for a ride.” The car and Arnold are both disguised and in some moments their disguise becomes apparent.

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Arnold’s appearance is the biggest faustian lie that he uses. From his head to toes and all the way to his car. “The boots must have been stuffed with something so he would seem taller,” this is evidence that he is trying to trick Connie into believing he is someone he is not in order to make her interested. Many stories are of the Devil using trickery to manipulate his image to be someone else, which Arnold Friend definitely does. In addition to presenting himself as someone he’s not, the car within the story is also an extended metaphor for him.

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It serves as a contrast between who Arnold is and who he is disguised as. The car symbolizes the fantasy and the reality aspect of Arnold. The new paint job on his car is used to symbolize Arnold’s fake disguise that he puts on to lure Connie in. Arnold’s car becomes a major example of his dark appearance and nature. The color of his car which is gold represents being flashy.

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