Religion and temptation of a forbidden object is a major theme in Joyce Carol Oate’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. The story features Connie, a pretty 15-year-old girl who is given the opportunity to go on a date with Arnold Friend, who is described as being a mysterious man of 30 years of age or older. While this first excites Connie, she becomes increasingly hesitant as to whether or not going with Friend is a good idea as she starts to notice flaws in his character. Arnold Friend takes the form of a devil-like character and displays both physical and mental characteristics of this biblical creature. Friend makes multiple references to numbers and symbols that would give up his identity, and each time he makes these references …show more content…
Connie has been described as having a flirtatious personality and a tendency to go off with boys, and is mostly concerned with her looks, as opposed to her sister June who has a job, a savings and helps around the house. This is seen as a fault of Connie, and her vanity in the story leads to her demise. When we first meet Friend, Connie has been fussing with her hair for hours brushing it to perfection and allowing it to air dry. This display of self-care is a source of pride and vanity for Connie. Martha E. Widmayer pointed out a quote from Christa Grossinger in “Death and the Maiden in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” that, “a woman’s concern for her hair might attract the attention not only of the seducer, Death, but of the devil, as in a 1493 woodcut that ‘illustrates the dangers of looking into the mirror, the potency of long, flowing hair, symbolic of pride and vanity in call up the devil’ (Grossinger 15)” (1). Connie has blond hair that’s described as eye catching. She takes extra care of it during this Sunday afternoon, and later receives a comment from Friend about her having it ready for him. Oates has an article she wrote for The New York Times called: “When Characters from the Page Are Made Flesh on the Screen. In it, described Connie as, “shallow, vain, silly, hopeful, doomed” (2). …show more content…
Artistic renderings of Satan have also shown him as a goat. William D. Moor explains one of the common depictions of the Devil in “Riding the Goat Secrecy, Masculinity and Fraternal High Jinks in the United States,” he says, “To the common mind, the Devil was represented by a he-goats [sic], and his best known marks were the horn, the bear and the cloven hoofs” (3). Friend is noted as stumbling around and losing his balance when he does walk around, and Connie even notices that something might be stuffed into Friend’s shoes that is helping making him look taller. Although Friend’s boots are never removed, Connie is able to tell that the shape of his legs are odd. In “The Stranger Within: Two Stories by Oates and Hawthorne, Joan D. Winslow writes: “The knowing reader can easily identify him as the devil, although it is uncertain whether Connie does; for example, his awkwardness in walking suggest to her that his boots are stuffed with something so that he will seem taller, but our imaginations penetrate further and recognize the cloven foot of the devil” (4). His oddly shaped legs are indicative of animalistic
In the story “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been,” symbolism is one of the main literary elements used to reveal the ugly in the word. As Connie is an innocent child, she does not recognize all of the dangers that are in the world. There are points in the story where Connie does not comprehend the threats that are all around her. “Connie said she would meet her at eleven, across the way.
Arnold Friend was there to take Connie away; away from her childhood and home, which never quite felt like home until her fantasy world deteriorated and reality set it. The next moment is pivotal, this is when Connie forgets her hedonism and becomes something of much more substance. Before Connie studies Arnold Friend’s abnormal personality and erratic behavior she is fascinated by him and even worries that she is ill prepared for this
Connie is a very self- centered person and knows she has the “looks” in the family. “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (492). She does not get along with her mom or sister whatsoever.
She is obsessed with her own physical appearance, while her older sister, June, is the opposite. Connie’s mom always criticizes her for being so egotistical and wants Connie to be more like her sister. Their father is always working and hardly makes any time for them. She likes hanging out with boys, but one night
Home is where the heart is, but what if home is no longer safe? Joyce Carol Oates explores this concept in her 1966 short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. On surface level, this story appears to discuss a rebellious young girl named Connie and her confrontation with Arnold Friend, a stalker. The ending leaves the reader to assume that Arnold Friend plans to sexually assault the young girl.
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.
Arnold Friend’s Biblical Allusions In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story of a young, innocent teenage girl, Connie who enjoys listening to music and begins exploring her sexuality and being with boys “the way it was in the movies and promised in songs” (Oates 198). In fact she catches the attention of Arnold Friend one night while at the mall meeting up with a boy. Not knowing he would appear in her life, Arnold strangely shows up at her house assuming they made plans to get together. His character is seen as the devil.
When one approaches the reading and looks actively, between the lines of each story, you can detect each of the author's small but still distinct undertones that connects religion in both stories. In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", the author notes that Arnold's shoes didn't fit, and it look as if he had stuffed rags into his boots to make himself appear taller than his actual height. Oates continues on, stating "One of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn't in it. It pointed to the left, bent at the ankle.” This could be interpreted through a religious standpoint that Arnold’s shoes didn't fit because inside he had hooves instead of feet, referring Arnold to be the Devil in search of Connie, as it is also known that the Devil was said to have had a pair of hooves that he took extreme measures to hide from
In Joyce Carol Oates fictional short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the majority of the story lies beneath the surface. More specifically than just the story, you realize that there is more to the character Arnold Friend than what may appear. The author has always remained silent and ambiguous about the real meaning of Arnold Friend’s true nature and she leaves room for the readers to make their own interpretation of him. Readers can analyze Arnold Friend and see him as the devil, he could just be the personification of popular music imagined by Connie in a dream, but Arnold Friend could also be the result of drug use.
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.
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 mist 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.
Connie does this because she needs to be reassured that she is in fact pretty. On top of this, Connie acknowledges that her beauty is “everything”(1). This statement implies that if perhaps Connie was not beautiful, she would have nothing. Furthermore, when Arnold Friend pulls up at Connie’s house, her heart begins to pound not because there is a stranger at her door, but because she is “wondering how bad she looked”(2). Even when faced with possible danger,
Instead of realizing the danger that she was in, Connie was focused on what Arnold Friend was wearing and how attractive he was. Connie’s obsession with finding her own sexuality overpowered her gut feeling of danger. In an analysis of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Barbara Wiedemann discusses how the antagonist Arnold Friend is based upon serial killer Charles Schmid, who murdered several young girls during the 1960s. In the analysis, Wiedemann
By giving herself up to Arnold she loses even “her own identity” (Korb Gale). By the end of Connie and Arnold’s conversation, Connie has lost herself. She has become a puppet that will do whatever Arnold wants her to do. Her submission to Arnold “spells a conquest of both space and will.” (Gillis Gale).
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.