Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” focuses on how the character Arnold Friend actually defies the common archetype of enemy and instead acts as a savior, rescuing Connie from her misery. Connie, a fifteen year old girl, frequently goes out with her friends to escape from her family. One day when her parents are gone, a man, Arnold Friend, appears in her driveway requesting that she goes with him for a ride. She is persistent in staying at home, but eventually gives into him and goes with him because Connie’s life at home is not great. Her mother is always complaining about Connie’s actions and one day “Connie’s mother kept picking on her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it …show more content…
She does not get affection from her family, and feels isolated from them. Connie first receives affection from Arnold when he asks her “You wanta come for a ride” (Oates 8). No one has ever offered Connie any affection. Her family looks down on her as the disappointing child and she is just a young girl trying to be loved. Arnold asking her to come for a ride and seeking to spend time with her is the attention she is missing in her daily life. She views something as small as a car ride exciting and new because her family avoids giving her the opportunity to be in a situation where she can have adventures and feel love. At the end of the story, when Arnold is still trying to convince Connie to come in his car for a ride he tells her, “I’ll have my arms tight around you so you won’t need to try and get away and I’ll show you what love is like” (Oates 26) Arnold is only trying to provide Connie with the love she is lacking from her family. She does not know what love is and most of the time resents her family and the expectations she is expected to meet. Connie has never been close with anyone, so she does not understand how to give and receive
Arnold Friend Quotes
130 Words | 1 PagesTragically, I think Connie is separated from her family toward the end of Oates' story. She is power to run with Arnold Friend and Ellie far away in the Country. She comes to ensure her family. Arnold Friend may sexually abuse her. I trust this due to the accompanying quote, "We'll go out to a pleasant field, out in the nation here where the aroma is so pleasant and it's sunny," Arnold-Friend said.
Arnold Friend In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
1126 Words | 5 PagesThrough Connie, Oates describes Arnold’s attire, “She recognized most things about him, the tight jeans that showed his thighs and buttocks and the greasy leather boots and the tight shirt…” (Oates 164). Connie realizes that he is not truly a teenager and that this could possible end bad. After realizing Arnold Friend is not a kid, Connie becomes ill: “Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise in her at this sight and she stared at him as if waiting for something to change the shock of the moment….” (Oates 165)
Connie In Joyce Carol Oates's The Metamorphosis
1417 Words | 6 PagesConnie in Joyce Carol Oates’s story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” desperately wants to be independent from her family, while Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” pathetically yearns for inclusion. In this story, Oates pays special attention to the mother-daughter relationship and the lack of meaningful communication between them. Connie's mother is an image of the future Connie doesn't want – the life of a domestic housewife. Connie has a love-hate relationship with her mother, with whom she identifies, but at the same time she has to distance herself from her mother in order to establish her independence. On the other hand, The Metamorphosis, a story by Franz Kafka, is about a man who has been transformed into a giant beetle
Archetypes In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
1428 Words | 6 PagesHome 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.
Examples Of Allusions In Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
854 Words | 4 PagesArnold 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.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Music Analysis
849 Words | 4 PagesShe is repeatedly feeding into music that isolates her from family and real life. This leads to a big turning where Connie is finally forced to face with dangerous reality through the antagonist, Arnold Friend. In the beginning, Connie is always being compared to her sister as being the immature and useless child whose “mind was all filled with
Lynn Freed: A Feminist Analysis
1442 Words | 6 PagesThe night Connie attracts the attention of Arnold Friend he immediately stakes his claim on her by declaring to her, “Gonna get you, baby” (Oates 1193). Some days later when he arrives in her driveway, he matter-of-factly informs her that he is her lover and proceeds to say, “I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because you’ll know you can’t” (Oates 1199). Her childish daydreams immediately turn into a nightmare with the realization that she has suddenly become a victim. Arnold asserts domination over Connie and her actions when he says, “I’m the boy for you…you come out here nice like a lady and give me your hand, and nobody else gets hurt” (Oates 1201).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Comparison
1190 Words | 5 PagesIn 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.
External Conflicts In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, By Joyce Oates
1293 Words | 6 PagesConnie will go to great lengths to be wanted and loved. She wants nothing more than to be accepted by everyone. This is made evident when the author states, “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis
778 Words | 4 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates’s Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been , there certainly is no clear cut way to interpret the story. Oates includes symbolism throughout the story that adds depth and requires the reader to look farther into the reasons behind the details that are included the work. She writes about a fifteen year old girl, Connie, who becomes a victim of Arnold Friend while left home alone . Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been was written in 1966, a time during which a social revolution for American women was in full swing. This empowerment that woman had, as they pushed for complete gender equality, inspired the character of Connie.
Character Analysis Of Connie In 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'
984 Words | 4 PagesConnie’s first encounter with Friend was at a diner when he stated to Connie, “Gonna get you, baby”(pg.1142). Because Connie was use to this type of attention, she did not view it as strange that an older man was calling her in such away. However, if Connie had seen Friend as dangerous instead of just another man, her kidnapping might have been prevented. Later in the story when Friend showed up as Connie’s house, she walked outside and talked to him instead of questioning how he knew where she lived or calling the police. Oates described Connie's interaction with Friend by stating,“Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders”(pg.1145).
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Victim Analysis
955 Words | 4 PagesNot only had Connie given up all the physical things she owned, but also her own free will to Arnold. She gave up everything she had available to her, a feat that could only be accomplished by a passive victim. A noble heroine wouldn’t submit herself to someone as easily as Connie
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Literary Analysis
694 Words | 3 PagesOates’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.
Connie In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
433 Words | 2 PagesIn Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie, a teenage girl who acts older than she actually is, argues with her family about how she dresses and acts. While sneaking out with friends one night, Connie encounters an older man named Arnold Friend who is convinced that he is her lover. One day while her family is not home, Connie is confronted by Arnold, asking and threatening her to come with him. The story ends with her going away with this strange man who showed up at her door, leaving the reader to ponder what will become of Connie.
Was Connie In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
477 Words | 2 PagesConnie is being bullied by her mom every day. In the story, it states "Who are you? You think you're so pretty?"(pg. 1). Clearly, she felt a lot of insecurity from dealing with her mother. With Arnold, she probably felt a lot of attention something that she never had.
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