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

Kevin Billy

Professor Lane

ENG152 Section 17

1 March 2023

An Old Fiend

Elements from the Bible have been incorporated in literary works all throughout time. Characters in all sorts of stories throughout history have been subjected to the idea of resisting evil and being free of sin. A prominent example of this is in the story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. This short story takes place from the perspective of Connie, who is an average high school student who has become particularly vulnerable to temptations people her age face. In the story, Connie meets somebody who goes by the name Arnold Friend, who possesses many strange traits and contains an unnatural amount of knowledge about Connie. There has been much

Abby H.P. Werlock writes, “Oates uses magic realism to suggest that Arnold is not all he appears to be; indeed, her third-person narrator suggests that he is not only obscene and slightly out of place but everywhere, knowing everything…” (Werlock). Werlock brings up the intriguing viewpoint of Connie, who’s suggestion of Friend being everywhere seems to suggest that he can represent something bigger. The Devil, in contemporary media, is always used to portray temptation. This portrayal seems to be an exact match to Connie’s description. If she feels like he’s been there with her all this time, especially at places like the mall where she is at her most vulnerable. This would explain how Friend knows exactly what to say to take advantage of Connie; he has been right there with her in her moments of

While he is very clearly in front of Connie, he appeared to her as more of an amalgamation of parts. Any time his appearance was described by Connie, she mentions an ambiguity to him. Cusatis once again writes “... how familiar this devil figure is to the protagonist, even though she can not quite recognize him, suggesting the ubiquitous presence of evil in the world” (Cusatis). If Arnold Friend is the devil, and he is present at all times to tempt Connie, this would explain why he appears so familiar to her. While Friend speaks to Connie, he has trouble balancing, and when Connie runs back inside, he stumbles after her and has to hold onto a beam for support. Writers interpret this as him being a popular rendition of the Devil, as Werlock writes, “he may be the devil himself, an identity many critics see inherent in his stumbling walk and his inability to balance in his boots: Cloven hooves may be the source of his difficulties” (Werlock). Werlock suggests that the reason Friend’s appearance seems so patchworked is because he is incorporating as many tactics as possible to hide his attributes. Other characteristics of this representation of the Devil include horns and a pointed tail, which aren’t mentioned. His eyes are also described as being dark and sunken, and they were hidden carefully by mirrored sunglasses until Friend took them off. It’s important to point out that Connie, while picking