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Arnold Friend Critique

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“Where Are You Going, Where Have You been” was a short fictional story (based on real events) written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. In her story, a young teenage girl has an encounter with another “teenager” that had been hitting on her previously. Little did she know that he was actually a serial killer that had been stalking her in order to make her his new victim. The story takes place at the house of the young teenager, Connie, after she is left home alone for an afternoon. At the end, Arnold Friend (the serial killer) ends up getting what he wants and leaves with Connie. This short story is rich in literature and easily adaptable to various forms of criticisms. Although one can use a Psychoanalytical criticism or Gender criticism, to me, …show more content…

She gives in to Arnold Friend and does not bother to fight him back any longer. In Greek mythology, Apollo (the god of music) challenged the Satyr Marsyas to a musical contest after finding out that he was spectacular at playing the double flute. Though beliefs like this seem to have nothing in common with this story, they do. Apollo challenges Satyr to prove who is the best and Arnold Friend challenges Connie to come to him and be his. Apollo, knowing that he is a god, is confident that he will win and Friend, knowing that had the ability to manipulate, is confident as well. At the end, even though both Satyr and Connie put up a fight, they both eventually lose the battle and their life. Oates story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?” is a story filled with various different forms of symbols and ideas that an ordinary reader would not realize they represent more than just what they appear to be. Oates incorporates several literary elements that can be used to take different critical approaches. With that stated, the Archetypes approach was the most appealing to me because it exposes the reader to a different perspective to the short story that she

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