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Where Have You Been Arnold Friend Character Analysis

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In the story "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?", Joyce Carol Oates does an outstanding job on creating an element of bone chilling and goosebumps when reading it. Arnold Fiend, or as he likes to introduce to people as Friend, is a demon in disguise as he represents himself as goat like by his appearance, how he knows everything about Connie, the 15 year old protagonist, even when he just met her, and by how his car symbolizes himself and religion too. Simple things in the story like numbers and flies can mean more than what they are. Arnold Friend first appears when Connie is hanging out with her friends and a guy named Eddie, who is giving her attention just as she likes it. She describes Arnold as "a boy with shaggy black hair in a convertible jalopy painted gold" (Oates 1098). Weeks pass by that event and Connie was alone listening to her music which helps her keep calm. She …show more content…

For example, while taking to her about whatnot stuff, he mentions her name and Connie didn’t even introduce herself yet. Furthermore, Arnold starts mentioning facts about her stating "I know your name and all about you, lots of things..." while then saying he knows her so well because of her friends (Oates 1102). He then starts listing each of the friends that supposedly gave him information about Connie. Moreover, Connie starts to worry that is her father sees Arnold and Ellie in her property that there will be trouble. However, Arnold states by saying "He ain’t coming. He's at the Barbeque" (Oates 1104). He then starts describing what her parents are doing at the barbeque and what Connie's sister is wearing. How can one know everything about a person only to have meet them that exact day? It’s strange, really. I mean the only thing that comes up to my mind is if he was a physic, a demon, or a god. However, by the looks of it, it seems to me he might just be a

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