In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Oates wants to show a more intellectual and symbolic meaning in this short story. Oates has many symbolic archetypes throughout the short story along with an allegory. Oates uses these elements in her story by the selection of detail and word choice used. Oates does this because she wants to teach her audience a moral lesson. Oates shows archetypes throughout the story. The symbolic archetype shown is “the friendly beast” or “the tempt”. The friendly beast, of course, would be Arnold Friend; Arnold never hurts or does anything to Connie, he just tempts her by saying, “we’ll drive away, have a nice ride.” The temptation for Connie is that she wants to grow up, get away from her family and live her own life. Although, Connie is very ignorant; Connie believes her looks will get her very far in life, but what she doesn’t realize is that ignorance does not equal bliss. In The Sitting Bee Dermot McManus talks about how Connie struggles with independence and how she wants to do things on her own. McManus says “that Connie still relies on others to take her home and other things, and how …show more content…
Arnold Friend could possibly be a symbol of the devil. Friend tries to be kind and tells Connie he will take care of her and everything to try and get her to come with him. Oates says, “His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down onto his throat…”; this could symbolically be connected with the devil. The devil would never be out in the open he would be in disguise. McManus also talks about how Friend is related with the devil. “Friend’s suggestion is that if Connie’s house was on fire, that she would run out to him, may also suggest symbolism. Fire being associated with devil.” This is a great symbol of Friend and the devil because fire is most definitely associated with the
The narrator implies that Arnold Friend is Satan by giving certain clues that the reader can easily deduce. The name that Oates gives to the character is one hint to the reader: “Connie looked away from Friend's smile to the car, which was painted so bright it almost hurt her eyes to look at it. She looked at the name, Arnold Friend. She looked at it for a while as if the words meant something to her that she did not yet know” (583). The name “friend” was commonly used by the Protestants to refer to evil or the devil. Moreover, Arnold Friend's appearance also hints that he is Satan: “There were two boys in the car and now she recognizes the driver: he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked as a crazy wig”(583). The narrator emphasizes the “wig” to make the reader think that he is wearing it for a purpose, which is hide his devil’s horns. Also, the fact that Arnold Friend's eyes are covered is another stragedy use by Oates to confirm the assumption of the diabolic presence: “ He took off the sunglasses and she saw how pale the skin around his eyes was it, like holes that were not in shadow but in...
To criticize Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” as a horror story, I will examine three main Criteria. First, the story’s main characters and their description as victims and predators. The readers’ identification of how the characters are relatable, and how the author’s portrayal of them touches the reader’s sympathy. Secondly, suspense and extraordinary and mysterious elements taking place in the story and the predator’s motive. Anticipation and dread also belong to this criterion, but I will not examine it because it is not relevant to the story. Lastly, the ending of the story and whether it is predictable or it is unexpected.
Arnold Friend represents Satan tempting Connie to sin. Throughout the encounter, he “wobbled in high boots” to hide his hoofs; in fact, one “was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasn’t in it” (6-7). He smiles “from inside a mask” that does not cover past his neck (7). Furthermore, he mutters a “spat curse,” and “this ‘Christ!’ sounded forced” (7). He tries to appear human through a disguise and common language, but he has difficulty merely saying the name of his powerful enemy. As he attempts to lure her into sin, his smile that “assured her that everything was fine,” and his creepy, “lurching”
Arnold Friend’s attempt to lure in Connie shows that he is not just any supernatural force, he is the devil himself. Connie does not view Arnold Friend as the devil, because she is oblivious to her own surroundings and is very easily fooled. When Arnold pulls into the driveway, Connie decides to make herself look nice and chat with the stranger. Instead of calling the cops, she puts herself in a dangerous place that eventually kills her, which is the devil himself. Arnold Friend can be considered the devil through his appearance, his actions, his speech, and his supernatural visions/clues.
Oates uses a great number of symbols in her short story "Where are you going? Where have you been? to create an aura of unease and Devilishness. Her principal symbols are Arnold Friend, his disguise, and the music Connie listens to. Oates' use of symbolism and Biblical allusions to Satan force the reader to raise an eyebrow to the character of Arnold Friend and the doomed future of Connie.
Simply enough, you take the “r” out of his last name to see what he truly is: a fiend, which is an evil spirit or demon. Arnold Friend is the Devil. The narrator says that “evidently his feet did not go all the way down; the boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller” (105). This suggests that Arnold may not have human feet, but rather hooves like the Devil is depicted to have. These hooves would mean that Arnold does not have a heel to support him, which is why he lost his balance. Also, having hooves would explain why he appears taller. Arnold’s character is also very sexual and controlling. The story hints at religion a lot, so if looked at from a religious standpoint, sex before marriage is a damning thing, which could again lead someone to assume Arnold is the Devil. Another factor that points towards Arnold being the Devil is the fact that he can make himself appear younger than he is. At first, Arnold is this skinny, muscular teenager with messy hair and sunglasses; but as the conversation between Connie and Arnold continues and he becomes more violent, his age starts to show. This is one example of how the story hints at Arnold’s true
Quite often in life we wish for things bigger than ourselves. Seeming to get wrapped up in our own minds we do not pay attention to reality. As reality comes full force we are not sure how to take it, so we let it take us. In the writing “Where are you going, where have you been?” we see Oates craft archetypes and allegories into the work through detail and word choice in order to help the reader understand the shocking outdistancing of day dreams and the overshadowing sockdolager called reality. These archetypes and allegories provide a way for the reader to join Connie in the story, but also to see the danger of what Connie doesn’t see.
This story was an interesting read; the use of dialogue, setting, characters and tone made the story a fascinating read. The story was told mostly from Connie's perspective. We learn, feel, and get befuddled about things in the meantime she does. Since a significant part of the story is constrained to her point of view, Arnold Friend stays as a baffling, malicious, and dreadful character. An example of this story perspective is the scene in which Connie is so deadened with fear that she can't force herself to call the police. Since the story is told mostly from Connie's point of view, it's normally empathetic towards her as it investigates her thoughts and feelings. Even when condemning how exterior her romantic beliefs are, you get the sense
A nagging mother, an overachieving sister, and a fifteen year old girl that just wants to live. Joyce Carol Oates's short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", is a story that portrays almost every teenager girls life. The desire to get out and experience the world is what creates a whole new conflict for the main character, Connie. Connie is a protective daughter that will go to great lengths to save her family.
The burger restaurant symbolises a church though echos of musicals and its exterior design. The narrator states” the restaurant was shaped like a big bottle, and its cap was a revolving figure of a grinning boy holding a hamburger loft” (2). In other words the restaurant's design shaped like a church with an individual figure at the top refers to the cross of Jesus representing religious activity. In correlation to the restaurant the narrator states “Their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building... listened to the music that was always in the background like music at a church service” (2). Particularly Oates uses simile to note the restaurant experience as a divine place of holiness where people welcomed together in unison. Next Arnold Friend symbolises the devil through his mysterious physical appearance. According to the narrator “He had shaggy, black hair that looked crazy as a wig.. and spoke in a bright monotone” (4). Indeed this represents the “hidden” devil horns Arnold prevented from seeing with a wig in disguise passing of as human something only the devil has power over. According to Joyce M. Wegs “ Arnold is far more than a grotesque portrait of a psychopathic killer masquerading as a teenager, he has all traditional sinister traits.. and source of the devil” ( Joyce 69). Accordingly Wegs agrees Arnold is a symbolism of the devil who
In the story “Where are you Going, Where Have you been?” Joyce Carol Oates tells us about a fifteen year old girl named Connie. Connie is confronted by a young man who is trying to persuade her to take a ride with him. He introduces himself as Arnold Friend and kindly asks her to come with him but she refused. He then threatens Connie and her family. She is then forced outside and leaves with Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend clearly symbolizes the devil through his physical traits, his knowledge of Connie, and his power over her kind of like he was hypnotizing her to go with him.
The Eternal Present in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Michele D. Theriot, Journal of Short Story in English, 48, (Spring 2007): 59-70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 November 2013.
Gale Kozikowski, Stan. " The Wishes and Dreams Our Hearts Make in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'. " Journal of the Short Story in English. 33 (Autumn 1999): 89-103.
In the short story “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?”, by Joyce Carol Oates, the use of the symbolism of Connie’s clothes, her fascination with her beauty, Arnold Friend’s car and Arnold Friend himself help to understand the story’s theme of evil and manipulation. The story, peppered with underlying tones of evil, finds Oates writing about 15-year-old Connie, the protagonist of the story, a pretty girl who is a little too into her own attractiveness, which eventually gets her into trouble with a man named Arnold Friend. The story is liberally doused with symbolism, from the way Connie dresses to the shoes on Arnold Friend’s feet. In “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” the reader can pick up on some of the symbols very easily, while others need deeper thought. The subtle hints of symbolism throughout the story create a riveting tale that draws the reader in. Connie finally succumbs to Arnold Friend at the end of the story, it then becomes obvious that he represents the devil and the symbolism of her clothing and Arnold’s car all tie together to create a better understanding of the story.
Some believe that the visitation of Arnold Friend is taken to literally or realistically, while it should be interpreted as impure realism. Throughout the passage, there are several signs that point to the fact that the entire meeting with the devilish Friend is nothing more than a summer dream that has turned for the worst. The first example of this, critic D. F. Hurley says, is the story’s description of Connie once her family has left, A shortened version of the passage itself is: “[She] sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her [. . .] and when she opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was.... The asbestos "ranch house" that was now three years old startled her--it looked small. She shook her head as if to get awake [my emphasis]” (Cite this). Connie is said to have dozed off in the sun, only to awaken and be startled, seemingly unaware of where she was. These occurrences, writes Hurley, are “characteristic of dream vision tales” or dreaming something realistic but being unaware that it is a dream. (Cite