What is the devil without supernatural abilities? In all three works the selected character secured to be the devil possesses supernatural abilities. For instance, in “Where are you going, where have you been?” two of the pieces of evidence that adds to Arnold Friend seemingly being the devil is his celestial capabilities, and his specific actions. Arnold Friend is a stranger to Connie- a person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar, yet Friend knows all about the young protagonist. Consequently, Friend somehow knows where Connie's family is and who her friends are. Oates even goes as far as disclosing that Friend “...knows everybody” (Oates 4). Distinguishing these things about Connie is unusual and supernatural considering …show more content…
This is evidence signifying that Friend is the devil because he had a hard time saying “Christ”- the opposite of Satan. Likewise, in the story “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne illustrates the actions and supernatural powers to provide evidence that the old man is the devil. For example, when the man and Goodman Brown are walking along the woods the devil picks up a branch from a maple tree to use as a walking stick. It is interpreted that when the man began to strip the branch of small twigs, “The moment his fingers touched them, they became strangely withered and dried up as with a week’s sunshine”(Hawthorne 4). If this man was presumed human, he would not have this extremely inhuman capability proving mare he is the devil. Similarly, the devilish character in “The Man in the Black Suit” has an alike capability. When main character Gary goes back into the woods with his father to retrieve his bamboo fishing rod, his father notices strange patches of grass where little to his knowledge, a devilish creature once stood. As his father kneels down to examine the unique grass it was described as “...brown and curled up on itself, as if a blast of heat had charred it” (King
(p. 44); "Who came to you with the devil?" and ".perhaps another person in the village?" (p. 45). A few of his faults are that he judges too much by appearances, ".you look as such a good soul should" (p. 37); ".a claim so weighty cannot be argued by a farmer," (p. 99); and he uses people to question other people.
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...
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 next character is the man who Brown meets up with in the woods. This man is described as, "one who knew the world, and who would not have felt abashed at the governor's dinner table or in King William's court" (Kelly, 191). This man can be seen as the devil. He possesses features that illustrate him as the devil. For example his walking staff is described as having "the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent" (Kelly, 191-192).
In the story “Young Goodman Brown”, the devil is convincing Goodman Brown to come attend the devil’s party in the forest by using pathos and ethos. The devil first uses pathos by narrating his relationship with Brown’s father and grandfather, who are devout puritans. He makes up the experience of helping Brown’s forefathers lash the Quaker woman and fight with the Indians in King Philip’s War in order to associate himself with the Puritan values of being pious to god and contributing to social welfare. Additionally, by flattering Brown’s ancestry’s contributions, the devil emotionally pleased Brown and letting Brown to believe that the devil is a kind and devout old man just like his grandfather. Besides that, the devil also uses ethos by asserting
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story Young Goodman Brown, the devil uses pathos and ethos to convince Goodman Brown to give in to his evil side. The devil states his position as the leader of the worshiping assembly and convinces the people in the meeting into believing that evil is human nature and it has to be the only happiness of men. Then, he brainwashes the people, taking advantage of their religious piety, and turns them to their dark sides. The inner darkness of people was revealed and Goodman Brown realized that what seems good on the outside may not be the same on the inside, which is what Hawthorne was trying to convey to his audience.
Is Arnold Friend the Devil in disguise in Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" If one were to look at the facts surrounding the actual event this story was based on, any assumption that "Friend" was anything but a man would be thrown out due to logic. However, if one were to look at the story alone, he could concede that Friend is indeed the Devil or at least the Devil's angel.
Friend says, “‘Now these numbers are a secret code, honey’... he read off the numbers 33,19,17” (Oates). After research of the meaning behind these numbers, I discovered that 33,19,17 is actually Bible verse, Judges 19:17. Judges being the thirty-third book in the bible. The verse reads this, “...and he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going, and where do you come from?" (Judges 19:17 is actually the title of the story, meaning that this story, as a whole, is a biblical allusion. During their confrontation, Connie noticed Friend’s “feet did not go all the way down” (Oates) and that “the boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller” (Oates). Connie also said that Friend almost lost his balance. In the bible, it says that the devil has hooves as feet. In this situation, Arnold is losing his balance and is having to stuff his boots because he must compensate for his lack of feet. Arnold Friend is tempting Connie to come and get in his car to go for a ride the same way Eve was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. This again shows Friend as a symbol of the true nature of
Arnold knew who were the people around Connie, who are her friends, what was she doing the night he saw her outside of the restaurant, when he told her “gonna get you baby” (Oates 483). He was giving her a warning, he might be watching her for a long time, but Connie did not realized it. Arnold knew Connie was going to be home alone, so he comes to her house at that time to tempt her to go with him. He knew where her family went and what they were doing when he comes to her house, he even mentions what Connie’s sister was wearing. The devil is always tempting people to do bad things and since Arnold comes to tempt Connie that could be another reason why he might be the devil. Arnold knew that Connie was going to come with him. He has his strategies. “He had shaggy, shabby hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her” (Oates 484). Arnold knew how to manipulate Connie because he did not touch her, he just talked to her and she leave with him. Just with his mind, he make her go with him. Practically, he forced her to go with him just with his words. “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 and I’ll come inside you were its all secret and you’ll give in to me and you’ll love me” (Oates 489). When he said that it
Furthermore, Hawthorne uses the snake, staff, and the devil as symbols to depict Brown’s descent into corruption. When his acquaintance states that his snake-like staff will “help him along” (5), it foreshadows what will happen to Brown. Once he has a revelation of the true nature of mankind, Brown calls out for the Devil (6), knowing that there is no longer any good in the world. Hawthorne strategically incorporates the snake, staff, and devil. These symbols are generally associated with evil, which further enhance the corruption within the story. As such, Brown’s once-naive viewpoint towards people is now tainted with cynicism; Brown rapidly develops a pessimistic view of his wife, colleagues, and humanity in general. Due to his horrific
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.
Arnold Friend is the devil in human form. However, as his physical description progresses, he becomes more unreal and more caricature-like with every trait. Everything Connie, the protagonist and object of Arnold Friend's desire, sees is like something else she knows, familiar and recognizable. These traits, however, do not create a homologous character; instead it is an awkward collection of incongruities. If a trait does not appear borrowed, it appears fake or imitating. His hair is "shaggy [and] shabby . . . that looked crazy as a wig," and Connie's assertion is strengthened when he put his sunglasses on his head "as if he were indeed wearing a wig." Already Arnold Friend seems assembled, completely divergent from human characteristics. Connie describes the way he is dressed, as well as his body type, as similar to every other boy out there. With every physical detail, Arnold Friend seems more and more like the devil taking on the appearance of a typical teenage boy in order to prevent scaring young girls away. "His face was a familiar...
The most dangerous foe can be right in front of you, right next to you, possibly someone or something very close to you, without you even knowing. “Where are you going? Where have you been?” By Joyce Carol Oates is set in the 1960’s in a small rural town. Connie is the main character who obsesses over all the boys and they return the favor. She is very self-centered and does nothing to help out her family. When she’s not off chasing boys she’s at home thinking about all the boys until one of them, Arnold Friend, shows up unannounced to whisk Connie away for good. Arnold Friend is a wolf in sheep’s clothing; he may appear to be familiar and friendly but upon closer investigation Arnold is a demonic character with sinister intentions that we
In the story, Young Goodman Brown, the character, Goodman Brown changes throughout the story. In the beginning he was a kind man, loving husband with nothing holding him down, not even the warnings of his wife, Faith. As he walked and talked with the Devil, he became more aware of what had happened in the past with his own family. When he saw the Devil talk with Goody Cloyse on the path in the woods, he figured out by the nature of their conversation that the Devil was more mischievous than he thought. He started to have uncertainties about the errand he was on. At that point, Goodman Brown told the devil he was not going another step. Shortly after the Devil left him in the path, Brown found a ribbon on a branch of a tree
Once Brown enters the forest he meets the devil, who resembles his father. The representation of his father as the devil symbolizes that even Browns own blood is evil, and that everyone has some evil inside themselves. It shoes how far back evil goes, and that...