Killer Temptation

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Temptation is everywhere. Temptation is there when you eat, sleep, talk to your friends, and most prevalent when meeting new people you are attracted to. Temptation is a focal point in Joyce Carol Oates story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The main character is Connie, a young rather good looking girl. She meets a man by the name Arnold Friend. Little did she know how temptation would be the end of her. Connie is faced with a situation where temptation overpowers her thinking and she willingly makes a fatal choice by going with Arnold Friend knowing the consequences.
The story begins with Connie relaxing on the front porch of her country home air drying her hair after a shower. She hears a car rolling up the drive way, a “bright gold jalopy,” a man stepped out with his friend, his name was Arnold Friend. He was quick to start a small-talk conversation to which Connie replied to every question. Arnold Friend was a man with a small stature. He put crushed cans in his shoes to make himself seem taller, he wore a wig and make-up. The strangest part of his disguise was the cloth gauze he had on his nose. There was nothing wrong with his nose, he put the gauze there to make it seem like he was recovering from a nose job. Nose jobs were a fad in those years, every celebrity was getting one, so he did to make it seem like he was an important person. Arnold Friend was a strange man from the get-go, but very wise, and tempted Connie every step of the way.
Arnold Friend was quick to start sweet talking Connie. She was a young girl, so every compliment made her blush, and feel more comfortable around him. He would drop subtle yet very obvious hints that he was very attracted to her. She had a young mind, so a supposedly 18 y...

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...s into place, she realizes he was trying to kill her and rape her. She chose to go with Arnold, fell victim to her temptation and made a fatal decision. Arnold says, “Soon as you touch the phone I don’t have to keep my promise and come in. You won’t want that.” This is where the thick of the story occurs. Connie realizes that she made a horrible decision and didn’t listen to the people around her that would caution her. Temptation took over her and drowned out her rational thinking.
In Joyce Carol Oates story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” temptation is presented in many ways. I tried to cover a general aspect of temptation in this story. Connie was a victim of temptation, she knew the consequences of going with a man like Arnold Friend. Her decision was fatal, and temptation was at fault. In the story of Connie, she fell victim to killer temptation.

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