When a person is put in an incredibly horrifying situation where the outcome is unpredictable many physical and emotional changes take place. Joyce Carol Oates’s story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" places Connie, a typical teenager, in this situation. Throughout the story, occasionally using religious undertones, Connie’s language of a typical teenager gradually changes, from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified.
Early in the story on a Sunday morning, Connie’s family leaves to go to a family barbeque down the street. Connie is left by herself and chooses to wash her hair instead of going to church. When she hears a car driving up to her house, her heart starts pounding, she pulls at her hair and says, "Christ. Christ.," not in reference to the Lord or religion in general but because she is worried about how bad she looks. This gives and indication of how the author interprets religion in the story, not important and not serious.
As the story progresses, Connie’s language takes an obvious turn. When Arnold Friend, someone she has seen but never talked to, shows up on her doorstep, she is somewhat defensive, but curious. "I ain’t late, am I?" is the first thing he says to her when she opens the screen door. Connie replies by saying, "Who the hell do you think you are?", a typical response of someone in that situation. If a complete stranger showed up at my house and talked to me as though we were best friends I would respond the same way.
Throughout the story Oates continues to use vulgar language to illustrate the story and show how much Arnold Friend knows about Connie. The more Arnold talks, the more he reveals about his knowledge of Connie and the things and people around her. Soon, Arnold starts naming off all of Connie’s friends, assuring her, "I know everybody." Arnold also knows things about her that he would know only if he was with her all the time,
"I... found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long they’re going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night..."
Connie’s fear of the situation sends waves of dizziness through her body, makes her hands shake, and causes "Her heart [to be] too big now for her chest and its pumping made sweat break out all over her.
Connie first encounters Arnold in a parking lot while she is out with her friends, but she does not yet know who he is. She notices him standing near his car, a gold colored convertible jalopy, staring at her. When she walks by he says he is going to "get" her, but Connie does not think anything of it and just turns away.
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...
Oates takes us to a journey of rebellion as the protagonist sorts through self-created illusion in order to come to terms with her own sexual inexperience. Connie’s desires for attention from the opposite sex, her vanity and immaturity blind her to think of the real intentions of guys, in this case Arnold Friend. A character that many critics argue is real, yet, others argue it was created by Connie’s mind.
Throughout the story, Arnold Friend is portrayed by Oates as a creepy, provocative stalker. When Friend is first brought to the attention of the reader, it is when Connie is out with friends. As she walks by Friend’s car, he “wags a finger” and says “Gonna get you, baby.” This also displays how underdeveloped Connie 's psyche is. This first notion sent by Arnold Friend should have startled Connie, but she payed no attention to it, she was too concerned with the moment of attention she was receiving from Eddie and all the people around her. Arnold Friend comes to Connie 's home, knowing she was alone and attempts to persuade her to get into his car to go for a ride. This is the first time Connie has ever talked to Arnold Friend, but he already knows everything about her. He knows where she lives, where her parents are, who her friends are, and what her interest are. Connie questions how he knows all of her personal information and he replies with “I know your name and all about you, lots of things. I took a special interest in you, such a pretty young girl, and found out all about you” (Oates). This quote is a clear indication that Arnold Friend is a threatening, menacing stalker. All of these scenarios show Arnold friends underdeveloped psyche. He is somewhere around thirty years old, and does not know what is right and what is wrong. From Oates description of Arnold Friend and his
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 is an important character in Connie’s story because he is one of the main reasons she goes undergoes a change. In short, while Connie is going through a teenage phase of exploring sexuality, he comes to Connie’s house to take her with the intention of raping her. More importantly he is portrayed with some of devilish appearances and behavior, to stress the idea of the situation Connie has gotten into and the meaning of her transition. The devil archetype is seen as an evil character that embodies devil characteristics as well as tempting the protagonist with things that will ruin their soul. Thesis Statement!!!! Some evidence that Arnold Friend is the devil incarnate are the facts that he does not cross threshold, he seems to be all-knowing and he has to tempt and persuade Connie to leave with him.
Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” tells the tale of a fifteen year old girl named Connie living in the early 1960’s who is stalked and ultimately abducted by a man who calls himself Arnold Friend. The short story is based on a true event, but has been analyzed by many literary scholars and allegedly possesses numerous underlying themes. Two of the most popular interpretations of the story are that the entire scenario is only dreamt by Connie (Rubin, 58) and that the abductor is really the devil in disguise (Easterly, 537). But the truth is that sometimes people really can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Connie, a victim of terrifying circumstance will be forever changed by her interactions with Friend.
James Joyce wrote the book Dubliners; Joyce expresses many different types of emotions throughout the book. The emotions portray individuals in society, and light and dark. The emotions of individuals are examined throughout the stories by other members in society. The stories that express the ideas are: “The Encounter,” “Eveline”, and “The Dead.” The symbolism of individuals in society expresses many different situations that are happening in the characters lives. The symbolism of light goes along with the idea of feeling happy and enjoying life. The theme of dark shows the individuals fighting, and having a negative outlook on life.
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 depiction of Arnold Friend runs parallel to the common conception of the Devil. Many aspects of his outward appearance, as well as his behavior, contribute to this by portraying him in a sinister manner. His nose is "long and hawklike" and he has a "slippery smile." His "greasy" boots don't fit him right, "as if his feet [don't] go all the way down." The stereotypical Beelzebub is often seen with hooves. When he draws 'his sign' – the sinister letter X – in the air, it "stays there, almost still visible," as if he supernaturally burnt it into the air. The numbers appearing on Arnold's car, 33, 19, and 17, exclude the number 18. The 18th letter of the alphabet is "r", and removing that letter from his name presents "an old fiend". Arnold knows about Connie's family, where they are at that moment, and what radio station she is listening to. This can be explained logically by the fact that that he is a stalker. As an allusion, the Devil is omniscient. Arnold also promises not to enter Connie's house unless she picks up the phone. This exemplifies the classic adage, "The Devil won't come into your home until you invite him in." Finally, the fact that Arnold is preying on someone nearly twenty years his junior (physically inferior and easily overpowered) and the methods he uses to finally convince her to come with him (threatening her family and her home) portray him as a genuinely despicable character, worthy of the epithet "Devil," if not its lit...
A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.
...en he was at her house, and who Arnold Friend truly was. Some people believe that Arnold Friend is a predator seeking out a new victim, but I think that in some strange way Arnold becomes Connie way to escape into her fantasy world. When she learns his true intentions she is scared to death at first but eventually that fear gives way when entering his car. Connie may think that she’s not going to see her mother again or sleep in her bed again, but at the same time she’s going to escape from her old life. Maybe she has made her decision at that moment; Connie no longer resists Arnold after that moment and does everything he says to do. As she steps out the door, she sees the "vast sunlit reaches of the land behind him," in contrast with the house she is leaving, which "looked small." This shows that she is stepping out into her fantasy world, or so she thinks she is.
In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
In James Joyce’s Dubliners, the theme of escape tends to be a trend when characters are faced with critical decisions. Joyce’s novel presents a bleak and dark view of Ireland; his intentions by writing this novel are to illustrate people’s reasons to flee Ireland. In the stories “Eveline, “Counterparts”, and the “Dead”, characters are faced with autonomous decisions that shape their lives. This forlorn world casts a gloomy shadow over the characters of these stories. These stories are connected by their similar portrayal of Ireland. They clearly represent Joyce’s views on people’s discontent with Ireland.