Arnold Friend Character

In 1966, Joyce Carol Oates published her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. Oates was inspired to write this story after reading about a serial killer that was referred to as “The Pied Piper of Tucson”. Oates was disturbed by the number of teenagers that this killer was able to persuade to help him and keep his secrets (Oates 1). Oates uses irony, imagery, and symbolism to support her theme of evil in this short story.

Where there is desire, there is hope, despair, and struggle. Joyce Carol Oates illustrates animatedly the asphyxiated struggle of desire in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The story narrates the life of a young girl, named Connie, and her fated and enigmatic confrontation with a strange man. Feeling trapped in her own home with her own family, Connie, a self-conscious and rebellious teenager, tries to figure out a way to identify herself with the world around her. Her desire of escaping the reality fuels her struggle to enter adulthood. Through the physical form of Arnold Friend, who embodies both the hope and the despair in Connie’s struggle, the author metaphorically portrays a vigorous and psychological pressure that Connie has to endure. The story is scripted to allude to the danger of identifying oneself through sexuality in young girls. To better understanding this cryptic story, it is important to follow the psychological processes and conflict of Connie’s character, which help unveil the allegorical meaning of a young girl’s rite of passage through sex.

A door to the beginning of her outcome is all that divides Connie in, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” from Arnold Friend, the devilish predator. Symbolism takes a big part in this story that gives a deeper meaning to Connie’s choices that ultimately extent to giving herself to Arnold. The author, Joyce Carol Oates in the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” represents Arnold Friend as the real world by being challenging and malicious, and Connie as the innocent world by being defenseless and naive.

Through plot, Oates demonstrates how Arnold Friend can be seen as a symbolic Satan. Plot starts when Arnold makes sure to tell Connie he is interested in her as he says,“Gonna get you baby” (Oates 1). Connie is in a drive-in restaurant for an older crowd when Arnold sees her for the first time. Once Connie leaves the drive-in dinner with a boy named Eddie, Arnold decides to make a move on Connie. Arnold uses foreshadowing to let her know he will meet her again. Just as Arnold says he is going to get Connie, he shows up in her driveway, creating a creepy situation. That Sunday afternoon, Connie is alone in her house while her parents and sister are on a picnic at one of their neighbor’s house, Arnold decides to use this opportunity to make his

else is doing at that very instant. Arnold Friend does this very thing. When Connie tells him that

In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Connie, the main character, is already struggling with many things in life and sneaks her way to date guys. There was also conflicting between her and her mother due to her mother favoring her sister, June and describing her as someone who is a good example of what she wants Connie to be. Her father is never at home due to work and when he is home, the girls do not relate to him. Arnold Friend is described as a dangerous figure with his pale complexion and his slick black hair looking like trouble by not presenting himself in a pleasing way to Connie, by not walking properly. This was an indication on how he was not in the right state of mind and how Arnold shouldn’t be near Connie. There was one scene in the story where Arnold Friend shows up, uninvited, notifying Connie that he is not a friend, but has come to take her away from her home to possibly kidnap her. "Connie felt a wave of dizziness, rise in her at this sight and she stared at him as if waiting for something to change the shock of the moment, make it alright again”. Connie feels safe in the house and does not come out until Arnold convinces and demands her that she come out. Things took an unpleasant twist when Arnold tells Connie not use the phone or he will break his promise of not coming in the house

In this essay, I argue that the main theme of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is internal conflict. The main character, Connie, struggles with multiple internal conflicts throughout the short story. Some of these internal conflicts include a search for independence, internal judgment, and fantasy versus reality.

The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.

Not everybody is who they seem to be. Be careful about what you wish for, because it just might come true. In Joyce Carol Oates’ “short story” “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a fifteen year old girl named Connie comes face-to-face with a man named Arnold Friend. Oates successfully portrays the similarities between Arnold Friend and the Devil through plot, setting, and characterization.

The persona of a sociopath appears to be much like any human. In many cases, one would not be able to "pick him out of a crowd." Their minds, however, differ greatly from the average mind. A sociopath is extremely smart and methodical and most often is very meticulous in the way in which he acts. While many people are not thinking beyond the norm, a psychopath thinks about his every breath, step, and word. In the short story "Where are you going, Where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, the depiction of a sociopath is apparent. Arnold’s mannerism, thoughts and tactics create the perfect portrayal of a truly sociopathic character.

In the short story, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?,” Arnold Friend does not see an issue with bothering younger girls; however, this may due to his lack of morals. Many could argue that this story was a dream or Connie got what she asked for because of her attitude. Though the ending is not told, it can be assumed that Connie may have been sexually assaulted by Arnold Friend and no one deserves to be in that situation. However, if Arnold had morals none of this would have happened.

Instead of assessing a possible threat, she was more concerned with her hair and “how bad she looked” (Lawn 372). She may have had a chance here to call the police before even making any contact with Arnold. She chose instead to come to the door and entertain the uninvited guests. She only really began to realize the danger she was in when she noticed that Ellie, Arnold’s passenger, looked to be even older than Arnold, about forty (Lawn 377). Only then does she consider calling the police, but unfortunately it is already too late.

“My Sweet little blue-eyed girl, “ he said in a half- sung sigh that had nothing to do with [Connie’s] brown eyes but was taken up just the by the vast sunlit reaches of the land behind him and on all sides of him- so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it.

However, the broadening of the originality and diversity of the ‘hero’ character is fundamental, yet is often overlooked in many stories. Personally, I feel that the character must be real and relatable to the degree that the audience will believe them.

In stories and movies, quintessential heroes are powerfully built and intelligent men, and they put their skills to the test by dueling ghastly monsters and deciphering enigmas. Sometimes the hero’s enemies seem to have the upper hand, leaving the brave soul dispirited and occasionally heartbroken, yet, in the end, those characters defeat their antagonist and win the attractive damsel’s heart. In real life, heroes come in unconventional molds, for the hero of my life is my mother, Laura Kawagoe. Although I take pleasure in watching action motion pictures, even with their predictable outcomes, heroes do not have to fistfight against 10 brawny men or diffuse a bomb in ten seconds. While I do not require much for someone to be put in the hero