The Man In The Black Suit Analysis

During the early 1700s, a traveler met a man in the Massachusetts forest. However, this was no mortal man, but the devil. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Devil and Tom Walker,” two short stories, both start out in this way. Washington Irving wrote the latter in 1824, which tells how Tom Walker profited through working for the devil. In 1835, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown,” which describes Goodman Brown’s woodland encounter with the Devil. The two stories share specific ideas regarding the devil, overpowering minor deviations between each other.

“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love” (Marilyn Monroe). Joyce Carol Oates is the author of the realistic allegory story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. The story is about a young girl named Connie, who likes seeking attention from men, as a distraction from her problems at home. She meets a man named Arnold Friend, he goes after Connie, claiming he has to take her for a ride, but it is obvious he wants to do other things. Because of this character’s actions, it is determined that he is a representation of the devil. Through plot, characterization, and dialogue, Oates successfully portrays Arnold Friend as a symbolic Satan.

Both authors describe the devil similarly. In the two stories, the devil craftily disguises himself as a nondescript individual, increasing the likeliness of a passerby plunging into treacherous conversation with him. Despite his efforts, the devil fails to hide some subtle clues to his identity. In “Young Goodman Brown,” “the only thing about him that could be fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wiggle itself like a living serpent,” (Hawthorne 8-9). Likewise, in “The Devil and Tom Walker,” the man’s appearance indicates the devil since “his face was neither black nor copper-color, but swarthy, and dingy and begrimed with soot, as if he had been accustomed to toil among fires and forges,” (Irving 4). Continually, the two stories refer to the devil as a certain color: grey in “Young Goodman Brown,” and black in “The Devil and Tom Walker.” Often, people associate these mournful colors with sin and corruption, which aptly describe the devil and his work.

First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan. Oates says that “There were two boys in the car and now she recognized the driver: he had shaggy, shabby

Besides Arnold Friend physical appearance, which makes the reader assume that his character is not a human being, Oates gives him supernatural powers that a normal person could not have. One example of this is the power that he has over Connie; he knows everything that involves her: “ 'Just for a ride, Connie sweetheart.' Arnold Friend says. 'I never said that my name was Connie, she said.' And he replies: 'But I know what it is. I know your name and all about you, a lots of things, Arnold Friend said' ”(584-585). The security of Arnold Friend words gives to reader the impression that he has been watching her closely and all the time without her knowing it or noticing it. This confirms the reader’s hypothesis that Friend's is Satan. Moreover, when Connie tries to hide from him in her house, Arnold manipulates her into leaving the house simply by telling her what to do, like a puppeteer and his puppet: “You won’t want your family to get hurt. Now get up all by yourself. Now turn this way. That’s right. Come over here to me. Now come out through the kitchen to me honey and let’s see a smile, try it, you are brave sweet little girl”(591). Oates makes the reader infer that Satan’s only way to make her comes out is by using his demon powers, because the devil cannot get into your house unless you have invited him in. Therefore, he uses his

"conned" into leaving with Arnold Friend, whose name becomes "An Old Friend" i.e. the devil,

“The Devil and Tom Walker” describes the devil in the following way: “he was dressed in a rude half-indian garb, and had a red belt...yet He had a shock of coarse black hair...and bore an ax on his shoulder.” Washington Irving wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker” in 1824, which tells how Tom Walker became rich by working for the devil. Another short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in1835, describes Goodman Brown’s woodland tramp with the Devil. The two stories share specific ideas regarding the devil, overpowering minor deviations between each other.

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

Based on the actions and appearance of Arnold Friend, he is the devil. Arnold portrays the devil in many ways. The author of “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”; Joyce Carol Oates, shows Arnold by his strange appearances, supernatural abilities, speech, odd symbols, and clues that state that he is the devil. When Connie first sees Arnold from the distance he thinks that he looks young and around her age, but later on in the story when she sees him up close she could tell he was a older man that was just attempting to make himself appear younger than he really is. Arnold Friend could be seen as a devil- like figure through his appearance. The idea of him being devil- like because of the temptation element. In looking to attract another, the

The appearance of the devil’s in the two stories are quite different, for example, the devil in the Hawthorne story has black eyes, natty clothes, and a staff. He looks like anyone else and is “about fifty years old”; he is similar to Brown and is no different from him (Hawthorne 2). The devil’s staff has a black snake appearance and looked as if it was twisting and wriggling “like a live serpent”(2). Appearance is a large portion of how people are perceived. If the devil wasn’t dressed nicely; people wouldn’t trust him as much or believe him. When dressed nicely; people are more likely to trust them and associate with them. In the King story the devil represents fire, for instance, he has orange eyes. His mouth was as big as a sharks and when it opened you’d see fierce orange just like his eyes. He also wore natty

shabby hair, his metallic sunglasses, and devilish grin, Arnold is shown as some kind of demon

Joyce Carol Oates also proves that Arnold Friend is a symbolic satan through characterization. In the story Arnold Friend quotes “ Get up honey. Get up all by yourself.” (Oates 9). The way arnold forces her to get up without even touching her using his power to get inside Connie’s head. Oates uses characterization to also describe Arnold friend looks. Easterly describes in his post “He bent down to re-adjust his boots” (Easterly 7). Easterly describes in his post how Friend was standing in a weird and inhuman way that it was completely uncomfortable. In most religion Satan is pictured on hooves so the way Arnold Friend was standing it seemed easier on hooves versus it just being on feet. Another example in the story Connie talks about how he’s crazy and Arnold Friend seems to stumble a little the devil feeds off of other people's will and this was a sign that the devil was losing his powers. Joyce Carol Oates also uses characterization to help show Friend affects Connie. In the story it quotes “Arnold Friend glasses mirrored everything in miniature including Connie.” (Oates 4). In this quote it shows how sin can overpower a person the stronger the will is. Arnold physical features represents a snake which is the common evil to Satan. Another Way Arnold Friend represents A symbolic Satan through

Arnold Friend, a main character founded in the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, is often a debated by many readers to be a demon, a crazed stalker and maniac, or in fact Lucifer himself. After reading the short story and analyzing the details of the characters, Arnold Friend really stands out and leaves many unanswered questions on what the author was intending to do with this particular character in identifying who he really is. After thoroughly analyzing the character, Arnold Friend, throughout the story, it is unclear to say that he is a human, yet it is much clearer to indicate that he is a demon, the Devil, or a figment of Connie’s imagination as her deepest desires coming to life.

Arnold Friend is a seductive man, or should I say ArN OLD FrIEND with a dark appearance hiding something deeper, something evil? Arnold, posing as a teen-age boy, is none other than the devil himself, which shows in his words and actions, and in his physical traits. From the very beginning of, Joyce Carol Oates', "Where are you going, Where Have you been?" a certain number of religious references are interspersed throughout. These references help to maintain a biblical feeling, as well as to set a path for Friend's entry into the story. They also foreshadow that; powers beyond a human level will be presented. Friend looks like one person in the beginning, but as the story unfolds, he is shown as someone else or

Nathaniel Hawthorne also uses different objects in the story as symbols. One of these is the staff of the devil : "But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake . . ." (185). This symbol shows the reader the evil that is involved with the devil character because the serpent is an archetype of the devil, or some sort of evil, which is prominent in many different cultures. Another object Hawthorne uses as a recurring symbol is the pink ribbon. The pink ribbon symbolizes the purity and innocence involved with Faith. "And Faith . . . thrust her own pretty had into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons in her cap," is a great example of how Hawthorne correlates Faith with the pink ribbons of innocence (184). The pink ribbons are mentioned later on in the story as they fall from the sky: "But something fluttered lightly down through the air, and caught on the branch of a tree. The young man seized it, and beheld a pink ribbon." (189). This symbolizes Brown's loss of his Faith, referring to both his wife and his faith in mankind, as she hovers over toward the devil's gathering.