Arnold Friend Essay

encounters an unknown, demonic “stranger” (Arnold Friend). Throughout the story, Arnold Friend caused much awkwardness and puzzlement, by his demanding actions and odd, but true knowledge. It had became apparent that he wanted more than a friendship with Connie, and never took rejection as an answer. Within

All of it starts with Arnold Friend’s name, which was “written in tarlike black letters on the side [of his car], with a drawing of a round grinning face that reminded Connie of a pumpkin” (Oates 200). Friend claims that his name is his real one, but, when one plays around with the name and drops the two R’s, one comes up with the phrase “An Old Fiend,” which may

terrifying character Arnold Friend, a name ending with friend we’d think he’d be one of those goofy yet creepy characters or even just plain odd. We should call him Arnold the demon because that is what he seems more like, and not figurlivity he literally a demon! Certain aspects of the story left quite a few hints that Arnold is supernatural figure than an ordinary human. My first suspension that Arnold Friend may have been a demon of some sort is if you remove the R both from Arnold friend, the name will

maiden in distress or victim and Arnold Friend as death personified. Arnold Friend or “an old fiend”, is a deceiving manipulative older male who could be your father and has his sidekick who is even older, Arnold stuffs his boots, has a picture of himself sprayed painted on the side of his car that looks like a pumpkin, who openly admits that he’s coming for you and that he stalks you, he’s essentially a sociopath who flirts by threatening you and your family. Arnold aims in on the frailty and aspirations

debate there is only one real world situation that could have actually occurred in the story. That theory is that the entire part about Arnold Friend is a dream. The section of the story I have chosen unquestionably proves that Connie is in fact dreaming. To begin, the first reason this section of the story tells us that Arnold Friend is in fact a dream; Arnold knows precisely what Connie’s family is doing despite the fact that he is standing in the backyard with Connie. A person cannot see

the mix is evident in Oates’s view of Connie and Arnolds double identities, “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home”. Arnold was more of a satanic symbol. For example, Arnold stuffs his boots in order to appear taller and more attractive or to hide his cloven feet. Connie begins to break away from her dull and boring life with her family and begins to test the strengths of her sexuality, Arnold on the other-hand is viewed as the devil’s traditional

Because of the fact of what Arnold said was true, this makes Connie even more frightened and lead to believe that Arnold is capable and would hurt her family in some sort of way. In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates shows heroism through imagery; “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewhere in the other doorway” (Oates). Oates delivers the reader a vivid image of how Connie feels giving herself up to Arnold Friend to show she is neither scared

effective means of persuasion." In Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", Arnold Friend, an adult male deceitfully pretending to be a teenager, go on a quest to make a young girl, Connie, take a ride with him. He has some complications with Connie into getting her to take a ride with him. However, his eccentric, charismatic, and deceitful behavior lures her to come with him. Arnold Friend shows his eccentric behavior when he stands awkward, making it seem as if he is relaxed or

Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, Oates presents the main character as Connie and the antagonist as Arnold Friend. Throughout the story, Connie is shown being manipulated and stalked by an older man (Arnold Friend) who was disguising himself as a teen. This story describes the feelings Connie feels as a young, innocent teenager. It describes her emotions and feelings when

you been,” Friend (a demon) uses his “forked tongue” to manipulate Connie with his words to slowly convince her that she will ultimately give into him no matter what; even the first words we hear from him allude to the fact that he’s gonna overcome her, “Gonna get you, baby.” (Shmoop Editorial Team) Connie, a naive teenage girl in the 1960’s, has this concept that she will never like Arnold Friend, due to his age and his strange qualities; yet she knows that every single thing that Friend tells her