Where are you going?
"Where are you going, where have you been?" is a short story written by Joyce Carols Oates, which describes a strange man named Arnold Friend who is obsessed over a young teenager named Connie. Arnold Friend is much older than Connie and cannot be said to be like a child, yet he lures Connie out by using imagery from childhood. He talks to her partly like a lover and a person of authority, he fakes listening to her and guides the conversation into the direction favored by him. Throughout the short story Joyce mainly focus on how Arnold is a devil. In the short story, Oates' writing has the reader to believe that Arnold Friend represents Satan. For example, Arnold Friend states twice to Connie that he will not enter the house without her permission. In one of these situations he defines Connie
Thus she underlines the overwhelming presence of Arnold Friend, as a symbolic figure of a devil. Back in the days if a devil has passed you they will leave an "X" on you that mean you're their next victim. Some of the reason for Arnold's unsure footedness was that his boots were supporting a cloven hoof, as some traditions hold that a demon would have. For example, when Connie asked Arnold how old he is and he tells her that he's 18 years old but he really looks like he is over thirty (7). This means that Arnold is a demon because referring to the ancient belief that a demon cannot enter a house without an invitation. And like a puppet master he controls her strings, pushes her into doing something she would never do consciously, only a devil could do such a thing like this. picking up the telephone as giving him permission to enter the house. Arnold lied about his age because he doesn't want Connie to know who he really is. Arnold Friend tries many ways to get Connie out of her house by hiding his appearance and lying to Connie. And if Arnold tells Connie who he really is then Connie wouldn't want to go for a ride with him. This shows that he doesn't want people to know what he looks like by putting make up on him.
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Acceptance Essays
