Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?": Arnold Fiend


In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
critics argue whether the character of Arnold Friend, clearly the story's
antagonist, represents Satan in the story. Indeed, Arnold Friend is an
allegorical devil figure for the main reason that he tempts Connie, the
protagonist, into riding off with him in his car.
Oates characterizes Arnold Friend at first glance as "a boy with shaggy,
black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold"(581). She lets the reader
know that Arnold is not a teenager when Connie begins to notice the features
such as the painted eyelashes, his shaggy hair which looked like a wig, and his
stuffed boots; these features led her to believe he was not a teenager, but in
fact, much older. Oates does make Arnold out to be a psychopathic stalker, but
never objectively states the diabolical nature to his character.
In "Connie's Tambourine Man", a critical essay on the story,......

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Title: Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?": Arnold Fiend
Approximate Word Count: 503
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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