The Devil in Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going,...

The Devil in Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Her name is Connie, and she is not unlike many girls of the time she lives in. She is vain, she is constantly at war with her family, and she is in an incredible rush to grow up. Her race to maturity is the trait focused on in Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been. It splits Connie into two different personalities: One for home, and one for anywhere that was not home (431). Everything about her?her walk, her smile, and her laugh?metamorphoses as soon as she steps out the front door. The child is hidden, the seductive young woman emerges, and the world of the ?big kids? is more than willing to take her in. This world is what†¦show more content†¦Connie notes from time to time that his feet seem to be deformed in some way. One of his feet seems to be bent inward, and his boots are apparently stuffed with something to fill the extra space. Several artistic works have depicted the Devil as a middle-aged, sharp-featured man who walks on the haunches of a goat . Oates?s periodic referral to Arnold Friend?s foot abnormality suggests a parallel between his portrait and that of Satan. Oates also highlights the aura of evil around Arnold Friend?s appearance by stressing how deathly pale his skin is and how his eyes look like ?holes that are not in shadow but instead in light? (435). The sunglasses that conceal Arnold Friend?s eyes also drive Connie to a degree of queasiness, mainly because all she can see in them is a distorted reflection of herself. He could be looking at anything: her deep brown eyes, her quivering body, or perhaps her very soul. The devices that Arnold Friend uses to tempt Connie also suggest that he is the Devil. As the Devil beguiled Eve with a shiny and mysterious apple in Milton?s Paradise Lost, so does Arnold Friend beguile Connie with his shiny and mysterious car. Connie finds the car attractive not only for its dazzling golden paint job but also for the epigrams that Arnold Friend has written on its various parts. Some are humorous, such as the line that appears above a dent in the rear fender: ?Done by crazy woman driver.? Others are more appealingShow MoreRelatedArnold Friend Symbolizes the Devil in Where are you Going, Where Have you been? by Joyce Carol Oates533 Words   |  3 PagesIn the story â€Å"Where are you Going, Where Have you been?† Joyce Carol Oates tells us about a fifteen year old girl named Connie. Connie is confronted by a young man who is trying to persuade her to take a ride with him. He introduces himself as Arnold Friend and kindly asks her to come with him but she refused. He then threatens Connie and her family. She is then forced outside and leaves with Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend clearly symbolizes the devil through his physical traits, his knowledge of ConnieRead MoreArnold Friend Analysis1096 Words   |  5 Pagesideas about what or who the Devil is, even among believers. The number of differing sources and translations have led to plenty of inconsistencies, rumors, and assumptions surrounding the Prince of Darkness. Throughout the short story â€Å"Where Are You going, Where Have You Been?†, Arnold Friend is seen as a symbolic Satan. Joyce Carol Oates uses dialogue, characterization, and plot to show the readers how Arnold embodies features of a symbolic Satan. One of the ways Oates shows Friend as a symbolicRead MoreEssay on Arnold Friend669 Words   |  3 Pagesseductive 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 FriendsRead More Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?1539 Words   |  7 PagesJoyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joyce Carol Oates was born in 1938 in Lockport, New York. She started writing very young and that the age of fifteen she submitted her first novel, but it was rejected for being too dark;. This style of writing is common on many of her works including Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?; Oates graduated from Syracuse University and then went on to get her masters degree from the University of Wisconsin. Oates turnedRead MoreEssay About Arnold Friend1388 Words   |  6 Pagesstalker is one thing, but having the devil as a stalker is on another level. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. Through her writing, she expresses the devil with her use of the character, Arnold Friend. Throughout this story, one can tell Arnold Friend is a symbolic Satan through his description, use of language, and his knowledge. Arnold Friend’s physical description resembles Bob Dylan’s appearance, but the devil is known to take on tempting formsRead MoreWhere are you Going? Where Have you Been? by Joyce Carol Oates1100 Words   |  5 PagesWhere Are You Going, Where have you been? is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The 75 year old American author and professor at Princeton University, introduce the story of 15 year old Connie who is rebelling against her mother’s whishes. A very arrogant and selfish girl that in her world the only thing that matters is how many heads she can turn when walking into a room. Through the story life gives her a test, to confront Arnold Friend, the antagonist of the story; who possesses a nefariousRead MoreEssay on Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been1312 Words   |  6 PagesWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, â€Å"SmoothTalk†. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† is a story thatRead More Critical Analysis of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?857 Words   |  4 PagesIn Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? the author, Joyce Carol Oates, essentially asserts that the nuances of ones personality are not generated from within, but rather shaped by external circumstances. This is an argument whose justification is abundantly clear in the inner conflict of Connie, the protagonist of the book. The source of that struggle is her unstable relationship with her family, which ultimately results in her identity conflict. As one who always been deprivedRead MoreAnalysis of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† Essay1018 Words   |  5 PagesComp II 30 April 2011 Analysis of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† by Joyce Carol Oates In 1966, Joyce Carol Oates published her short story â€Å"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 â€Å"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 toRead MoreThe Devil in Disguise: Comparing and Contrasting the Devil Figure in Where Are You Going; Where Have You Been? The Man in the Black Suit and Young Goodman Brown671 Words   |  3 PagesThe   Devil   in   Disguise    â€Å"Even before he reached me, I recognized the aroma baking up from the skin under the suit--the smell of burned matches. The smell of sulfur. The man in the black suit was the Devil.† (King) A common theme among depictions of The Devil is that of unusual physical attributes. The Devil is depicted in three different stories (Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’, and Steven King’s ‘The Man