Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

br Evil Personified : Analysis of Arnold Friend in

'1c Where are you going , Where have you been '1d

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'1cWhere Are You Going , Where Have You Been '1d is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates . On the surface the narrative is fairly generic . The plot follows a 15 year old girl named Connie who is a typical teen - shallow , and self consumed . She spends her days at the mall , listening to the radio , and boy watching . However , it soon

br becomes clear that this story has a very dark undertone . Joyce Carol Oates has commented that this short story is a '1crealistic allegory '1d and that she uses characters in the narrative to represent abstract ideas . A common theme in much of Oates '19 work is her belief that the 20 th century is spiritually empty . That people have no '1cspirit '1d of their own and therefore are easily influenced and harmed . In '1cWhere Are You Going , Where Have You Been '1d Oates '19 creates the character of Arnold Friend to be the antagonist He is intense and powerful . As the story continues he is like a dark persistent cloud that weighs heavy on Connie and the reader . Arnold Friend is evil personified and his omnipotence allows him to know and abuse Connie '19s insecurities for his own uses

Arnold Friend does not exist . He appears only to Connie , and Connie is the only person who sees him . At no point in the story is he acknowledged by any character in the story . Even his '1cFriend '1d Ellie makes no response to Arnold comments which Arnold excuses away by saying '1che '19s shy '1d Any conversation they have with each other seems disjointed and incoherent . Connie first sees Arnold one night when Connie and her friend cross the highway to go to the burger joint . The burger joint is a trendy hangout for a much older crowd . It is only Connie who sees Arnold

Connie couldn 't help but let her eyes wander over the windshields and faces all around her , her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place it might have been the music '26 and just at that moment she happened to glance at a face a few feet from hers (2 Oates also describes Arnold '19s car as '1ca convertible jalopy painted gold (2 '1d and later in the story Connie easily recognizes the car as it pulls into her driveway . The car is smashed up , and written on . Surely if the car (and Arnold ) was real it would have fetched a comment from someone at the hangout . Arnold speaks only to Connie , and foreshadows his intentions in a single comment '1c Gonna get you , baby '1d (2 . Many critics believe that Arnold Friend is a daydream , or a fantasy lover conjured up by Connie . They are quick to point out that...