Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? is a wonderful short narrative by Joyce Carol Oates that addresses several important topics. In the story, there are different characters, including; Arnold’s friend and Connie. Arnold’s friend, one of the main characters, portrays specific characteristics that reflect throughout the story. In the short story, Arnold’s friend, the antagonist, symbolizes the devil who appears to take Connie to hell (Oates, 1994). Despite what he intends to lead, his strange appearance suggests that he is an inhuman character.
Arnold’s friend poses as a teenager as he filled his boots to look taller and younger. All of these actions were a part of his scheme to trick Connie into leaving her home so he could kidnap her, molest and kill her (Oates, 1994). Arnold’s entire face was a mask, browned down to his throat as if he had put on makeup but had failed to cover his neck (Oates, 1994). He wears mirrored spectacles, has wild hair that resembles a wig, and has translucent skin. When he asserts his knowledge of details about Connie’s family and neighbours that he was not capable of knowing, he incites fear instead of appeal and raises questions about his humanity.
Arnold’s friend was well aware of the whereabouts and activities of Connie’s parents. According to the narrative, Connie could feel her heart racing, and her hand appeared to be enclosing it. For the first moment of her life, she believed there was nothing inside of the body belonging to her and was instead just a thumping life form that was neither hers nor the body’s. (Oates, 1994). That incident could demonstrate that she had no control over the circumstance, suggesting that someone or something was in charge of her.
The character Arnold is shown as being scary and questionable as he is shown to be emotionally controlling during the course of the narrative, and his outward personality is misleading. The brief narrative presents persistent caution about the risks of strangers who initially seem nice before showing their true colours. Initially polite, Arnold’s friend eventually turns hostile and terrifies Connie due to his cunning play.
Reference
Oates, J. C. (1994). Where are you going, where have you been? Rutgers University Press.