What type of character is Arnold friend?
The story’s antagonist, Arnold Friend is a deeply sinister character—a man who pretends to be a teenage boy in his effort to kidnap, rape, and murder Connie.
Is Arnold Friend the Devil?
Arnold Friend clearly symbolizes the devil through his physical traits, his knowledge of Connie, and his power over her kind of like he was hypnotizing her to go with him. First, Arnold Friend’s physical traits portray him as Satan.
What is significant about the name Arnold friend?
Arnold Friend could be said to symbolize the devil. Like the devil, he’s superficially friendly and charming, but in actual fact turns out to be the incarnation of evil. Arnold’s physical traits, as well as his behavior towards Connie, point towards his representing the devil himself.
What does Arnold friend’s car symbolize?
The Car (Symbol) In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” it is notable that men drive and women are passengers. When Arnold Friend offers to take Connie for a ride, he is seeking to gain control over her and her movements. As an instrument of control, his car stands as a symbol for his whole persona.
What do the numbers 33 19 17 mean?
The numbers 33, 19, and 17 were painted on Friend’s car. The numbers here represent the devil’s marked number mentioned in the Bible. Three plus three equals six; nine upside down equals six; and seven minus one equals six, which when placed together equal “666”, the devil’s number.
Why is Connie suspicious about Arnold Friend?
What causes Connie to become suspicious about Arnold Friend in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” From the start Connie is unsure about Arnold Friend. However, she is intrigued by him and finds him interesting. He dresses like other teenage boys, and Connie likes his jeans, boots, and T-shirt.
Why is Arnold friend’s name ironic?
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” the surname of the antagonist, Arnold Friend, is ironic because he is definitely not a friend. Despite claiming to be friendly and polite, he is menacing to Connie. He wants to be her lover through force.
Why does Connie finally go outside as Arnold demands?
Arnold instructs Connie to come outside and says she is better than her family because they would not sacrifice themselves for her, as she is about to sacrifice herself for them.
What does Ellie offer for Arnold friend?
Ellie Oscar serves as Arnold Friend’s largely silent sidekick, sitting in the car and listening to the radio for most of the story’s action. Eventually he offers to cut Connie’s phone line, bolstering Arnold Friend’s ambiguous and seductive verbal threats with the possibility of real, physical violence.
Why is Connie’s sister June included in the story?
Having June as a sort of foil or point of comparison to Connie is important to establish Connie’s sense of her place in the family structure; just as Connie compares herself to her friends or other girls in her school.
How does Arnold friend know so much about Connie?
He invites her to go for a ride. Arnold Friend seems to know many things about Connie: her name, who her friends are, and the fact that her family is gone for the afternoon. When Arnold’s friend Ellie turns around, Connie sees he looks like a forty-year-old baby.
Do the descriptions of Arnold friend his face his clothing his dialogue have symbolic meaning is his name symbolic?
Why is music so important to Connie and to the story as a whole? Do the descriptions of Arnold Friend–his face, his clothing, his dialogue–have symbolic meaning? This whole story is an allegory for temptation by the Devil. Connie is vain, and the Devil targets vain people.
How does Arnold Friend manipulate Connie?
When he first arrives at Connie’s house, Friend behaves and speaks as though his presence makes perfect sense. As the story comes to a close, Friend successfully manipulates Connie: he has worn down her agency and free will so completely that she is unable to act in her own best interests.
What does the story say about physical beauty and the way it is regarded by society?
Oates might be saying that the idea of physical beauty as dictated by society is one realm where victimization is inevitable for either one is adhering to norms in which they lack control or they will always be forced to chase an unattainable ideal.
What is the significance of the expression man the flying saucers on Arnold friend’s car?
She complains that the color of the car is so bright that it hurts her eyes, and she is puzzled by the phrase “Man the flying saucers” on the front fender, which was an expression that her peers used to use but that has fallen out of fashion.
Why does Arnold friend walk in an odd manner?
When he walks, he wobbles, as though his shoes don’t fit properly. Some critics suggest that his unsteadiness hints at the possibility that his feet are actually hooves, as the devil would have.
What do the numbers written on Arnold friend’s car 33 19 and 17 signify in the story?
When Connie asks him what the stuff painted on his car means, Arnold goes through the various sayings and eventually comes to the numbers 33,19, 17. Harold Hurley posits that the numbers carry a sexual connotations because when added together they equal 69, a sexual position.
How old is Arnold friend?
They exchange more words, with Arnold trying to convince her to come out her house and ride with him and Connie still unsure and slightly unsettled. It suddenly occurs to Connie to ask how old he is; he deflects the question and tries to skirt around it, telling her he’s only 18.
What does Connie symbolize?
Many critics have interpreted Arnold Friend as a symbol of some larger idea or force, such as the devil, death, or sexuality. Connie, also, has been said to represent many things: Eve, troubled youth, or spiritually unenlightened humanity.
What is an old fiend?
1. Arnold Friend ‘s name can be interpreted as being “a friend.” Also, by removing the r ‘s, his name becomes “an old fiend,” which can be interpreted as a reference to a demon or even Satan.
What does Connie do shortly before Arnold friend arrives?
She lies in bed listening to the radio and relaxing when she hears a car pull into her driveway. Checking her hair, Connie goes down to investigate and finds the boy and the golden car she saw in the restaurant parking lot the night before.
What does Connie do when she’s home alone?
Connie spends the summer avoiding her mother’s prying questions and dreaming about the boys she meets. One Sunday, her parents and June leave her at home alone while they go to a family barbeque. Connie washes her hair and dozes while she lets it dry in the sun.
What happens to Connie at the end of the story?
From Wikipedia: “The main character of Oates’s story is Connie, a beautiful, self-absorbed 15-year-old girl, who is at odds with her mother—once a beauty herself–and with her dutiful, ‘steady,’ and homely older sister. The story ends as Connie leaves her front porch; her eventual fate is left ambiguous.”
Is Connie a static or dynamic character?
As the character analysis of Connie in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” proves, even if Connie does not leave her house and does not go out with Arnold, she understands that independence is not what she has believed to be. This realization of some facts makes her a dynamic character.
What is a dynamic character?
A dynamic character is one who learns a lesson or changes as a person (either for better or for worse). Most main characters and major characters in stories are dynamic. Dynamic characters are the opposite of static characters; while dynamic characters change throughout a story, static characters stay the same.
Is Connie a round character?
Since Connie is lured from her life of innocence and teenage games into realizing that flirting with men/boys can have dire consequences, this learning curve harshly proves that Connie is a round character.
How does Connie’s character make her an easy target for Arnold friend?
The traits that make her an easy target for Arnold are her obsession with her looks, her flirtatious behavior, the way she dresses, and her excitement over attention from boys (in Arnold’s case men).
What type of character is Connie in Where Are You Going Where have you been?
Fifteen-year-old Connie is a stereotypical teenage girl: rebellious, superficial, and vain, she often lies to her mother about where she’s going and where she’s been.
What is the name of Connie’s sister?
June