61).
" the music was always in the background, like music.
at a church service- (p.61).
" as if he were reciting the words to a song turned .
up the volume on his radio- (p.66).
"He had the voice of the man on the radio- (p.67).
The reaction Connie has to the music in the story is one of submission. She takes deep breaths in connection with the music, as if it were being forced into her:.
"It might have been the music she sucked in her breath.
with the pleasure of being alive." (p.62).
" her cheeks warmed at the thought of how she had .
sucked in her breath at the moment she passed him- (p.65).
It's her first meeting with Arnold Friend that the music seems alive and capable of moving, entering, and controlling its target. She becomes aware of the creepiness of the shopping plaza after the music stops. It is as if the rose-tinted glasses the music gave her were removed, forcing her to see things as they truly are:.
"Connie couldn't help but look back at the darkened .
shopping plaza its signs were faded and ghostly now, .
She couldn't hear the music in the distance." (p.62).
All the music references hint to a few conclusions about Arnold Friend. He could either be The Pied Piper, Pan, the god of shepherds, or the Devil. The inference to all three could lead to the deduction that Arnold Friend is indeed The Pied Piper since his story is indeed the least known and could be created from both Pan and Devil symbolism.
In fairy tales, The Pied Piper used his flute to whisk the children away from a town. The same can be said about Arnold Friend whose constant musical control over Connie leads to her forced abduction at the end of the story.
Pan, the god of flocks and shepherds, is another possible choice for Arnold Friend's true identity. Pan had musical pipes that, when played, would make people wield to his power. Arnold Friend also comes to Connie's home in a gold car that could be symbolic of a mythological gold chariot:.