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Joyce Carol Oates

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             Oates is very particular in the words she uses to describe Arnold Friend. Each thing she says about him points to his not being human. Oates refers to Arnold saying "He grinned so broadly his eyes became slits and she saw how thick the lashes were, thick and black as if painted with a black tar like material." (Oates 154). It is apparent that Oates uses descriptions such as these to illustrate an unhuman quality in human form. Another interesting word choice Oates uses is when Arnold is talking perversely to Connie and Connie says "People don't talk like that, you"re crazy" (Oates 156). This helps illustrate the fact that Connie does not recognize Arnold as human.
             Arnold Friend knows too much about everything and everyone to only be a person especially one who is not from around the same area as Connie. Arnold claims to know all of Connie's friends and where her family is at which scares Connie into asking how he knows so much and his only response is that he knows everybody. Larry Rubin agrees when he says that "the omniscient capabilities that Arnold shows are just more justifications of his being a demon or even the devil" (Rubin 57). Arnold not only knows what is going on in the world around Connie, but also what she is thinking and how she is as a person. Rubin also says "Arnold knows that Connie is unhappy with her parents in general and taps into this sensitive spot with Connie as a way to bring her outside and go with him" (Rubin 57). He felt that if he could draw Connie outside it would have to be with sex, for Arnold knows that this is what intrigues the young girl. .
             The most obvious reason that many people believe Oates is portraying Arnold as a demon is the way Arnold must use trickery and blackmail to lure the innocent Connie out of her home and into his clutches. When Connie says she will call the police to restrain Arnold, he then becomes irate and says he will enter the house and says "You won't want that.


Essays Related to Joyce Carol Oates

1. Inspiration for Joyce Carol

... character's changing moods and the situations they are found in. Through this integration of various other characters, themes, and events, Joyce Carol Oates was able to write her modern day fable, and create a gloomy portrait of adolescent society. Bibliography: Oates, Joyce Carol "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Ontario, The Ontario Review Inc, 1999 "The Story Of Grandmother," Translation ... of Tuscon: He cruised in a Golden Car, looking for the Action." Life 1966 "Inspiration for Joyce Carol Oates" Copyright 2003 Courtroom Television Netweork LLC All Rights Reserved. http:/...

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2. Joyce Carol Oates And Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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3. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates

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  • Word Count: 1334
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4. Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates "It's A Dream"

He's Her Dream Boy Have you ever woken up from a nightmare and questioned yourself if it really happened or not? Well in Joyce Carol Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" a little fifteen-year-old girl, who is self indulged, leads a promiscuous kind ... and a white pullover shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders". His face was familiar to her somehow, too (Oates 707). When he smiles it looks like he is inside a mask: "his whole face is a mask" (710). Connie thinks she is a heroine in her dream ... outside so she wen...

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5. Oates' Use of Plot Devices in The Night Nurse

... plot devices to select and order the events that constitute a story's plot so that what is told is brought into focus (Meyer 64). In Joyce Carol Oates' story The Night Nurse', the author does a magnificent job incorporating many, if not all, of the plot devices described in Meyer. From ... relationships with other parts of the story and then uses flashback of earlier events to supply the exposition of the plot (Britannica 2002). Oates moves the story through her character's struggle of her medical emergency and has her pondering her life and the possibility of dying alone in ... fear, t...

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6. Joyce Carol (Where are you going, and where have you been?

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7. Joyce Carol Oates and Coming of Age

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8. Joyce Carol Oates" "Where Are You Going

Joyce Carol Oates" "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" tells us about the life of Connie who has no guidance in life, because her family has not provided any moral support to help through her teenage life. She only knows about popular culture and not the consequences that comes with it. With...

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9. Chekhov vs Oates

... set in Russia in the early part of the century and Joyce Carol Oates" "The Lady with the Pet Dog" told from Anna's point of view in the 1970's in Nantucket. Matthew Brennan, a literary critic, distinguishes between Chekhov's conventional, sequential plot and Oates" circular plot, and identifies the third person point of view ... that's used in both versions. These different literary techniques demonstrate the change from the male protagonist (Chekhov) to the female protagonist (Oates) and affect the development of the conflict in the two stories. The contrasting male and female points o...

  • Word Count: 547
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