Wher are you going where have you been
A famous short story is "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. This stunning story describes how the seemingly perfect girl, Connie, is terrorized by the most abnormal man, Arnold Friend. Some would argue that he is the devil. Any argument that Arnold Friend is Satan can be used to say he is nothing more than a psychotic serial killer. While this prospect is horrific, it is considerably less disturbing than the devil knocking at your door. Though his persuasive behavior, unusual appearance and almost omniscient knowledge of Connie and her life are eerie they are explainable in the natural world. From the moment Arnold Friend and Connie see each other he appears to have a kind of magnetism that she can not help but notice, "He stared at her and then his lips widened in a grin. Connie slit her eyes at him and turned away, but she couldn't help glancing back..."(363). His bravado is just one of the facets of his control over Connie. When he and his friend pull up to the house "the horn sounded four short taps, as if this were a signal Connie knew"(366) and asks Connie if he was late. This kind of confidence would probably be attractive on some level to Connie who was used to the sweet ge
There is no known aspect of Connie's life that Arnold Friend does not seem to know, he can rattle off her friend's names, can tell what she was doing last night and with whom but he is not quite omniscient; he has his flaws. When telling Connie what her family is doing at the same moment he describes her mother "helping some fat woman with the corn...'What fat woman?' Connie cried. 'How do I know what fat woman...' Arnold Friend laughed". He can stalk a girl but he can not know everything. Serial killers and stalkers feel very possessive, "I know my Connie"(368) toward their prey and go to great lengths to learn all that they can "I know your name and all about you, lots of things..."(368) which shows their control. They are only human and have human limitations. There are plausible explanations for his knowledge. If he had been stalking Connie, following the family to a party would not be out of the question. It would probably be the norm. It is widely thought that the devil would lie in any given situation, the same can not be said for Arnold Friend. In fact he makes it a point to tell Connie "I always tell the truth and I promise you this: I ain't coming in that house after you"(373). He never goes back on this promise. This shows Connie a direct consequence of her actions. If she picks up the phone, he will enter the house. Believing he does not lie directly influences her actions. When she picks up the phone, terror he has instilled in her causes her to drop it. Arnold is immediately there to reassure her, letting her know that what she is doing is right. He never gives her a moment to think by herself. He constantly states that she is his lover and is doing the smart and good thing by pr
Some common words found in the essay are:
Arnold Friend, Friend Connie, Friend Satan, Conversations Ellie, Carol Oates, arnold friend, , actions picks phone, actions picks, picks phone, doing moment, fat woman', serial killers, connie family, girl connie,
Approximate Word count = 1166
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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