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

Connie enjoys listening to music and daydreaming about boys in the sun. The romance, warmth, and happiness that she finds in music are far from the true actuality of the environment around her.
             Arnold Friend symbolizes the dark side of reality. The author conveys Arnold as the opposing force to Connie's child-like fantasy world. Arnold knows that he can take advantage of Connie and corrupt her world easily, and nothing is going to stop him from doing so. He is a predator and is determined to lure Connie over even if it means by force. Everything about the way Arnold looks and acts represents his shady and dark persona. Arnold's hair is "shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig"" (366). His hair is the contrast to Connie's golden blonde hair, which symbolizes innocence. Oates describes Arnold's hair as looking like a wig. This represents a sort of fake cover-up on Arnold's behalf. Arnold's sunglasses serve as another symbol. His sunglasses reflect mirror images and do not show his eyes. This symbolizes a disguise, as if Arnold is trying to hide who he really is. Arnold's car is an extension of himself. It serves as a contrast between who Arnold really is and whom he is disguised as. The car symbolizes the fantasy and reality aspect of Arnold. Oates uses the old jalopy to symbolize the reality of Arnold, and the new paint job is used to symbolize Arnold's fake disguise that he puts on to lure Connie in. Arnold's car becomes an example of all that is dark about his appearance and nature. The color gold represents a sort of flashy aura as if he is trying to attract a younger crowd. The saying "Man the Flying Saucers"" is written on the front fender of Arnold's car. According to Oates, "It was an expression kids had used the year before but didn't use this year" (369). This reflects how Arnold tries to fit in with the young kids even though he is much older. Connie asks Arnold how old he is and she realizes that he is not a kid, that he may be thirty or older.


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