Where are you going, Where have you been? by Joyce Carol Oates

In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been", Oates used figurative language to show the evil in Arnold Friend and how he as a Fiend tries to pull Connie into his corrupted world. The harsh reality that Oates includes in her story is that there are fiends that may seem like a friend around us like Arnold. By using figurative language Oates can create a fiend from what

Seem to be a Friend.

There are many hints that Joyce left to show that Arnold Friend is not a friend at all and by using symbolism she was able to portray an image of Arnold as a

fiend. After talking to Connie for a little while Arnold said, "You wanta come for a ride?" The "ride" that Arnold talks of could mean many things, but the one thing that Joyce has painted into my mind is that; the ride could mean a deferent path which would lead to his corrupted world.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold UAB

Joyce Carol Oates, 2006

Oates chooses the words carefully to show that Arnold is a fiend and by using simile she was able to portray and image such as, "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 uses descriptions such as these to show the unhuman quality in a human form. This images that Oates leaves to the readers mind are formed by her wonderful use of symbolism.

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. When Arnold claim to know all of Connie's friends and where her family is at Connie was scared and

asked how he knew and Arnold...