amazingly startling for the reader.
amazingly startling for the reader.
When the character, Arnold Friend, was introduced I did not expect that he would play the role of the enemy in the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” When he arrives at Connie’s home, I began to question my hypothesis. Similarly, Connie’s view of the mysterious man is reformed as Arnold’s true nature is revealed. The realization begins when he discloses all the information he knows about Connie and the whereabouts of her family. This is when I, the reader, and the character begin to suspect that Arnold is not a respectable guy. She then notices his eerily pale skin, aged appearance, unsettling remarks, and seemingly stuffed shoes. These suspicions were confirmed once he spoke of his intentions.…
Landon Jones’s article from “The Atlantic” of August,2014, “Echoes of Michael Brown's Death in St. Louis's Racially Charged Past” recalls violence towards African Americans long time before the shooting of Michael Brown. The author shares his memories of the segregated Sportsman’s Park and the single black person he met at young age. He lists race riots between black and white happened in the Illinois City and the Fairground Park Pool. Landon Jones describes St. Louis as “a city burdened with racial tension” all the time. He points out that discrimination and segregation underlie the racial violence. In his conclusion, Jones claims that racial separation still exists in St. Louis at present.…
Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich Connecticut, January 14, 1741. He was 1 out of 5 children and his sister that survived to adulthood. When he was growing up his family was wealthy. Benedict’s childhood was rough. Benedict’s father was a successful businessman. His father did not manage to keep the family’s money that well, and they were financially ruined. When he was growing up he was a apothecary and a bookseller. At the age of 15 he ran away and enlisted in the Continental Army where he help fight against the French in the Seven Years War.…
Arnold Friend is a mysterious character and nothing is known about what happens to him and Connie after the story ends, but their short interaction could be compared to long-term abusive situations in relationships, friendships, and families. When Connie first interacts with Arnold he seems like a…
Robert Con Davis-Undiano is the host of Current Conversations. He is Neustadt Professor of Comparative Literature and Presidential Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches Chicano and Latino Studies. He is executive director of World Literature Today, an organization that oversees two publications and is a humanities center for students. He is also the general editor of the Chicana & Chicano Visions of the Americas book series at the University of Oklahoma Press, and his many publications are in American Studies, literary criticism, and Chicano Studies.His new book Mestizos Come Home! Making and Claiming Mexican American Identity will be published in 2017. He previously hosted The Power of Ideas, a show sponsored…
This is obvious in Connie's situation through her actions. She endangers her own life to spare her family from the wrath of Arnold Friend, "You don't want them to get hurt,' Arnold Friend went on, Now get up, honey. Get up all by yourself.' She stood." (p. 510). If she had refused to go, her family would have been put in danger, yet, through the story Connie appears to be very unattached from her family. There is a large amount of tension between her and her mother, "her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn't much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it," (p. 499). Connie's father is uninvolved in her life, "their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn't bother talking much to them " (p. 499) and Connie shows no appreciation for her sister, "she was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mother's sisters," (p. 499). She is leading a typical rebellious teenage life where she avoids parental guidance but still has a deep appreciation for them and would risk her own life to spare…
The final quote, “I ain’t made plans for coming in that house where I don’t belong” (Oates 318). Suggests Arnold knows he is an outsider, and does not quite blend in like a human. He is a narcissist and believes Connie supposed to cater to his needs. He thinks his presence is too good and the house does not deserve it, hinting why bother to think about stepping in that house where I do not belong. While asking himself, why do I have to in and get you? When there is no need for him to lift a finger because it is Connie, who has to come out to him. “but just for you to come out to me, the way you should” (Oates 318). It indicates, the minute Connie was born her destiny was sealed, she now belonged to Arnold. She might not know it now, but in…
Arnold Friend, is a middle-aged man that uses himself as bait to fool and befriend young Connie. His choice of appearance for himself to project as if he is the same age as Connie is, “light faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders.” With this appearance that Arnold Friend presents to Connie…
Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman.Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman.Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold…
“Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise in her at this sight...” (86) The tone gets increasingly serious as the threat of violence spirals in Connie's meeting with Arnold Friend. The story takes place of 1960s - the standpoint of a teenager: drive-in restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, "ranch"-style homes. The ending is essentially tragic, Connie's submission to Arnold Friend standing for the ways women are oppressed in a patriarchal society. “Arnold Friend let go of the post tentatively and opened his arms for her..” (159).…
Hi, my name is Ed Fan and I’m from China. I was born in Harbin, China, as the only child in my family, no sisters and brothers; Harbin gets really cold during the winter. I moved to the U.S. in 2003 and English would be my second language. When I left China, I wasn’t ready to leave behind all my families and friends, but during the five years in the U.S., I’ve gained new friends and met people from all over the world, it’s really interesting to get to know people with different religions and ideas. I have many hobbies; I love to play basketball, baseball, tennis and football, I like them because they are really competitive and also because they are team sports, you’ll have to be a team player to be able to play them,…
The Protagonist Connie meet a conflict between the antagonist, Arnold Friend. Arnold Friend decides to show up at Connie’s house with Eddie his wing man uninvited when her parents left the house for a barbecue at an aunt’s house. Connie is forced to fuse two-sided violently. Connie is not fully sexual until Arnold Friend’s intrusion into her home- until then, her sexuality was outside of her “exact” self, the self that she allows her family to see. Her indecent clothes are what attracts older men, but when an older guy like Arnold Friend gives her the attention that she wants, she is frightened and is overpowered by Arnold Friend. She breaks down and is conquered by Arnold Friend. In that moments, she proves to herself that she is still a child by screaming for her mother. As a young child, we should not force our self to want to grow up fast by wearing indecent clothes, there are ways to look attractive and mature without looking sexual and giving wrong…
His intimidating speech shatters all bravery and courage that Connie had left and she “frantically runs in her house, fumbles to lock the screen door, and curls up in an obscure corner of the house, cradling the phone.”Not worried at all, Arnold does says he will not go into the house unless she tries to phone for help. As the Devil cannot tread on hallowed ground, Arnold Friend apparently cannot tread in Connie’s home, so the house acts somewhat like a sanctuary for Connie. Arnold seems to realize that he must make her submit by her own free will. He knows, as the Devil knows, that a victim cannot be taken by simple brute force. As long as Connie has one ounce of resistance left in her, Arnold cannot be victorious. However, in the end Arnold’s power is too strong and he finally makes Connie…
If Connie had really been doing the right things, Arnold would have never seen her and none of this story would have really unfolded. However, Connie decided to try to show her independence and do what she wanted. Maybe Connie was looking for love, maybe she was looking for independence, but what she found was danger. Connie’s quest for independence had a dark and ominous end. Of course, it is not like this for everyone and some people are lucky.…
That is why Arnold’s knowledge is equivalent to things Connie would know. The whole interaction between Connie and Arnold is a premonition of what would happen if Connie gives into her sexual curiosity. The representation of “going for a ride never to return” is about her crossing the line of her losing her virginity. It’s not necessarily “death of her” but it is “death of her innocence”. That is something that she will never be able to get back. It’s just like how the interaction started with Arnold, “curious” and somewhat “amusing”, but the hard reality of the matter is it quickly turned “frightening”, “realistic”, and “overwhelming”. “She thought, I’m not going to see my mother again. She thought, I’m not going to sleep in my bed again.” (15/16) In this statement Connie is subconsciously thinking of the consequences of her actions if she “goes for a ride” with Arnold (gives into temptation). This is a reference to her parent’s disapproval and possible punishment, if they find out what she has…