Man In The Black Suit 'And Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been'

In King's "The Man in the Black Suit" and Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", fears related to family are exploited by antagonists in young and vulnerable protagonist. "The Man in the Black Suit" presents a young boy, who after the traumatic loss of his brother, has an encounter with the Devil. In this short story, the fear that the antagonist plays upon is the loss of the young boy's mother. Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," also plays with the protagonist's family, as the antagonistic launches threats against the young female he hopes to take sexual advantage of. In this case, the antagonist, Arnold Friend, also tries to coax the young protagonist, Connie, by playing upon her sexual curiosity as well as
providing contrast with her family: "you're better than them because not a one of them would have done this for you" (949). In doing so, Arnold is able to present mentally extremes that cripple Connie into walking out the door, just like he has indicated he will. I would suggest that "The Man in the Black Suit" relies more-so on the essential fear that young children have in regards to losing love ones, especially if they have already experience such loss at a young age. Alternatively, Arnold's role in Oates's short story is deeper because he is not a supernaturally entity providing threats and he is able, with the background knowledge he already holds regarding Connie, to throw out more mentally debilitating thoughts which ultimately prevent Connie from the kind of flight that Gary is successful in.