Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

        In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" critics argue whether the character of Arnold Friend, clearly the story's antagonist, represents Satan in the story. Indeed, Arnold Friend is an allegorical devil figure for the main reason that he tempts Connie, the protagonist, into riding off with him in his car.         Oates characterizes Arnold Friend at first glance as "a boy with shaggy, black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold"(581). …

…his relentless temptation of Connie, Arnold Friend most certainly represents a devil figure in this short story. Works Cited Kiszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing.                                    Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1997. Oates, Joyce Carol                  "Where Are You Going, Where Have You                                                      Been?"...Kirszner and Mandell, 579-591. Wegs, Joyce M.                  "Don't You Know Who I Am?"......Kirszner and Mandell                                    614-619. Tierce, Michael and John Michael Crafton. "Connie's Tambourine Man".....Kirszner and                                    Mandell, 607-612.