Rendezvous with Good and Evil

How would a young, wanton girl react if the devil came knocking? Many young girls would react very similarly to Connie’s character in Joyce Carol Oates’s coming of age short story, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” Connie is a bit apprehensive at Arnold Friend’s arrival at her doorstep while her non-intrusive parents were at a repugnant family gathering. However alarmed Connie was at the initial shock of Arnold’s appearance, she quickly warmed to him during his eloquent pop culture diatribe. They had found common ground: Bobby King. She begins to notice characteristics about Arnold that to someone as superficial as she, would not take notice of at first glance. Oates paints a picture of Arnold being the devil incarnate with her description of a deceptive appearance. Joyce Wegs, in her article, “Don't You Know Who I Am?”: The Grotesque in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'” offers great insight into Arnold Friend’s deceiving way by illustrating how his masquerade allows for the religious undertone in Oates’ story. Wegs however fails to provide the possibility of the flipside of the coin: the possibility that Arnold may in fact be a savior of sorts. In Connie’s position though, without the moral influence of parents and yet with rock and roll influence of 1960’s, it’s easy to see how she would accept--even with apprehension--the attentions of Arnold Friend.

Oates describes Connie as a fifteen year old that “had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right”. She is an egotistical girl as many young and pretty girls can be. The attention that these types of girls receive can inflate their sense of self and lead them down a destructive path. Pop culture has shown us this time and time again-good girls gone bad. Connie’s behavior when Arnold intrudes on her quiet summer afternoon is a firm demonstration of how the sin of vanity can delude a person into a sense of safety. Arnold Friend demonstrates to the average reader that he is the devil incarnate, Satan in the flesh, arrived to violate the innocence of a pretty, young thing. Wegs’ interpretation of Oates’ story reinforces this average reader’s assumption. What Wegs fails to explore is that Arnold Friend may also represent a savior. If we explore the idea that Arnold is not a nemesis of God, but in fact a representation of God, it completely changes the negative responses that one might have at first glance.

While Connie is at the diner, leaving with Eddie, she notices Arnold Friend: enter Arnold. Arnold “wagged a finger…”and says, “Gonna get you, baby,” to Connie when she turned to acknowledge him for the second time in the parking lot (Oates). This sample text of the story could be interpreted as God’s intention to passionately seek out His children-Arnold being the ‘savior’ and Connie being one of the ‘children’. Arnold’s use of the number code on the side of his ‘gold jalopy’-“ He read off the numbers 33, 19, 17 and raised his eyebrows at her to see what she thought of that, but she didn't think much of it.”-could be referencing a piece of scripture from the Old Testament (Oates). In most Bibles, the 33rd book is Judges. In the verse Judges 19:17 it reads, “And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?”(KJV Judges 19:17). The significance of this passage in the 19th Chapter of the book of Judges may support that Arnold is in fact a savior. The Israelites faith in God had disintegrated as well as their unity as a nation. They could have taken possession of the lands had they followed God’s command, but they did not. The traveler had stopped in the city square and no one took the traveler in to their homes to feed and allow him rest. In these times, it was disgraceful not to provide hospitality to those traveling through one’s area if they were in need. The man who noticed the traveler gave him respite, as was their custom. However, the traveler who was traveling with his slave concubine, turned from God’s direction when evil men came knocking at the man’s home he was invited to. He sent his concubine out to be raped by these evil men and when the traveler returned home he murdered her, dismembered her and spread the 12 pieces of her body across the land of Israel.

If a little research is done, we can conclude that if in fact the numbers on Arnold Friend’s ‘jalopy’ indicate that specific verse from the Bible, then it fully supports Wegs connotation that he is a manifestation of evil. Wegs says of Connie, “By the end she knows him to be a murderer, for she realizes that she will never see her family again. However, only the reader sees Arnold's Satan identity”. It is however possible to view Arnold as a savior of Connie in the respect that he’s taking her away from her uninterested family. To many young girls, that would be delightful. The undertone created in the suspense throughout the story indicates otherwise.

In “Don't You Know Who I Am?”: The Grotesque in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Wegs clearly explains that:
"Because the devil is not a mortal being, existing as he does in all ages, it is not surprising that he slips in remembering what slang terms are in vogue. Similarly, his foolish attempt at a bow may result from a mix-up in temporal concepts of the ideal lover. In addition, his clumsy bow may be due to the fact that it must be difficult to manipulate boots if one has cloven feet!"

The devil, according to Christianity and other religions, is truly not a physically mortal being. He is a fallen angel. God cast him down from heaven after his rebellion against God’s command. The Bible tells us that Lucifer, who is the devil, was a very beautiful angel who rebelled because of his pride was cast out of Heaven by the Arch Angel Michael. He despises God and God’s laws, is the embodiment of sin, prowls the Earth like a lion and is the God of this Earth. It is very evident that in today’s culture, the devil is making short work of enticing us weak and faithless humans to turn from good into the waiting arms of evil. This is exactly what Connie does. She turns away from good moral standing at some point within her disillusionment with herself and runs headlong into the arms of moral indifference.

The possibilities are nearly endless as to how to interpret Joyce Carol Oates’ story. It is highly doubtful that Wegs’ interpretation is the only available. Oates’ character Connie is a small town girl who is morally bereft. In essence, she’s a typical coming of age teenager with nothing floating around in her brain but boys and an over-inflated opinion of herself. When she sees trouble, she runs to it without regard for anything but her own wants. Arnold Friend is there, available, to provide all of that and more, which she’s not anticipating at all. Like most kids, she’s bitten off more than she can chew in this situation and she will more than likely pay a dear price for it. At first glance it is not difficult to agree with Wegs interpretation that Arnold Friend is a manifestation of Satan himself, but isn’t it also possible that he’s Connie’s savior; saving her from the dull and vapid life she is leading? There is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Works Cited:

King James Bible. 11/24/2009 < http://kingjbible.com/judges/19.htm>.