WAYG

After reading “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” I was left with a bunch of questions all bundled up in frustration. The character of Arnold Friend gave me mixed feelings at first, but by the end I felt I hated him with a passion. His tricks of manipulation toward the young girl and his age, being at least thirty, transformed his character from being some cool guy into some sort of creepy rapist. Take for example when Arnold tries to persuade Connie with “Yes, I am your lover. You don’t know what that is but you will” (Oates 516). It is here he blatantly makes his intentions known.
What really put me on edge was just how accepting this beautiful teenager was of his behavior. She had numerous chances to shut and lock the door and then time to call the cops. There was little proof of her looking for a chance to escape, even something as simple as running to the neighbors could have been a successful and practical escape. This passiveness or Connie simply not knowing what to do made my skin crawl and by the end of the story I was ready to get rid of this crazy Arnold character. Connie herself even knew he was crazy as she repeated several times “You’re crazy!” (Oates 517), yet nothing was done.