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Arnold Friend Character Analysis Essay

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Arnold Friend Character Analysis Essay
In Joyce Carol Oates story, "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" there are two main characters in the story one of them is Connie. She was a naïve fifteen year old teenage girl, and the other character is a psychopath named Arnold Friend. Connie is a typical teenager she hangs out with her friends going to the mall and movies, just basically out having fun without a care in the world. Arnold is a psychopath who appears to be like any human. In many cases, one would not be able to pick them out of a crowd. Their minds are completely different from most other people. They are extremely smart and very methodical in their thinking and in the way that they act. While most people barely think beyond the normal, a psychopath will think about every step, breath, and even every word anybody would say in the open. …show more content…
Arnold Friend follows Connie from the very beginning of the story. When Connie finally notices his presence, "He stares at her and then his lips widened into a grin. Connie slit her eyes at him and turned away, but she couldn't help glancing back and there he was still watching her," (320) reveling his true desires. Arnold wanted to know her every breath and also to kill her. It becomes quite apparent that Arnold is stalking Connie when he says "I know my Connie" (323). When he stares at her, she is unaware of his closeness. In Arnold's mind, Connie is like a puzzle that he must figure out. He states while bringing fear to Connie's eyes "I know your name and all about you, lots of things" (323), fully proving his intensions. Recalling seeing her at the drive-in the night before, he shook a finger at her and laughed "Gonna get you, baby" (320), showing his true obsession with
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