Arnold Friend Character Analysis
Madilyn Ferguson
Professor Jukes
English 1B
10 September 2010
Decisions, Decisions
The short story by Joyce Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” leaves many readers uncomfortable with the actions of “Connie” the main character who is in the midst of adolescent rebellion. Connie is a character who argues with her mother and sister, neglects family life in favor of scoping out boys at the local restaurant, does everything she can to appear older and wiser than she is, and has a mind filled with daydreams and popular music that feed her unrealistic ideas of love and romance. When the stranger, Arnold Friend, arrives at Connie’s house, she must confront the harsh realities of adulthood, which bear little resemblance to her fantasies. …show more content…
Connie definitely lacks parental support, and even though she may not have made it easy for her parents to communicate with her, they could have at least regulated her extracurricular activities and done their basic parental duties to make sure that she was safe from harm. This view of Connie comes from a behavioral perspective. Behaviorism sees behavior as being a result of conditioning and reinforcement that we have learned in the development process (McGill and Livingston Welch 101). The perspective claims that humans are born “tabula rasa” or as a blank slate proving that Connie’s parents had a big impact on her behavior which fueled her self-identification, or lack thereof, in her early childhood experiences. The theory also argues that personalities result from experiences, reinforcements, and conditioning. Ivan Pavlov theorized that all behavior is learned through operant learning; the result of having received reinforcement or reward, and classical conditioning; association of certain stimuli with a particular reaction within our emotional or physiological self. The lack of real presence of parental structure has a lot to do with Connie’s lack of individuality, her actions show a great deal of emptiness and a deficiency of self …show more content…
Friend looked up at her from his car and said, “Gonna get you baby” (Introduction to Literature 485). She thought nothing of the event and just kept going on with her friend. A short time later in the story, while Connie was sun bathing and listening to music, Friend shows up at her house. The first thing to shoot through Connie’s brain was her wondering how bad she looked. There is something wrong with that picture, that there was a stranger at her door that literally told her that he is going to get her. Most normal teens would be afraid of this kind of behavior and probably report it, not Connie. Friend starts talking about how he wants her to come with him, and bribing her with the music that he knew she loved. With his smooth talk, Friend tells her “I know my Connie”…”I took a special interest in you, such a pretty young girl, and found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friend’s name is Betty. Right?” (Introduction to Literature 488). Friend goes on in detail about all of the things he knows about Connie and as he does this, Connie starts to panic. The harsh realization that she is only fifteen and that she isn’t really experienced or old enough to know what to do in this kind of situation. She then went inside to be protected by the screen door.
Professor Jukes
English 1B
10 September 2010
Decisions, Decisions
The short story by Joyce Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” leaves many readers uncomfortable with the actions of “Connie” the main character who is in the midst of adolescent rebellion. Connie is a character who argues with her mother and sister, neglects family life in favor of scoping out boys at the local restaurant, does everything she can to appear older and wiser than she is, and has a mind filled with daydreams and popular music that feed her unrealistic ideas of love and romance. When the stranger, Arnold Friend, arrives at Connie’s house, she must confront the harsh realities of adulthood, which bear little resemblance to her fantasies. …show more content…
Connie definitely lacks parental support, and even though she may not have made it easy for her parents to communicate with her, they could have at least regulated her extracurricular activities and done their basic parental duties to make sure that she was safe from harm. This view of Connie comes from a behavioral perspective. Behaviorism sees behavior as being a result of conditioning and reinforcement that we have learned in the development process (McGill and Livingston Welch 101). The perspective claims that humans are born “tabula rasa” or as a blank slate proving that Connie’s parents had a big impact on her behavior which fueled her self-identification, or lack thereof, in her early childhood experiences. The theory also argues that personalities result from experiences, reinforcements, and conditioning. Ivan Pavlov theorized that all behavior is learned through operant learning; the result of having received reinforcement or reward, and classical conditioning; association of certain stimuli with a particular reaction within our emotional or physiological self. The lack of real presence of parental structure has a lot to do with Connie’s lack of individuality, her actions show a great deal of emptiness and a deficiency of self …show more content…
Friend looked up at her from his car and said, “Gonna get you baby” (Introduction to Literature 485). She thought nothing of the event and just kept going on with her friend. A short time later in the story, while Connie was sun bathing and listening to music, Friend shows up at her house. The first thing to shoot through Connie’s brain was her wondering how bad she looked. There is something wrong with that picture, that there was a stranger at her door that literally told her that he is going to get her. Most normal teens would be afraid of this kind of behavior and probably report it, not Connie. Friend starts talking about how he wants her to come with him, and bribing her with the music that he knew she loved. With his smooth talk, Friend tells her “I know my Connie”…”I took a special interest in you, such a pretty young girl, and found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friend’s name is Betty. Right?” (Introduction to Literature 488). Friend goes on in detail about all of the things he knows about Connie and as he does this, Connie starts to panic. The harsh realization that she is only fifteen and that she isn’t really experienced or old enough to know what to do in this kind of situation. She then went inside to be protected by the screen door.