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Where Are You Going Where Have You Been1

that her lover also wears a face of lust, evil, and death.(Hurly 64) At this point as she is standing in her doorway the flimsy screen door that did serve as a teasing barrier, coincidentally becomes a means of protection from Arnold Friend.(Gillis 66) Imagery in the short story also plays a significant role behind the characters and their words true meaning. The author implies corrupted religious imagery suggesting that modern gods have somewhat replaced traditional religion. "She emphasizes illusions of false values which arise from obsession with modern culture like media, music and movies.(Dessommes 435) Oates delineates the moral poverty of Connie, her fifteen-year-old protagonist, by imaging a typicalevening Connie spends at a drive-in restaurant as a grotesquely parodied religious pilgrimage.(Wegs 74) Mrs.Oates paints the perfect picture in the minds of her readers who are not the least bit suspicious about what will soon happen. Quoted from the book, Variation on an American Hymn, in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Arnold Friend is created out of the stock images of rock-and-roll songs, but his idealized imageis violated by limitations imposed by real life, that dreams do not come true and that anyone purporting to be teenage idol should be checked for a receding hairline. This short story is filled with the imagery of lifes deceptions and perils. The symbolism behind the tale, in my opinion, accounts for most of the evil within it. Most symbolic is the character, Arnold Friend. He has all of the qualities that a young lover would. He speaks the slang, he has the right clothes andhe drives the right car. Everything seems right at first glance, but after a few minutes those qualities fall apart one by one, willingly revealing his true self.(Robson 99) She notices his shaggy black hair that is, as crazy as a wig, really is a wig. Then she notices that a thick coat of makeup has created the mask-like appear...

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