In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, one can see

that Arnold Friend is Satan, because he deceivingly lures and steals just like Satan does.

The first way Arnold is Satan is portrayed through his deceivingly luring character. In the

short story, Arnold drives up to a fifteen year old girl’s home in a gold painted car. He then

honks four times in order to deceive the girl, Connie, into believing she actually knows him.

Friend hopes the familiar sound of the honk will convince her that he is a friend. In addition,

he seems to have the perfect attractive face in Connie’s eyes. But she also feels as if

something were wrong for she thinks, “His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned …show more content…
Arnold knows the little attractive things Connie likes and

wears clothes in order to tell her he is normal. However, despite the attempts to being the

average attractive man, Connie notices something is not right and says, “But all these things

did not come together”. In comparison, in the Bible from Genesis 3, Satan the serpent

deceives a woman, Eve, into eating from the tree from the middle of the garden. God had

commanded Eve and her husband, Adam, to not eat from this tree. Satan lures them in hopes

of deceiving them into doubting God’s goodness. In Genesis 3:6, Eve falls for the deception

for she, “saw the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also

desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” She then shares some with her

husband. They fell into Satan’s deceptive trap of doubting His goodness.

In addition, Arnold steals just like Satan does. On the day Arnold arrives at Connie’s

house, she is wearing a green blouse. Her green blouse is a symbol of fertility. The color
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green typically represents new life and safety. However, Arnold removes Connie’s innocence

and life forever. Her blouse becomes wet due to her immense sweating in her fear.