Aspects of Chivalry in Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

Inside the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a story that deals and revolves around the ‘demonic’ Arnold Friend who is seen to possess some signs and unpredictable behaviors that can be said to be satanic, he is seen to have a crush on a young lady Connie who seems to be fully curtailed by her mother. She is seen to concentrate much on her physical looks and beauty, where she feels her mother loves her for her beauty to her sister who on the other hand is seen be highly considered, favored and loved. Arnold field is one of the main characters in the story, and she tries to seduce lady conie to be his girlfriend. Arnold field displays characters that are seen to be in favor of the lady Connie but also the other side of who he really is. Chivalry in this context is highly displayed with the physical appearances, utterances, and actions.

Thesis Statement

Chivalry in the short story “Where are you going, where have you been” is seen in a wider coverage and Arnold Field is seen to subvert chivalric ideas and mostly seen to do it when Connie retaliates or insists of an issue raised by Arnold field. This is because of the believes he is seen to hold both on religion and how he takes conie who he wants to be his girlfriend.

Body

When Connie goes back to inside the house Arnold Field follows her back he denies the open chance of following Connie inside their house and stands by the door. This aspect of not getting inside the house unless welcome is one of the open aspects of chivalry inside the short story. This is completely atypical religious code that can be really explained with relation to the satan who cant enter into someone's heart unless welcomed. The same case here Arnold field gets a stance of not getting inside and continues to persuade Connie who is seen to be lost between desire and fear. She doesn’t seem to understand what she has been really after having considered music as her religion.

The second aspect of chivalry is the physical features possessed by Arnold field, for example, several references are made to the abnormality of his both legs. As he walks around he stumbles on his fit making him cling to anything within his grasp for support. Several explanations example from our mothers indicate features of the devil as a man who walks on hoofs of a goat. This artistic nature explains the religious and the social code by the character Arnold Field.

Arnold Field after introducing himself and the friend who is seated in the vehicle, he tells Connie that he gonna be her friend and then gives a certain code which he tells lady Connie that it is a secret code then the writer indicates that he raises his eyebrows to see what the lady thinks of that but Connie never seems to dwell much on that. This compared to the revelation brings about the aspect of 666 used to indicate the religious code of the devil. Arnold Friendєs code of dressing and the overall appearance of him and his best friend Ellie contributes to a wide range of chivalry in this story. He is wearing “tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots” and a white pullover shirt that emphasizes his muscle tone — somewhat like the wardrobe of George Michael, Bruce Springsteen, and many others in the music business. This kind or mode of dressing is rigidly attached to the medieval knightly systems and it can be viewed as a social code to incite the little Connie to a date.

Arnold Friend’s wardrobe and overall appearance further contribute to the appeal of his snare. He is wearing “tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots” and a white pullover shirt that emphasizes his muscle tone — somewhat like the wardrobe of George Michael, Bruce Springsteen, and many others in the music business. Oates’s dedication of the story to Bob Dylan suggests that Arnold Friend was molded from his image, and was intended to have the “rockstar aura.” Furthermore, Oates stresses that the more Arnold Friend speaks, the louder and more conspicuous the music from Ellie’s radio becomes. The volume of the music seems to correspond to Arnold’s power over Connie; her resistance level weakens as the music grows in intensity.

Arnold Friend as the main character in “where are you going, where have you been.” Refers to chivalry as one of the aspects that can win easily, he follows it tactically but undermines the fact that they control him to act to the situation, As you can see from the book by Oates he is seen stagger due to his shoes but immediately he grabs support and gains normality again and he appears ashamed when Connie gazes at her. He is also seen to explain the fact of how well he understands Conieєs sister who is out with her mother corrupting the chivalry involved in knowing all about this. However much he can predict and know things easily he still believes in not forcing Connie to accept and follow his way, he believes in seducing her by use of sweet words but not including any other force and you can finally see that Connie finally gives in and gets in for a ride.

Conclusion

The aspects of chivalry are in a wide range displayed in the book “Where are you going, where have you been” by Oates. Ranging from the way Arnold Friend communicates, dressing code and how he rushes from one act to the other. The character is also seen to be so calculative and wise He denies the chance of getting Connie to know his age which doesn't please him at any moment. He undermines the aspect that the sister to Connie is anyhow beautiful and retains that Connie is the best of all. Those aspects and the subversive nature of Arnold brings about a confused Connie and at the same time helps Arnold fully seduce her.