In Joyce Carol Oates’ story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, and Flannery O’Connor’s story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” there is a common theme of manipulation. Because of this Connie and The Misfit have some profound discoveries and have their own traumatic experiences. Connie suffers from sexual, mental, and emotional abuse from Arnold Friend because of his lack of a mediator on his desires and his manipulation. Comparatively, The Misfit’s beliefs change completely because of the grandmother’s manipulation and he experiences some form of pain from the traumatic event of killing the grandmother and her entire family.
In Oates’ story, Arnold Friend does not seem to have an ego or a superego. Arnold has sexual desires that are horrible and not socially acceptable. Some of his desires include: rape, kidnapping, stalking, and threatening to do bodily harm if Connie does not obey his commands. His desires should have been repressed but because of his lack of an ego and a superego, he acted upon his dark desires. …show more content…
An example of this is when Arnold says “you couldn’t ask for nobody better than me, or more polite. I will always keep my word. I’ll tell you how it is, I’m always nice at first, the first time” (Oates 201). He tells her how she should be around him and how she should act towards him. When this does not get Connie to come with him, he proceeds to threaten her family’s safety. One example of this is when Arnold tells Connie “You don’t want them to get hurt” (Oates 204). While under the pressure of Arnold’s threats, Connie cracks and breaks. Because of this, Connie’s mental and emotional state crumbles because of all the fear she feels and then she becomes empty and obeys his every
In Oates’ story, Arnold Friend does not seem to have an ego or a superego. Arnold has sexual desires that are horrible and not socially acceptable. Some of his desires include: rape, kidnapping, stalking, and threatening to do bodily harm if Connie does not obey his commands. His desires should have been repressed but because of his lack of an ego and a superego, he acted upon his dark desires. …show more content…
An example of this is when Arnold says “you couldn’t ask for nobody better than me, or more polite. I will always keep my word. I’ll tell you how it is, I’m always nice at first, the first time” (Oates 201). He tells her how she should be around him and how she should act towards him. When this does not get Connie to come with him, he proceeds to threaten her family’s safety. One example of this is when Arnold tells Connie “You don’t want them to get hurt” (Oates 204). While under the pressure of Arnold’s threats, Connie cracks and breaks. Because of this, Connie’s mental and emotional state crumbles because of all the fear she feels and then she becomes empty and obeys his every