Since she has two sides to her, “one for home” and “one for anywhere that was not home,” Connie clearly lacked a true identity and sense of self worth. Thus, she is easily manipulated by Arnold Friend’s patronizing talk. Finally when Arnold says “That feels solid but we know better, be nice to me, be sweet like you can because what else is there for a girl like you but to be sweet and pretty and give in,” Connie feels lifeless and empty and “she thought for the first time in her life that it was nothing that was hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living thing inside this body that wasn’t really hers either,” but rather, Arnold Friend’s. At this point, Arnold had finally lured Connie to maturation into the impurity adulthood, exemplifying his devil like character (Oates, pg
Since she has two sides to her, “one for home” and “one for anywhere that was not home,” Connie clearly lacked a true identity and sense of self worth. Thus, she is easily manipulated by Arnold Friend’s patronizing talk. Finally when Arnold says “That feels solid but we know better, be nice to me, be sweet like you can because what else is there for a girl like you but to be sweet and pretty and give in,” Connie feels lifeless and empty and “she thought for the first time in her life that it was nothing that was hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living thing inside this body that wasn’t really hers either,” but rather, Arnold Friend’s. At this point, Arnold had finally lured Connie to maturation into the impurity adulthood, exemplifying his devil like character (Oates, pg