Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Group
Question:
marine78
Student
College - Junior
What do the numbers 33, 19, 17 signify in the story? They are written along the side of Arnold Friend's car.
Answers:
-
tammie Student
College - SophomorePosted by tammie on Monday November 5, 2007 at 7:05 AM
-
nmachiavelli Student
High School - 11th GradePosted by nmachiavelli on Tuesday November 6, 2007 at 5:19 PMThose are a Bible verse, which is not very suprising if you except the interpretation that Arnold Friend is Satan. The33rd book of the Old Testament (King James Version and Most Other Forms) is Judges. 19:17 is the passage:
And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, "Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?"
The text in quotes is basically Old English for the title of this short story: "Where are you going, Where have you been?"
-
aschem Student
College - FreshmanPosted by aschem on Wednesday February 13, 2008 at 4:42 PMsomeone said that 33,19,17 signifies a verse in the bible. However, judges is not the 33rd book of the old testament as they stated, rather it is the 7th book of the old testament.
-
linda-allen Teacher
High School - 10th GradePosted by linda-allen on Tuesday February 26, 2008 at 12:05 PMThe way Friend leers at Connie, you might think these numbers are a woman's measurements: bust 33, waist 19, hips 17; but that would make an unusual looking woman.
Perhaps he is referring to John 19:17: "So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of the skull." Traditionally, Jesus was 33 when he was crucified.
At the end of the story, when Connie looks out over the fields as she walks out of the house, she realizes that she is walking to her own death.
One other thing that might link Friend to an anti(meaning opposite of)Christ is that he asks her, "Don't you know who I am?" Jesus asked the same question of his disciples.
-
jhs Teacher
High School - 12th GradePosted by jhs on Tuesday April 15, 2008 at 9:52 AMthey do indeed refer to a bible verse.
Judges 19:17
*count the books backwards.
-
eric8888 Student
College - SeniorPosted by eric8888 on Friday April 18, 2008 at 2:30 PM
-
arielyvonne Student
College - SophomorePosted by arielyvonne on Monday April 21, 2008 at 10:01 PM
-
lindsay413 Student
College - SophomorePosted by lindsay413 on Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 6:56 PMI actually had to do a research paper on this, and a lot of people did think it was a biblical meaning but it really is not. If you add up all the numbers 33,17,19 it equal 69 which if you don't know is a "sexual expression". Which if you really think about it, it is not surprising at all.
-
lisalit Teacher
College - SophomorePosted by lisalit on Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 12:56 PMI hate to burst everyone's bubble on this, but when I was in college I had the delightful opportunity to meet and interview the author, Joyce Carol Oates. I specifically asked her about the meaning of the numbers on Arnold's car and she said they were random and didn't know why everyone was so intrigued with them. So there you have it.
-
Posted by tigerhoss on Friday July 25, 2008 at 5:32 PM
No insult to lisalit.
Ms. Oates has always "remained silent" on the "real meaning" behind clues in a story that allow readers to puzzle over interpretation.
lindsay413 is more than half-way home but not quite there.
33 is the age of Christ at crucifixion.
The missing number in the "17, 19" sequence is, obviously 18.
As was previously noted the 18th letter of the alphabet is "R" and striking the "R's" from Arnold Friend yields "An Old Fiend,"Don't just add 33+17+19=69, that gets you half-way home. (And suggests a more sexually mutually consensual act).
Add 10x(33+17+19) which yields 690. Now subtract the sum of the digits (3+3+1+7+1+9) to derive "24." Subtract that 24 from the previously known 690 and you get "666" -- the "sign" of the Devil.
These can be seen as arbitrary moves involving "18" and the letter "R," but for this: in the time of Constantine, he converted to Christianity after believing his success was from God. To "baptize" his troops before an important battle he had them paint the letter of Christ (P) on their shields and marched them through a river. That letter in classical Greek and old Roman (the languages known to Constantine) occupied the 18th place in the alphabet. But as the alphabet changed slightly "P" moved back 2 places and was replaced with "R," which is not an arbitrary act: you are striking Christ from the story.
-
calanthe Student
High School - 9th GradePosted by calanthe on Tuesday September 23, 2008 at 10:00 PMThe numbers means the book, chapter, and verse in the bible and it is also the devil's number: 3+3=6, 17+19=36/ square root the 36=6,6. Put that together and you get 666. Or if you add up all of the numbers it will equal 69. It could mean what most poeple think 69 means (adult rated). But it is also goes with connie About being two-sided since you canflip both #'s to make each other. Also the number 69 if you put the #'s close and connect the line it will make the ying and yang symbol(which is also an two-sided thing).
-
lthsfanpire Student
High School - 9th GradePosted by lthsfanpire on Tuesday September 30, 2008 at 2:46 PMOk we where trying to think of what the numbers ment in class and i think all the bible terms are good because Arnold Friend is shown as an anti-christ.But it turns out that they dont mean anything.
-
cookie123456 Student
High School - 12th GradePosted by cookie123456 on Thursday October 30, 2008 at 5:16 PMActually you guys are all half right. we did a 3 day critical analysis of this piece. You're right that the bible verse is Judges 19:17 which has the title of the book but the crazy math thing to equal 666 is totally wrong. He is the devil though becuase of the following clues:
1. ARNOLD FRIEND: they constantly listed to Rock and Roll. Take out the two R's is ARNOLD FRIEND and you get AN OLD FIEND. The oldest fiend through time has been the devil.
2. A myth states that the devil is not alowed to enter a house un-invited. Hense the reason he never enters.
3. Also, it is believed that the devil has hooves for feet which is why his feel were at odd angles and he kept tripping.
4. He was also able to know about her family that way and lure her to him
-
christo Student
Graduate SchoolPosted by christo on Thursday November 6, 2008 at 8:10 AMAs mentioned in previous posts, the numbers 33, 19, 17 do in fact refer to the biblical reference. It may seem tenuous at first because one is required to run the first number from the end of the Protestant Old Testament; however, such a tension is alleviated when one looks at the verse in question, namely Chapter 19 vs 17: “When he saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”. The fact that such a statement is not only directly related to the story in name and in context; but has the prominent place of the title of the story suggests that the allusion to the biblical narrative is intended. Further, because the intentionality of the allusion is made clear, other seemingly ambiguous aspects of the story are evinced. For example, Oates leaves the events which transpire after Connie is taken out of the narrative. If one looks at the conclusions of the biblical narrative – in which a virgin daughter is taken by evil men of a city and raped and abused – one sees that the Oates narrative likely has the same conclusions. Thus, through the numbers on Arnold’s car, one is given insight into the full conclusion of the story of Connie. Further still, one is put on the path of understanding the criticism of modern society that Oates is intending to bring about through her story.
You can now ask questions directly from Facebook, add the Ask a Teacher App from eNotes!
Popular Links
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Summary
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Characters
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Themes
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Essays and Criticism
Top Tags in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
- connie
- characters
- arnold
- themes
- arnold friend
- symbols
- genre
- numbers
- plot
- weapons
- meaning
- attraction
- resolution
- suspense
- 33 19 17
See Also:
- - Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? summary and study guide in the eNotes.