Arnold’s Car

Arnold Friend’s flashy gold car, with its outdated phrases written on the sides, is an extension of Arnold himself: extreme and not entirely right. The car gives Connie her first clues that there might be something wrong with or dangerous about Arnold. She complains that the color of the car is so bright that it hurts her eyes, and she is puzzled by the phrase “Man the flying saucers” on the front fender, which was an expression that her peers used to use but that has fallen out of fashion. This reinforces Connie’s sense that there is something not quite genuine about Arnold; he claims to be the same age as she is, but he is not entirely convincing. Not only is the car itself rather off-putting, but Arnold presents it as the vehicle that will transport Connie to her new life. Once Arnold’s true, violent nature comes through, the car becomes a symbol of all that is dark and ominous about his character.