Story Analysis essay

STORY ANALYSIS ESSAY

Story Analysis Essay

Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been ' is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates . It was first published in Epoch Magazine in 1966 Oates based her story on the infamous Charles Schmid , more known as the Pied Piper of Tucson . In the early 60 's Charles Schmid , who was described to be charismatic and appealing , went around Tucson , Arizona victimizing young girls by seducing them and eventually killing them Oates wrote the story after reading the accounts on Schmid in Life magazine

. Her imagination was further inspired by Bob Dylan 's song It 's All Over Now Baby Blue . When the story first came out , she even dedicated it to the singer /songwriter

Oates ' used the events surrounding the real story of the Pied Piper of Tucson to convey important lessons . Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been ' is aptly described by the author herself as a realistic allegory (Oates 4 . In this sense it is a moral parable . Through the life and experiences of Connie , the main protagonist , Oates drew attention to the real issues hounding the young people of her generation . What makes this story special however is that Oates ' lessons are timeless and universal . The things she focused on then are things that remain true today . At the same time Oates based her story on real events , making her work of fiction somehow a historical account of a character . Again Oates pointedly described it as tributaries flowing...