ipl-logo

Analysis Of Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

1181 Words5 Pages
The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by the author Joyce Carol Oates in 1966. Oates describes her idea for the story after briefly reading an article about the real-life murderer, Charles Schmid, who lured and murdered three teenage girls (Kirszner & Mandell 523). She uses this idea to create the character, Arnold Friend, and his victim, Connie. Connie is a typical teenage girl portrayed as naïve and self-centered. The short story appears realistic, given that the conflict in the story is based off of real events. Oates unexpectedly adds allusions to fairy tales throughout the story that suggest a much deeper meaning than the initial realistic interpretation. The use of fairy tales adds a vitally important element to the story that evil can be lurking in unexpected places. The author uses allusions specific to the fairy tales “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Three Little Pigs,” and “Cinderella”. The story references the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood”: “...the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened, because he hadn 't shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawk-like, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up...” (Oates 510). Arnold proved similar to the wolf as he also disguised himself. The subtle reference to “The Three Little Pigs” is noticed towards the end of the story when Arnold, or the wolf, tries to lure Connie out of the house: “This place you are now-inside your daddy 's house-is nothing but a
Open Document