Delivering Moral Messages in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been and a Good Man is Hard to FindSchool shootings, suicide bombings bomb, rape and murder are words that are commonly seen in newspaper headlines and heard on the morning news. To most people, these acts seem like senseless violence. However, writers like Joyce Carol Oates and Flannery O'Connor use these same violent images to deliver a powerful moral message. Their stories “Where are you going, where have you been?” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are very comparable in the lessons they teach. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates begins with the introduction of its main character, Connie, a fifteen-year-old girl. girl. Oates makes Connie's vanity well known by telling the reader that Connie has a "habit of craning her neck to look in mirrors." Indeed, it is this vanity and Connie's innocence that places her in the path of Arnold Friend. Arnold will confirm this by telling Connie that there is nothing else for "a pretty girl like you than to be gentle and give in." In fact, critics generally interpret this story as Connie's initiation into evil. What's in a name? If you're talking about one of Joyce Carol Oates' characters, a name can say a lot. Arnold Friend's name can be interpreted as "I am not a friend" or "A. Friend" (Johnson 150). Regardless, this is a demonic figure that represents the death of Connie's spirit. In fact, Arnold Friend is based on a serial killer known as "The Pied Piper of Tucson." As Oates reports, this “tabloid psychopath” specialized in “the seduction and occasional murder of teenage girls” (Wesley). The flute player was in his thirties; However, he managed to counterfeit the clothes, words and behavior of adolescents. He also stuffed rags into his leather boots to give him height. These elements of the Pied Piper's behavior are very evident in Oates's portrait of Arnold Friend (Johnson 148). Joyce Carol Oates dedicated “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” to Bob Dylan. His song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" was his inspiration. The many lines of Dylan's song obviously influenced the story (see Appendix A). The tramp who knocks on your door is wearing the clothes you once wore. However, the mood and tone of the story also reveal more subtle connections (Davidson). Where are you going, where have you been » a...... middle of paper ...... and The Misfit play similar demonic roles and serve as reminders that evil can take many forms. They both violently cause their victims to have religious epiphanies. The price paid for their spiritual rebirth is immediate death. Flannery O'Connor and Joyce Carol Oates have both been criticized for their violent writings. However, the acts described in their stories are not insane. They are intended to show the purification of the characters involved. Additionally, they serve as a catharsis or reassurance of faith for the reader. Works Cited Davidson, Rob. Dedication of Joyce Carol Oates' short story to Dylan. March 16, 2000. Friedman, Melvin L. and Clark, Beverly Lyon. Critical Essays on Flannery O'Connor. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. Johnson, Greg. Joyce Carol Oates: A Study of Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1994. Portch, Stephen R. “O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'.” The Explainer 37 (1978): 19-20. Schott, Webster. “Flannery O’Connor: Faith’s stepson.” The Nation 201 (1965): 142-44, 146. Wesley, Marilyn C. “The Transgressive Other in the Recent Fiction of Joyce Carol Oates.” » Review: Studies in Contemporary Fiction XXXIII (1992): 255-62.