Joyce Carol Oates

June 16th, 1938

Lockport, New York

Syracuse University University of WisconsinMadison

 Joyce Carol Oates is known for being such an important literary figure in modern day literature. She has won countless awards recognizing her great achievements and was nominated for even more. A majority of her works are inspired, dedicated, or based on true events that have occurred. This makes her work that much more interesting to read.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Dedicated to Bob Dylan, famous American singer/songwriter. Inspired to inform those of the real dangers in modern society Based on the Charles Schmid murders in Tuscan, Arizona.

 The main character in this story is Connie. A rather flirtatious girl, Connie enjoys going out and meeting men. As you can assume, she ends up giving a stranger information she shouldve kept private. This man who she introduced in her life in a irresponsible way finds his way to her home. Shes home alone, nonetheless. Based on previous information given on Oates inspiration, you can assume what happens to Connie.

 She is kidnapped. The author never states if she ever returned home. Its hard to imagine that she did because of the events this story was based on.

Literary Theories
A literary theory is a study of sense in the nature of literature. There are many example of literary theories. One in particular is :

Story
When discussing story in literature, the main idea is all that is mentioned. An example used many times for this distinction is:
The King died and then the Queen died.

Story
Joyce Carol used the Charles Schmid murders to be the purpose of her short story. When comparing the Charles Schmid events to the short story itself, Charles Schmid carries the story line in Story Vs. Plot. Charles Schmid was found guilty of murdering three boys in Tuscan, Arizona.

Plot
The latter portion of this literary theory is plot. Unlike story, plot is more involved with detail and other aspects that really attract attention of readers. An example to better understand this distinction is:
The King died and then the Queen died of grief.

Where Have You Gone, Where Have You Been?

Her

name was Connie. She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right. The addition of names and actual details makes this a plot. A story just states what happens. Plot includes all outside information to go along with the main story. In the case for Joyce Carol Oates, instead of just telling the story ( Connie gets kidnapped by two men), she goes into detail and gives age as well as description and other entities.

(Continued)
"Honey?" he said. "You still listening?" "Get the hell out of here!" "Be nice, honey. Listen." "I'm going to call the police Dialogue is a component that quickly identifies a plot.

Story Vs. Plot

Where Have You Gone, Where Have You Been? Story Version: Connie was kidnapped. Plot Version: Connie was flirtatious and that led to her being harassed by two men. These two men eventually kidnapped her and her whereabouts have been in question.