In the year 1964, Charles Howard Schmid began his mass killing and raping of teenage girls. He became known as ‘The Piped Piper of Tucson’ because of the killings he preformed in Arizona. The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates is based off of the rapes and murders of the young girls by Charles Howard Schmid.  Arnold Friend and Charles Howard Schmid have various similarities including being able to take away the innocence of young girls. 

In the 1960s Charles Howard Schmid with his girlfriend (at the time), Mary French, and his friend, John Saunders began mass killings. One night, while the three of them were having a drink Schmid stated that he wanted to kill a girl. With the help of French, the three were able to lure their first victim into their plan. French invited Alleen Rowe, a 15 year old high-school girl, to a party. Instead of attending this party, the team of three brought Rowe into the desert where Schmid and Saunders raped her. Arnold Friend is modeled after Schmid. According to the article written by Harold Hurley “Cracking The Secret Code In Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’" Arnold Friend and Schmid have parallels that are “too clear-cut to have been accidental”.  Arnold, like Schmid, raped and killed young girls. He showed up to Connie’s house and tells her that he’ll take her to a nice field and, "I'll have my arms tight around you so you won't need to try to get away and I'll show you what love is like, what it does.” (Oates) Schmid was a 21 year old man who was short and muscular. He cruised Tucson’s Speedway Boulevard in his gold car while wearing pancake makeup. His hair was dyed raven black and he stuffed rags and cans into his boots so he appeared taller. Like Schmid, Arnold as a short man who stuffed his shoes to appear taller. He also drove around a gold car and preyed on teenage girls. Arnold had a quality where he knew everything about people he didn’t know that well. The first time he saw Connie, “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, ‘Gonna get you, baby,’” (Oates). Schmid is emulated by Joyce Carol Oates through the way she wrote Arnold Friend to act and appear.

Schmid took away all of these young girls innocences by killing them at such a young age and not giving them the opportunity to grow up. Since these girls were so young there is a very good chance that they are were still virgins. Schmid also takes their innocences because taking a girl’s virginity is equivalent to taking her innocence. When Arnold threatens to kill Connie’s family he is taking away her innocence. Connie takes part in the act of maturing by going with Arnold in order to save her families life. When the story began, Connie was self-centered and only cared about herself; and her actions conveyed a message that she didn’t care about her family. Her going with Arnold is a sign of her maturing because she’s giving up her life to protect her family members: 

"You don't want them to get hurt," Arnold Friend went on. "Now, get up, honey. Get up all by yourself."

She stood.

"Now, turn this way. That's right. Come over here to me.— Ellie, put that away, didn't I tell you? You dope. You miserable creepy dope," Arnold Friend said. His words were not angry but only part of an incantation. The incantation was kindly. "Now come out through the kitchen to me, honey, and let's see a smile, try it, you re a brave, sweet little girl and now they're eating corn and hot dogs cooked to bursting over an outdoor fire, and they don't know one thing about you and never did and honey, you're better than them because not a one of them would have done this for you.” (Oates).

Arnold is taking her innocence by taking her at such a young age. She never got to fully live her life.

Arnold also took her innocence by forcing her to live a double life. Connie’s parents were people that she never confided in. She would say she was going to the movies but she would actually go to the drive-in restaurant. If anything Connie’s parents ‘disapproved’ of her, “Her mother was so simple, Connie thought, that it was maybe cruel to fool her so much. Her mother went scuffling around the house in old bedroom slippers and complained over the telephone to one sister about the other, then the other called up and the two of them complained about the third one. If June's name was mentioned her mother's tone was approving, and if Connie's name was mentioned it was disapproving” (Oates). Connie was described as “one way in front of her parents and another outside of the house”. She wore one outfit as she left the house that was able to be changed when she met up with her friends.  

“She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home. Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head; her mouth, which was pale and smirking most of the time, but bright and pink on these evenings out; her laugh, which was cynical and drawling at home "Ha, ha, very funny,” but high-pitched and nervous anywhere else, like the jingling of the charms on her bracelet” (Oates). 

The only person she has for ‘guidance’ is her sister but all she asked was “How was the movie”.  Connie responded that the movie was ‘so-so’ because she lied to everyone in her family. When Arnold comes to her house and is interested in what she is doing and asking her all of these questions he is the most ‘parental’ figure in her life. He tells her to put the phone away and when she kicks it he says, "No, honey. Pick it up. Put it back right.” (Oates). Once she hangs the phone back up he tells her that she's a ‘good girl’. This is very ‘father-like’ of him. Most parents would want you to attend at family BBQ but Connie’s parents didn’t care whether or not she attended it. All Connie had to say was that she didn’t want to go and her mom agreed to let her stay home alone. 

There are many similarities between Arnold Friend and Charles Howard Schmid. There is no question the Joyce Carol Oates modeled Arnold after Schmid but the biggest similarity between them is that they both took away girls innocences. Arnold made Connie grow up by giving her the option of going with him or him killing her family. Connie giving up her life for her families life shows how much she matured within the little time that Arnold was outside of her house. 
