The boy introduces himself as Arnold Friend and shows her all the slogans painted on his car, including jokes and a secret code: 33, 19, 17. She notices he and his friend, who is seated in the passenger seat, are listening to the same radio station she was up in her room. Connie walks out to the front-porch, where the boy asks her to come for a ride and tells her she’s “cute” (4). She lies in bed listening to the radio and relaxing when she hears a car pull into her driveway.Ĭhecking her hair, Connie goes down to investigate and finds the boy and the golden car she saw in the restaurant parking lot the night before. She wakes and is temporarily disoriented before heading back inside. Connie lays in the backyard letting her hair dry and drifts off, dreaming of love. The next morning, Connie’s family is leaving for a barbecue at her aunt’s house, but she decides to stay home and wash her hair instead, frustrating her mother. Connie’s mother spends most of her time roaming around the house in slippers and gossiping with her sisters. Though she fights with her mother constantly, she suspects her mother prefers her to June because of her beauty. Later, she meets her friend and they return home.Ĭonnie spends much of her time daydreaming about boys and love in a general and vague way. He playfully laughs, “Gonna get you, baby” as she walks away (2). As they exit the burger joint, Connie spies a boy in a bright gold car smiling at her. One night at the restaurant Connie sees a boy named Eddie and she leaves her friend to follow him to his car. Connie and her friends often cross the road to visit the drive-in restaurant, where they find music and older boys. Once at the mall, Connie changes her persona, altering her walk, smile, clothes, and laugh at home she is bored and sullen, while with her friends she is bright and flirty. In the evenings, Connie’s best friend’s father drives them to the shopping plaza in town, where they spend time unsupervised. Connie’s father barely acknowledges his family, while her mother constantly criticizes her. Her mother compares Connie unfavorably to her older, matronly sister June. Connie’s mother jealously scolds her for her primping, but she ignores her complaints, secure in her belief that being pretty is “everything” (1). Joyce Carol Oates begins by introducing Connie, a typical, if vain, 15-year-old girl with a habit of constantly checking her reflection in mirrors.
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