WAYGWHYB

This story by Joyce Carol Oates may have been better understood if read in the time it was set in, presumably the mid-60s. It was a time when male and females were not considered equal, and females did not have as much power as males. Men could use force and brute to get their way, and in this piece of fiction, Arnold tried to cajole Connie into coming with him for a ride. He first used sweet talk and reference to popular music lyrics to get into her head. Finally, he resorted to threats regarding her family’s well being if she would not come with him, or if Connie called the police.
Arnold had said he was “gonna get [her]” when she had walked by him with Eddie the night before, yet she barely remembered who he was when he and Ellie drove out to her home the next day. It was likely just a game to her, and flirting from a guy that meant nothing to her. Connie was enjoying her coming of age and was too naïve to realize the dangers that could be involved in freely expressing sexuality. She was enjoying things for the moment and did not realize how it might look to others.
Whether Arnold Friend (facetiously named or at least called himself!) intentionally set out to rape Connie or just thought he could get a “piece” is not known. But in the end, she gave in to be taken away as she was either protecting her family, meaning she cared about them after all, or she felt her situation was helpless. She may have even thought she deserved what she was about to get for having two sides to herself—the side for her family and the wild side for boys!