“She spoke sullenly, careful to show no interest or pleasure, and he spoke in a fas, bright monotone.”What is the meaning behind and the...

In this story Connie is a adolescent girl who believes she
knows all about the world in which she lives, and that her mother hasn't a clue.
 Although her mother tries to teach her to behave herself, Connie plays the game of a
daughter who listens and knows better than to behave poorly as other girls might, when
in fact, she sneaks around behind her mother's back, hanging with an older
crowd.

One day at the diner to which she sneaks, she
catches the eye of a guy in a gold painted car.  While aware of him, she continues on
her way with the boy she is hanging out with, and thinks no more about
him.

Disturbingly, he is all too aware
of her.  She doesn't know this until he shows up outside of her
house one Sunday afternoon while her parents are away at a barbeque.  She remembers
Arnold Friend (though he is anything
but a friend!)  from that night, and toys a little with him, not quite flirting through
the screen door, but not closing the door firmly in his face, locking the door and
calling the police.  (Of course, the more he talks, the more threatening his words
become, until there is an implied threat against her family as
 well.)

The quote, “She spoke sullenly, careful to show no
interest or pleasure, and he spoke in a fast, bright monotone,” describes the way they
speak. At first she is a little cautious.  She does not act as if she is flattered by
his attention, but does not act displeased either.  His voice says pretty things to her,
but the monotone indicates that the words have no meaning to him: like a smile on his
face that doesn't quite reach his eyes, he is simply going through the motions. Rather
than being put at ease by what he says, Connie starts to become a little
alarmed.

Connie realizes that Arnold is not what she had
first thought: he is not a young man like the other boys she hangs out with.  The other
guy in his car is not so young either, and Arnold's abrupt "barking" or yelling at his
companion shows Connie that she is in a serious
situation.

Arnold continues to talk to her and even as she
tells him he must leave, it becomes apparent that he knows all about her, that her
family is out, and that she is completely alone.  His monotonous conversation, and the
repetition of the things he says to her, mesmerize her until she has been subdued like a
charmed snake.

“She spoke sullenly, careful to show no
interest or pleasure, and he spoke in a fast, bright monotone,” ultimately parallels the
way they act with each other.  She takes no real action to attempt to shut him out, and
he continues to work his way hypnotically into her mind, never backing down or letting
up.  It is in this way that Connie truly starts to think and behave like a
victim.

She becomes aware that she is caught up in a
situation not only that she never imagined (for she truly knows nothing about the real
world), but from which there is no escape; horrifyingly, to the reader, she just gives
up and goes out the door to him.  The reader knows that she is certainly going to her
death.

(This is loosely based on a true story.  See
link.)