How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
[Her] sister was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time – by her mother and her mother's sisters. (3)
As in the second quote above, there's an opportunity for friendship within the family, here between Connie and her sister, that is lost in their rivalry and hostility.
Quote #5
Their father was away at work most of the time. [...] He didn't bother talking much to them. (3)
Connie's father is virtually invisible and mute. Lacking a real relationship with him, her only interactions with males will be with the boys she meets at the drive-in.
Quote #6
The father of Connie's best girl friend drove the girls three miles to town [...] and when he came to pick them up again at eleven he never bothered to ask what they had done. (5)
Like Connie's father, Connie's friend's father is detached and uninvolved. He even seems to enable the girls' misbehavior by driving them to the plaza.