The Night Watchman: The Promotion Summary & Analysis

It was so unfair, Patrice thinks. Even though Patrice is the best worker, Valentine had been given the promotion. And she won’t stop talking about it. On top of that, Mr. Vold took away the coffee breaks and never reinstated them. The next day, Mr. Vold puts Betty Pye at the workstation next to Patrice. They start talking, and after Betty Pye talks about her plans to meet up with her boyfriend, Patrice says she’s never had anyone explain to her the details of “what happens.” Betty tells her she’ll explain everything, and the two plan to meet for coffee. 

At coffee, Betty Pye tells Patrice how to get away from men she doesn’t like and how to find out if a man likes her. She talks with detached practicality while describing positions that make Patrice put her head in her hands, laughing. She also tells Patrice how to have sex and not get pregnant. Betty asks Patrice who she’s going to have sex with, and Patrice says she wants the information just in case, that she doesn’t have a specific plan. Betty also explains prostitution to Patrice, saying there are men who come to the reservation, tell women they’ll get married, then they abandon the woman and “sell her to someone who puts them out for sex.”