Come and Get It Summary, Characters and Themes
Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It is a compelling exploration of privilege, power dynamics, and the often complicated relationships that form within the walls of a university dormitory.
Set against the backdrop of the University of Arkansas in 2017, the novel weaves together the lives of three women—Agatha Paul, a journalist and professor; Millie Cousins, a driven resident assistant; and Kennedy Washburn, a transfer student with a troubled past. Through a series of intertwined events and shifting perspectives, Reid deftly unpacks themes of wealth, identity, and the unintended consequences of ambition.
Summary
Come and Get It unfolds over a semester at the University of Arkansas, centering on three characters: Agatha Paul, a journalist-turned-professor; Millie Cousins, a determined resident assistant; and Kennedy Washburn, a transfer student grappling with a troubled history.
The novel begins with Agatha arriving at Belgrade Dormitory to interview students about their love of weddings. During the interview, Agatha notices how the students—Tyler, Jenna, and Casey—downplay their privilege, which piques her interest in exploring their lives further. Millie, who arranged the interview, confirms Agatha’s suspicions, revealing the students’ tendency to hide their wealth.
Agatha pays Millie for her help, and Millie, eager to save for a down payment on a house, accepts.
Earlier in the semester, Millie had facilitated a room change for Tyler, allowing her to share a room with Peyton, a Black student, instead of Kennedy Washburn. Kennedy, who had come to Fayetteville to study creative nonfiction under Agatha, feels slighted by this arrangement, which sets the stage for her strained relationships within the dorm.
Millie is surprised when Tyler compensates her for the favor, marking the beginning of a series of exchanges involving money and favors.
Kennedy, feeling isolated, overhears Millie and the other resident assistants discussing an upcoming health and safety inspection. Hoping to gain Tyler’s approval, Kennedy shares this information with her, but Tyler dismisses her and instead plans a prank on the dorm staff with Peyton.
The prank is successful, much to Millie’s annoyance. Later, Millie encounters Agatha at a bar, where Agatha expresses interest in observing Tyler and her friends again.
Agatha, having written a successful piece for Teen Vogue based on her first interview, strikes a deal to eavesdrop on Tyler and her friends from Millie’s room.
Unbeknownst to Millie, Agatha is publishing these observations, including details about Millie’s financial situation. As Millie develops feelings for Agatha, the two begin a secret relationship.
Kennedy, who idolizes Agatha and hopes to join her nonfiction workshop, plans to write about a traumatic incident from her past. However, her aspirations clash with her responsibilities, leading to tensions with Peyton.
When Kennedy is rejected from Agatha’s workshop and finds dirty dishes in her bed, an argument ensues between her and Peyton. In the chaos, Kennedy accidentally injures herself, and Peyton faints.
During the incident, Agatha and Millie are together in Millie’s room. Millie mistakenly administers an EpiPen to Peyton, assuming she is having an allergic reaction. Both Kennedy and Peyton are hospitalized, and Millie’s relationship with Agatha is exposed. Millie’s friends reveal Agatha’s true intentions, leading Agatha to resign from her position.
Before leaving, Agatha gives Millie enough money for a down payment on a house and ensures she won’t face trouble with her boss, Aimee.
In the aftermath, Millie struggles with guilt but ultimately reconciles with her friends.
Aimee retracts Millie’s promotion but still offers to sell the house to her. As the semester ends, Tyler and Peyton move out, while Kennedy leaves Fayetteville, finding solace in the support of her former communities.
Characters
Agatha Paul
Agatha Paul is a complex character who serves as both a catalyst for the novel’s events and a participant in its unfolding drama. As a journalist and visiting professor at the University of Arkansas, Agatha represents a blend of ambition and moral ambiguity.
Her initial purpose at Belgrade Dormitory is to conduct interviews for a piece on students’ fascination with weddings. However, her focus shifts when she detects the underlying currents of privilege among her interviewees.
Agatha’s curiosity about the students’ lives quickly turns into a more exploitative venture when she decides to write about their wealth for Teen Vogue, without their knowledge or consent.
Her interactions with Millie Cousins, the dormitory’s resident assistant, reveal a more personal side to Agatha. Although she develops a romantic relationship with Millie, her actions are often self-serving.
She withholds the truth about her articles and intentions, manipulating Millie for her own journalistic gain. Despite these morally questionable actions, Agatha is not devoid of conscience.
Her decision to leave the university after her exploitation is exposed, coupled with her parting gift to Millie—a sum of money to help with the down payment on a house—suggests a sense of guilt and a desire to make amends, even if inadequately. Agatha’s character embodies the complexities of power dynamics, ethical boundaries, and the often-blurry line between personal and professional life.
Millie Cousins
Millie Cousins is a pivotal character whose journey reflects themes of ambition, identity, and vulnerability. As a Black student and resident assistant at Belgrade Dormitory, Millie occupies a space of both authority and marginalization.
She is acutely aware of the socio-economic disparities among her peers and often finds herself navigating the delicate balance between asserting her identity and fitting into a predominantly white, privileged environment.
Millie’s desire to save money for a down payment on a house from her boss, Aimee, drives many of her actions, including her willingness to help Agatha with her articles, despite her initial reservations.
Millie’s relationship with Agatha is a complex mix of admiration, attraction, and dependency. While she is drawn to Agatha’s confidence and success, she is also manipulated by her.
The secrecy of their relationship and Agatha’s exploitation of Millie’s financial situation reflect the unequal power dynamics at play. Millie’s feelings of betrayal and the subsequent fallout highlight her vulnerability and the consequences of placing trust in someone who ultimately uses her for personal gain.
However, Millie is resilient. Even after the relationship with Agatha is exposed and her promotion is withdrawn, she finds a way to reconcile with her friends and secure the house, symbolizing her determination to carve out a space for herself in a world that often overlooks her.
Kennedy Washburn
Kennedy Washburn is a character whose experiences reflect the themes of exclusion, guilt, and the search for redemption. A transfer student studying creative nonfiction under Agatha Paul, Kennedy’s backstory is marked by a traumatic event in Iowa, where she was ostracized after accidentally causing the death of a fellow student’s dog.
This event haunts her and motivates her to seek validation and understanding through her writing. However, Kennedy’s time at Belgrade is characterized by feelings of exclusion and inadequacy, exacerbated by her rejection from Agatha’s nonfiction writing workshop.
Kennedy’s interactions with her suitemates, particularly Peyton, are fraught with tension. Her sense of being an outsider is intensified when Tyler switches the suitemates so that Peyton, not Kennedy, shares a room with her.
This exclusion drives Kennedy to seek approval through other means, such as attempting to ingratiate herself with Tyler by leaking information about a health and safety check. However, her efforts are often met with indifference, which only deepens her sense of isolation.
The climax of her storyline, where she accidentally injures herself during an argument with Peyton, underscores her fragility and the deep-seated emotional wounds she carries. Kennedy’s departure from Fayetteville with her mother, while marked by some messages of support, leaves her journey towards healing and acceptance open-ended, reflecting the unresolved nature of her internal conflicts.
Tyler, Jenna, and Casey
Tyler, Jenna, and Casey are secondary characters who collectively represent the privileged class that Agatha and Millie scrutinize. These three students, initially interviewed by Agatha for their love of weddings, are portrayed as individuals who are acutely aware of their wealth but choose to downplay it in favor of emphasizing their work experiences.
This performative modesty irritates Agatha and serves as a focal point for her subsequent articles. Tyler, in particular, plays a more significant role in the narrative, as she is involved in various manipulations and pranks within the dormitory, often with the help of Peyton.
Tyler’s interactions with Millie are transactional. She pays Millie to arrange a room switch, demonstrating her willingness to use her wealth to get what she wants.
This act also sets the stage for Kennedy’s feelings of exclusion, as Tyler’s actions implicitly endorse the social hierarchy within the dormitory. Despite their seemingly carefree attitudes, the trio’s actions and the ensuing consequences reflect the often-unseen impacts of privilege and the ways in which wealth can insulate individuals from the repercussions of their behavior.
Peyton
Peyton is a significant yet somewhat enigmatic character whose presence and actions are central to the novel’s tensions. As a Black student who becomes Tyler’s suitemate after the room switch, Peyton is positioned in a unique social space within the dormitory.
Her relationship with Kennedy is tense, particularly over issues of cleanliness and personal responsibility, which come to a head in their final argument. Peyton’s fainting incident, which leads to the accidental use of an EpiPen by Millie, is a pivotal moment that catalyzes the unraveling of various relationships within the dormitory.
Peyton’s character, though not as deeply explored as the others, serves as a mirror to the broader themes of the novel. Her interactions with Kennedy and her participation in Tyler’s prank highlight the intersecting issues of race, privilege, and social dynamics within the university setting.
Peyton’s decision to move out of Belgrade but return for her senior year suggests a resilience and a desire to reclaim her space on her own terms, even after the traumatic events she experienced.
Aimee
Aimee, Millie’s boss and the owner of the house Millie hopes to buy, plays a smaller but crucial role in the narrative. As an authority figure, Aimee’s decisions significantly impact Millie’s future.
Her initial willingness to sell the house to Millie represents a potential opportunity for Millie to achieve her goals. However, Aimee’s later decision to withdraw Millie’s promotion following the dormitory incident underscores the precariousness of Millie’s situation.
Despite this, Aimee still extends the offer to sell the house, indicating a recognition of Millie’s efforts and perhaps a desire to support her in a different way.
Aimee’s character, while not deeply fleshed out, embodies the complexities of institutional power and the ways in which it can both enable and limit individual agency. Her actions towards Millie reflect a nuanced understanding of responsibility and support, even in the face of difficult circumstances.
Themes
Power and Privilege
One of the central themes in Come and Get It is the exploration of power and privilege, particularly as it manifests within the context of wealth and race. The novel interrogates how economic privilege is often hidden or downplayed, especially by characters like Tyler, Jenna, and Casey, who prefer to emphasize their work experiences over their financial backgrounds.
This theme is further explored through the character of Millie Cousins, who, as a Black student and resident assistant, occupies a position where she is constantly aware of the privilege surrounding her, yet she herself struggles financially.
The transactions between Millie and the wealthier students highlight the power dynamics at play. Millie accepts payments in an effort to secure a better future for herself, illustrating the compromises and ethical dilemmas faced by those with less power.
Intersectionality of Identity
The novel delves into the intersectionality of identity, particularly through the experiences of its Black and female characters. Millie’s interactions with the predominantly white students and faculty at the University of Arkansas underscore the complexities of navigating a world where race and gender intersect with class.
Millie’s race plays a significant role in how she is perceived and treated by others, as seen in her decision to help Tyler switch suitemates so that Peyton, another Black girl, can room with her instead of Kennedy.
The novel also explores the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation in Millie’s secret relationship with Agatha, a relationship complicated by the power dynamics of their respective social positions.
Exploitation and Ethics
Another key theme in Come and Get It is the ethical implications of exploitation, particularly in the context of journalism and academia. Agatha Paul’s decision to use her interviews with students for her Teen Vogue articles without their informed consent raises questions about the ethics of her actions.
This exploitation is compounded when Agatha extends her voyeuristic journalism to Millie, using her personal struggles for her writing without Millie’s knowledge. The novel critiques the ways in which those in positions of power, such as Agatha, can exploit the stories and lives of others for personal gain, often without regard for the consequences faced by those being exploited.
The Complexity of Relationships
Relationships in Come and Get It are portrayed as complex and multifaceted, shaped by the intersections of power, privilege, and personal desires. Millie’s relationships with the other residents, particularly Tyler and Peyton, are influenced by her role as a resident assistant and the racial dynamics at play.
The novel also explores the dynamics of mentorship and romantic relationships through Millie’s relationship with Agatha. The power imbalance between the two characters adds layers of complexity to their relationship, with Millie initially drawn to Agatha’s intellect and charisma, only to later