Student Question
What actions do Claudia and Frieda take against Rosemary Villanucci in The Bluest Eye?
Quick answer:
Claudia and Frieda sometimes beat up Rosemary Villanucci, their white neighbor, because she often tries to get them in trouble and mocks them. One incident involves Rosemary teasing them from her father's car, prompting the sisters to plan a beating. In another, Claudia scratches Rosemary's nose after being spied on, leading to a misunderstanding where their mother punishes Frieda for supposedly inappropriate behavior, while they were actually helping Pecola with her menstrual bleeding.
Claudia and Frieda sometimes beat up Rosemary Villanucci, the little white girl who lives next door.
They do this because Rosemary regularly tries to get them into trouble and makes fun of them. On one such occasion, she leans out of the window of her father's car while eating bread and tells Claudia and Frieda that they can't come in. Insulted by her arrogance, the sisters vow to wait until Rosemary gets out of the car and beat her up, making red marks on her white skin.
On another occasion, Claudia scratches Rosemary's nose after she's caught spying on her in the bushes. Rosemary screams and shouts, telling Mrs. MacTeer that Frieda and Claudia have been playing nasty.
In actual fact, all they were doing was trying to stop Pecola's menstrual bleeding. But before anyone's had a chance to explain, Mrs. MacTeer has given Frieda four stinging cuts on her legs with a switch.
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