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Having Our Say Part I, Chapter 2: Bessie Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Bessie can remember getting bullied by an older girl when she was younger, but her quick wit and fearlessness nipped that situation in the bud.
  • Sadie's soft-spoken nature is inspired by their father. Bessie knows that she's less pleasant than her older sister, but she can't help the fact that she has a 'tude.
  • Sometimes, Bessie even hates "all white people," but she knows in her heart that she's mostly thinking of the racist "rebby boys" that would torment her during her youth (1.2.7-8).
  • Bessie suspects that she's bitterer than Sadie because she's "darker" than her, and "the darker you are [...] the harder it is" (1.2.12).