Rosaleen
May 8, 2008
What compelled Rosaleen to spit on the three men’s shoes? What does it take for a person to stand up with conviction against brutalizing injustice? What do you like best about Rosaleen?
Rosaleen had a few reasons to dump her spit on the mens shoes. All together, the men were heckling her about being blackand fat. They asked each other if they had ever seen someone so black in their life. “Did you ever see one that black?” said the dealer.(pg.32) The other man came back with; “No, and I ain’t seen one that big either.”(pg.32) And that is why she probably dumped her spit on their shoes.
I think it takes some bravery and also some stupidity for Rosaleen to do something like that. You would think that someone could think of something smarter and better to do if they wanted to get back at them for something. She probably didn’t realize that if she didn’t do anything that that could have made the men even more mad. Even if they had been yelling things at her to try and make her mad she knew she would be the one getting in trouble becasuse she’s black.
What I like best about Rosaleen is she won’t ever hesitate to say something; sometimes its dumb what she says but she doesn’t care at all. Another thing i like about her is that she sticks up for herself. When the men were saying stuff to her she didn’t have to say anything to them, but she did speak out with her actions. I also think that she is somewhat of a happy person. I like that because she obviously doesn’t have the best life, but it seems like she accepts what her life is and thats good.
Joe I think I agree with you! I think it showed that no one should mess with her and that even though she in lower in social standing and in society that she was not about to let people throw her around like dirt. But.. your also right when you say she’s stupid because obviously during this time period, blacks were blamed for everything even when they didn’t do anything wrong so she knows that no matter what, she will be the one being blamed even if she didn’t start it and even if the men were treating her unfairly.
Joe, I also agree with what you said. Rosaleen has a lot of pride in acting how she did. It probably wasn’t the most intelegent idea of hers, but I think her instinct was to first stick up for herself rather then weigh out the consequences. People often dont get notice when their going to be put in such situation so a lot of the time we have to act very quickly and make rash decisions. Her’s definitely showed where she stands and what she will and will not tolerate.