Answer:
At the beginning of the story, Squeaky comes across as a strong, no-nonsense kind of girl. She is able to fend for herself and also takes care of her older brother, Raymond, who is mentally challenged. This should be quite a big responsibility for Squeaky considering her age, yet she is able to take this in stride. For instance, she says that anybody who wants to be unkind to Raymond has her to contend with and that she’d most likely just “knock down” whoever it was.
