Why do you think Leota and Mrs. Fletcher spanked Billy at the end for eating her peanuts? Were they angry about the peanuts, or did he represent something bigger for them? How did it make the women feel when they were through? Give your answer in 150 words, using evidence from the story for support.

Leota and Mrs. Fletcher had some negative feelings towards Mrs. Pike. Then took these emotions out on Billy . They were not angry about the peanuts but they were using the spanking in retaliation to Mrs. Pike. One reason being that Mrs. Pike found out and told that Mrs. Fletcher was pregnant. Mrs. Fletcher was angry that she did not get to tell people first (if she was going to tell it at all). Leota was jealous because of Mrs. Pike figuring out who the petrified man was and receiving the reward money. Both woman did not have a direct or relevant reason to be angry at Mrs. Pike. Their pettiness caused them to lash out at Billy instead of confronting Mrs. Pike who had given Leota the peanuts in the first place. Both women felt smug and satisfied after they spanked Billy.

source text: from the sketch here given it will be seen, that our good grandmothers differed considerably in their ideas of a fine figure, from their scantily dressed descendants of the present day. a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. nor were they the less admired by the gentlemen in consequence thereof. on the contrary, the greatness of a lover's passion seemed to increase in proportion to the magnitude of its object—and a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. certain it is, that in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen - - the reason of which i conclude to be, either that the hearts of the gentlemen have grown larger, or the persons of the ladies smaller — this however is a question for physiologists to determine. add punctuation to the following excerpt. writing under the name of diedrich knickerbocker washington irving aimed his potent satire at as diverse topics as political rivals such as thomas jefferson to the very ideal of looking back on the past affectionately: a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen

i would think its c but i'm not sure