How does Frieda break up the circle of boys teasing pecola?

The three girls run into a group of boys who are tormenting Pecola Breedlove by chanting about her blackness and her father's supposed habit of sleeping naked. These are the insults of choice, even though many of the boys' fathers might also sleep naked and the boys themselves are all black. Led by Frieda, the MacTeer sisters stand up to the boys and get them to leave Pecola alone.

Frieda comes to the rescue, hitting one boy and threatening another. Claudia joins the fray, and it looks as if the boys will beat up the MacTeer girls, but then Maureen arrives on the scene. The boys do not want to fight in front of Maureen and leave.