KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS
RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
RL.11-12.9 Demonstrate knowledge of the eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY
RL.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 12-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
73 comments:
Story 5,
Brilliance arrives when an author tells a story that starts off wonder evolving questions rather than answers. Toni Morrison does so in this novel. We understand Pecola’s frustrations and conflicts with herself and the society around. We are told the events of what happened, in a “Flashback mode.” We receive knowledge on Pecola’s disturbing life at first, but not enough to understand the true meaning and reality with her story. Next, the flashback to her childhood erupts awe stronger than a smoldering volcano on endless rage. She tears off a doll’s head and despises whites in general to such immeasurable limits. The reader is left to think she is un-trustworthy or a psychopath due to horrid actions. As the novel continues, all makes sense. Oddly, the whores living above her may be a part of the reason to her sanity remaining in sync. They serve as better parents than Pecola’s biological parents. Such insidious-faced people in society involuntarily rescuing a girl’s mind from drifting too far south; they prevented any impish acts upon society that would have dealt great punishment to Pecola. This may prove that even with most corrupted minds, good fortune lies underneath that may save another’s life from depraved actions—purposely or accidently . Toni Morrison may be pursing the belief that all people have good in them, but something must be done to explore this out of their deep cavern. Pecola also has had many seeds planted within her, some physically, others mentally. Mentally remains the “ugly” part of society, as this is all she and her race know. Physically, she was raped by her father and had to overcome such devious odds of sanity. Some help may have drifted off of the whores. Overall, I feel a strong message in this novel persists the idea that all people have hidden good in them, along with unaware strengths.
Marso 1
RL.11-12.1
The most interesting quote of the novel for me so far is on page 174 of the novel, when Pecola states to Soaphead Church, “I want them blue,” when responding to the issue with her eyes. Explicitly, this line contains the power of the entire book in four simple words. First, it announces the desire for worldly possession. Every character in The Bluest Eye is shown in some way to either be envious of material possession of others, or the power others hold over them. In the chapter concerning Pauline Breedlove, numerous paragraphs elaborate on her desire for beauty gained through viewing innumerable movies at the local theater. Her want was not innate as she lived a content life before moving to Lorain, Ohio, but developed as she immersed herself in the plot of the films. A second example can be seen when one analyzes the section about Soaphead, and his desire for society to accept his wishes. Furthermore, throughout the novel, Cholly Breedlove yearns for success and harmony in his family, even if it is overshadowed by his alcoholism and fights with Mrs. Breedlove. Even Claudia and Frieda are shown to desire the wealth that characters like Maureen and the homes of Lake Shore Park. Finally, the statement reflects the sentiments the black characters in the novel express. They long for true freedom, equality, and status--both financially and socially. Even though Pecola may deserve her request as a result of the horrid circumstances and situations she has endured, the request falls empty to everyone except Pecola herself because others fail to recognize, love, and respect her. As I was reading the text, I also inferred that the colors mentioned in the chapters about the lives of the Breedloves were a vital undertone. Specifically, when the chapter is talking about the early life of Cholly, the friendship between Blue Jack and Cholly is referenced. I believe Morrison did not pick this name “out of the blue.” Instead, the line “Cholly loved Blue,” has an extremely significant meaning, because Pecola seeks blue eyes after she has been raped by her father. Although the dolls, actors, and stereotypical beauty at this time in the United States included blue eyes, her want of something blue reflects the relation to the color of her father, similar to that of how her mother describes sexual encounters with her husband. I believe extensive analysis of pertinent quotes like this one from canonized literature enhances the reading, studying, and intellectual growth experiences.
Shroll 2
RL.11-12.1
The most interesting and relevant quote to me was found on page 169. It read as follows: “He read greedily but understood selectively, choosing the bits and pieces of other men’s ideas that supported whatever predilection he had at the moment.” Explicitly, this describes the mind of Elihue Micah Whitcomb, explaining how he picks and chooses what he deems as honorable or important and solely remembers those happier, lighter topics, not the darkness and hate of other ideas. This quote makes the reader infer that Elihue is—while very diligent and intelligent—myopic and self-concerned. The whole purpose of reading (as previously discussed by Yann Martel) is to observe other perspectives, experience another’s feelings (as Toni Morrison would say) through the world of literature. Literature is a curious thing; literature is a powerful thing. Literature can calm, empower, destroy, ruin, or anything in between. I recently watched “Silver Linings Playbook,” where the protagonist throws a book by Ernest Hemingway out of the window when he is fully disgusted/disappointed by the ending of the novel. If someone did that upon finishing one of her novels, I believe she would be thrilled. In the foreword of “The Bluest Eye,” Toni Morrison claims her writing was not successful: “…many readers remain touched but not moved.” On page 122 there is the acclamation that physical beauty is “Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought.” Explicitly, physical beauty—or lack thereof—destroys Pauline Breedlove. We know Pauline is not physically beautiful because of the negative space encompassing her at the movies. This makes the reader infer that beauty is merely limited to a physical existence. But what about the mind? Isn’t the mind what decides what is beautiful and valuable and what is not? It is not the simple idea of physical beauty that is destructive, but it is the decision to listen to and abide by this idea that gives physical beauty the power to destroy.
Hallstrom 1
The quote I found that was interesting to me was on page 120. It was during the time when we were getting a taste of Pauline’s life in her perspective. “She was quiet for a spell, and then she told me I shouldn’t let a man take advantage over me. That I should have more respect, and it was my husband’s duty to pay the bills, and if he couldn’t, I should leave him and get alimony.” The reason this quote caught my attention is because I think it’s relatable. When an author is writing a novel, or anything for that matter, they want their readers to be able to understand and relate to their work. By adding this into her text, I feel like she’s trying to help other women and girls out by saying they deserve everything they’re worth. You shouldn’t have to put up with someone simply because you “have to”. Inevitably, men need to stand up for themselves too, but in most cases, the women are the ones who feel pressured to do exactly what the man says. Toni Morrison tells Polly’s story in the most sympathetic of terms. The stories she depicts of her old life give meaning, but the created meanings are often damaging and although in reality, this could happen; Morrison doesn’t want to see other women go through the same thing. As I see it, with the impact this chapter made on me, I’m hoping that other girls are able to see the same element. I also think that by stating it’s the man’s responsibility to cover the bills, she’s sending a message to the males saying that they need to do their part as well. Therefore, the moral I take out of this quote is to stand up for what is best for me and not let someone belittle me.
Larson pd 5
“She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people” (page 47). I find this insightful quote to be very important. With this quote, Morrison helps the reader understand that not only do people see Pecola as abject—she sees herself that way as well. She is so down on herself that she seems to think achieving blue eyes would completely change how she perceives the world. Pecola spots dandelions on her way to the candy store and she questions why they are called weeds. Pecola even goes as far to say the dandelions are pretty. Once she arrives at the candy store, she has a very uncomfortable and rude encounter with Mr. Yugobowski. The reader can infer from this passage that Mr. Yugobowski does not like Pecola because of her appearance. After Pecola walks out of the candy store, the dandelions do not seem pretty anymore. She even says they are ugly and they are weeds. Pecola believes that if her eyes were blue, incidents like this would not happen. If she had blue eyes, these horrible thoughts would not surface. Can the color of your eyes really influence how you see the world and how the world sees you? After viewing the videos we watched in class—Pecola is the ultimate negativity. She is a poor, black, young woman who is raped by her father. Pecola desires to have blue eyes in order to exterminate her blackness. She yearns for the physical cleansing that will make her appear like everybody else. The wish for blue eyes is the most important concept in this novel, in my opinion.
Rist 2
RL.11-12.3
The Bluest Eye is set in Lorain, Ohio, a small diverse town. The whites are generally wealthier than the blacks. The author, Toni Morrison, was born in Lorain, Ohio. Perhaps she chose this novel to be set in Lorain because she is familiar with it. She herself is black and knows what it is like to be treated poorly because of the color of her skin. The way Morrison introduces the characters is interesting. First, she describes Claudia and Freida. We begin to feel sympathy for them immediately because their mother beats them just for being sick. Next, we are introduced to the Breedlove family. They live in an old store, which people seem to ignore. Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove violently fight all the time. Sammy, their son, deals with the fighting by running away. Pecola, their daughter, would watch and wish one of her parents would die or she would die. The way Morrison describes the Breedlove family makes it seem as if Mrs. Breedlove goes looking for fights. She acts like she wants to fight with her husband. Morrison originally shows Cholly as a drunk and later as a rapist. Throughout the novel the author tries to get the readers to have sympathy for Cholly. This is a huge risk considering he is a rapist, but she does it anyway. By making us feel bad for Cholly, Morrison separates herself as a writer. Also, the prostitutes that live above the Breedlove’s are described. Through most people’s eyes, those women are trash. Through Pecola’s eyes, they are beautiful. Morrison shows us that everyone can be beautiful to someone. Not only is Morrison black, but she is also a female. Usually Morrison would be at the bottom of the ladder. Instead, she chooses to explore the virginity of literature. Black, young, female, dumb, and ugly—these adjectives describe the lowest humans of society, the most vulnerable. Toni Morrison decided to dig into this flaw in society and bring to the surface the reality. Just because Pecola possesses these traits, does not mean she deserves to be treated poorly. Because Morrison wrote about these sensitive subjects, I have a better understanding of discrimination and what it can cause.
Breitzman 1
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
In Toni Morrison’s heart-wrenching novel The Bluest Eye, there are two core themes in particular that are easily noticed. The first of these themes is beauty and the effects it has on people. Pecola Breedlove is someone on whom the desire for physical beauty has taken a grand toll. Pecola is a young African-American girl who is thought of as homely by many of the people in her life, including her own parents. Pecola believes her ugliness is caused by her dark skin and dark eyes and yearns to have blue eyes, hoping they will make her prettier. (Hence the title The Bluest Eye) This dream of Pecola’s, however, will never be achieved. We as readers learn of Pecola’s fascination with blue eyes from the very beginning of the novel. Morrison throws in little snippets about blue eyes all throughout the story. One specific instance that stood out to me was found on page 90 during the scene with Pecola, Junior, and Junior’s cat. Morrison describes the cat as having blue eyes and black hair. This cat symbolizes what Pecola wants: to be black with blue eyes. Pecola feels that if she attains this standard of “ideal” beauty, she will be prettier, smarter, more loved, everything. Morrison feels that this statement applies to nearly everyone. We all want to be what we are not because we feel that it will make us more desirable. Morrison is keenly aware of this and incorporates this as a core theme in her novel. The second emergent theme in The Bluest Eye is the theme of ignorance will turn us toward madness. Pecola Breedlove is a person who is ignored her entire life. She is ignored and neglected by her schoolmates, her neighbors, and even her own parents. No one (except for some crazy prostitutes) takes the opportunity to get to know Pecola and find out about her hopes and dreams. She is flat-out rejected by society. Her own mother is abusive towards her; her own father rapes and impregnates her. Pecola has never been truly loved, and her sanity suffers for it. Pecola is not the only character in the story to be neglected, though. Her parents, Cholly and Pauline Breedlove, were neglected throughout their lives as well. Cholly was neglected and abused throughout his childhood and grew up to be a raging alcoholic. Pauline was ignored throughout her lifetime and only felt joy (besides in her early days with Cholly) when working for a white family who actually paid attention to her. These two had to bear the burdens of their childhoods and when they became parents, used them as a vehicle to lash out at their innocent daughter. Morrison is trying to make the point that when a person is ignored and ridiculed their entire life, eventually the pain builds up and they can no longer take it. When this day is finally reached, they are driven into madness. Pecola is an example of this. By the end of the novel, Claudia notes that Pecola has stepped completely into madness. She has stepped into madness because the pain she harbors from her longing to be beautiful to her years of abuse and neglect. Through these two themes, Toni Morrison makes a staggering yet poignant point: if we as humans do not control our incessant yearning for things we do not have and are not loved and treated properly throughout our lives, we will reach the same unfortunate madness as Pecola Breedlove.
Van Ede, 5
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Before any chronological plot establishes itself in the story, we learn Pecola's father raped and impregnated her. I remain curious about Miss Morrison's decision to order the plot in this way as well as the consequences that resulted. What would be different if this section was removed from the exposition? On obvious terms, the reader would not expect the Pecola's rape until its actual occurrence—creating significantly more shock to the reader's consciousness. Perhaps, this is why Miss Morrison brings it to the attention of the reader immediately; she does not wish the shock and revulsion of the basic plot to undermine her implicit messages to the reader. This is especially true when examined through Cholly Breedlove, Pecola's father. In coming across the information that Cholly impregnated his daughter in the beginning of the novel, I immediately developed an overwhelming dislike for his character, based on no other information but that simple yet gruesome fact. In conjunction with the themes of hatred within the novel, we come to hate Cholly Breedlove before even meeting him. As we discussed in class, we stereotype Cholly into a group of hatred before understanding him entirely. Later, Morrison reveals to us, Cholly's entire past that brought him to this state of monstrosity, and we change our minds, replacing our hatred with pity. In my belief, this was Morrison showing me how I am still a judgmental and stereotyping individual, even with my beliefs in racial equality. Despite the outright foreshadow I was still slightly shocked when the instance of rape actually occurred in the novel, as I never foresaw it coming from Cholly's perspective opposed to Pecola's. My only guess at this choice in development was that Morrison wanted to create even more empathy with Cholly and further paint Pecola as a confused, obedient, victim. All critiques aside, I remain happy with Morrison's choice in plot order and development for it created a most stinging accusation directed at myself.
Cain 2
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Morrison does a surprisingly excellent job of making her readers feel for the cruelest of characters. We want to sympathize with a rapist and help a poor little white girl that never really stands up for herself or does anything to help her cause. Morrison brings her audience to a time when diversity was not only frowned upon but rejected and to a place that forces readers to feel, to an extent, the agony and emotions of being an outcast that Morrison’s characters are feeling. Morrison’s writing confuses me in terms of the order she writes in but I feel as though that is purposeful. Her characters seem so absorbed in the world around them that they don’t take notice of the passage of time unless someone else if affected. There’s no definite time line or any indications other than the passage of seasons. I think Morrison does this intentionally to make readers feel the inconsistency that her characters have in their lives. She develops her characters with nothing but negativity, constantly defining them by what they are not rather than what they are. I think this also plays a crucial part in to the continuous feelings of ugliness and incapability to be a functioning member of society because Morrison’s characters, as do we, live in a society that focuses on the minuet differences rather than the numerous similarities and positive qualities that people posses. Because of all these techniques that Morrison uses in 'The Bluest Eye', she profoundly impacts the lives of her readers, making myself and others question our values and what we see as morally and socially acceptable. How is it that we feel something for a man that takes his daughters innocence away and yet has vivid warmth to him? How is it that we can doubt things we’ve firmly believed for so long? Morrison writes with harsh truth and still as a reader I can’t help but want more.
Larson 1
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
One of the passages I found the word choice most interesting in is found on page 128. This section describes Mrs. Breedlove’s story. Specifically, it identifies her as an “ideal” servant to the Fisher household. Polly doesn’t leave the kitchen until everything is in order, she adores the little white girl, she makes marvelous culinary achievements. I don’t think she was called the ideal servant by coincidence, however. This whole novel is about an ideal after all. The powerful, rich, white men and their wives place an ideal in front of everyone and tell them it is beautiful. The movies for Pauline were particularly interpolating. Pauline is presented with white families, who are rich, beautiful, and loving. They are ideal. She then finds herself a household to match, and becomes the ideal servant—that is she has found a way to get as close as possible to making her life fit into the parameters that have been set before her. In her white life, so to speak, she has influence. She is powerful. Being associated with the Fisher’s makes her better than other people, better than her real self. She has become ideal. The next passage I find to be particularly interesting is on page 138. Morrison devotes an entire page to the description of a black woman. To me this eloquence is the most beautiful section we’ve read yet. The images are so real I can live in them. I feel like I know the woman Morrison speaks of, part of that passage calls to the woman in me. Yet this is not a woman I know very well, abused by white men, women, and children not to mention their own black men. I particularly enjoy the ending sentence that speaks of the black woman’s eyes as a “puree of tragedy and humor, wickedness and serenity, truth and fantasy.” Puree is a very evocative word to me. It could mean one of two things. The process of pureeing a substance involves knives and chopping and grinding and blending. This is a more violent and negative view. I see these emotions being jagged and sliced and diced in the woman’s eyes. Another interpretation could be the final product of a puree. That is a smooth, silky mixture. In this way I see the mixture being worn smooth and blended perfectly, equal parts all. The whole section was fascinating to me, but puree particularly so.
Voigt 7
RL.11-12.1
The novel The Bluest Eye is by far my most favorite novel studied thus far this year. I believe it is striking to me because the harshness it contains. No part of this novel is fluffy or watered down. Rather, it is speak harsh, cold, black and white reality. And, I believe we, as a general reading population must be exposed to this, so I am quite pleased that this book made our reading list.
Often in this novel by Toni Morrison, we are given a picture of a character, a scene, or an event in which we are to infer her meaning. It is not deeply hidden within, but not explicitly stated either. The particular passage I wish to speak about lends us some insight into a character and her personality as well as feelings.
Speaking of a young Pauline on Page 111, Morrison states- “Restricted, as a child, to this cocoon of her family’s spinning, she cultivated quiet and private pleasures. She liked, most of all, to arrange things…When by some accident somebody scattered her rows, they always stopped to retrieve them for her, and she was never angry, for it gave her a chance to rearrange them again. Whatever portable plurality she found, she organized into neat lines, according to their size, shape, or gradations of color. Just as she would never align a pine needle with the leaf of cotton wood tree, she would never put the jars of tomatoes next to the green beans.” I believe this passage is powerful because it speaks volumes about Pauline’s outlook on life and people even as a young girl. First of all, she knows she lacks control. Her life lies at the bottom of an abyss. She is a young, black, girl and she is fully aware of her lack of any control. Thus, she seeks the ability to obtain power or control wherever possible. So, joy is found among “arranging” things. When doing so, Pauline decides what is important or what is not. For once, (and probably only in this way) she has power and control. Furthermore, we see that Pauline is fully aware of segregation. It seems to be a humanistic quality that appears at a young age to desire to organize people based on some characteristic as so to create a pyramid of power. Pauline creates a pyramid in her arranging. It is ironic that the characteristics she uses for arranging are “size, shape, and gradients of color” all which are unfairly and savagely used throughout the novel to “arrange” people. It goes on to explain that Pauline would never put two drastically different items next to each other, similarly to the ongoing theme in the novel of keeping those with lighter skin away from those with darker skin.
Albertson 5
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Pecola never narrates and rarely speaks. Ironically, the character that is the focus of The Bluest Eye plays a minor role. I think that Morrison took this approach because it allows Pecola to be more. We do not get the opportunity to fully understand Pecola, so we cannot make assumptions or judgments of her. Because she is almost without a personality, she can live as a symbol of the negativity of the black community. I believe that the reader making judgments is important to Morrison’s writing. Very early in the novel Claudia discloses that Pecola is raped by her father. Morrison might have revealed the climax so quickly to shock the reader and urge them to continue reading. Reading the prologue had a different effect on me. I wondered why and how such an unimaginable thing could happen. As I read through the book the thought forces me to look for answers. Also, the knowledge of Cholly’s crime made me judge him immediately—exactly what Morrison wanted me to do. Morrison employs another strategy—telling the story from many perspectives—to preserve Pecola as a mystery and to show me that my judgment was somewhat unjustified. Like most other readers, after Cholly’s story was told I had discovered sympathy for him. The villain became the victim. We see a little piece of Pecola in each character that we come to know. When the abhorred scene finally came around, I found that I was not AS repulsed by it as I was at the beginning of the novel. I thought of all the news reports I had listened to about people doing similar unspeakable things. I thought about how I subconsciously judged them, just like I judged Cholly. Morrison sheds light on the darkest shades of human nature, and writes artistically about things that are bleak.
Rise pd 2
RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement)
“Our seeds were not the only ones that did not sprout; no one’s did.” Claudia is talking about the seeds she and Frieda wanted to plant and grow, but she is also talking about Pecola’s baby and the people she knew. In the book, no one grew as a character; everyone either plateau or had a downward spiral of misery. Dandelions are referenced in the novel as a metaphor for black people. Who decides what is beautiful and what an ugly weed is? Claudia decides that she is an ugly black girl and at the same time, passes a dandelion; at this time she decides it is a weed. Weeds and marigolds are important in the novel—begin and end with plants. The ending speaks of what really happened: when Pecola was raped by her dad; why Claudia and Frieda want to plant Marigolds; and why they care so much. The ending shows us the perspective of the outside characters making judgments on the Breedlove family that we have come to know and sympathize for. Shallow women using a 12 year old’s misery as the entertainment and main entre of their gossip session, “stupid girl… she carry some of the blame too...” Emphasizing ever more that judging anyone is foolish. You have no idea what is going on in every else’s life—but what they choose to show you—to cause them to act a certain way. I have always thought that, and always thought that if you really knew someone, knew: how they were raised, culture, and personal past and present, you would not dislike or hate that person. I really agree with the cliché “love everyone” I love this book so much because I feel that it forces people to think about that. If you knew the childhood of a rapist you might understand him better—not amend his sin, but understand. Your childhood, family, friends, job and anything else around you—really does affect your personality and life style.
Herrick 5
RL.11-12.3
Toni Morrison definitely did not place this book in chronological order. At first, she describes the life of Claudia, a young black girl. She also adds in Claudia’s story, Pecola. So we start to know two characters at once. Then she moves onto a woman who is classified as a higher classed black. This part also includes Pecola, and her role in the family. It then goes back to Claudia and that is when we meet Mrs. Breedlove. Now Mrs. Breedlove narrates the story. I am stopping at this point, because it is obvious that nothing is in order. I believe Toni jumps around so much because she wants to make us either feel bad for a character or feel hatred for one. She develops the characters at different times so we can understand who they are, and where they came from. Some of the characters wouldn’t have done what they did if they didn’t have a certain background. An example is when we first meet Cholly Breedlove. We know him as a drunken man who has raped his own daughter. We all think, why would he do that? What kind of father does that? As you keep reading the story, you come to find that Cholly had a hard life. He wasn’t a privileged young man. His growing up has created him to who he was. Pecola is in every ones story. We get to know Pecola from many views. We know her through her friend’s eyes, mom’s eyes, and father’s eyes. We come to know that all she was searching for was self-acceptance. She would not have been developed as well as she has, if it were only through her friends. We would only have learned that she has come of age to have a baby, and that she was not loved by her mom.
Pham 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
The structure is The Bluest Eye is sheer brilliance. The introduction of each character is extended and gets us to empathize with the characters. The background of nearly every single character is explained in the novel; although this makes the novel seem bland and redundant at times, they stories help us build tolerance toward each character, even when they do bad things. A prime example can be seen in the story of Pauline Breedlove. Early in the novel, we notice Polly (Pauline’s nickname) is very caustic towards her husband and towards her kids. We learn to dislike Polly for she is too harsh on her family. However, when her story is fully explained, we see that Polly has been neglected and seen as ugly her entire life. Her “ugly” foot and obsession with movies gives her the misconception of beauty. Polly forces herself to believe that impurities are ugly and unwanted and that perfection is essential in being beautiful. The obsession physical is simply darkness. It darkens her soul, her mind, and her life. Pauline’s obsession with physical beauty causes her to fight with her husband, treat her kids poorly, and worship the rich.
On the topic of Polly’s husband, whose name is Cholly, we see much of the same thing—an unreasonable attitude then a sympathizing story. Cholly is a drunkard that treats his wife and children terribly and even goes to have sexual relations with his own daughter. Yet we sympathize with him because Morrison indubitably urges us to. We are told of his first sexual relation and how he was caught and was scared of pregnancy. He blames the girl for his humiliation and getting caught yet not the white hunters. When he gets Pauline pregnant, he does not leave her. No matter how much he wants to he cannot and will not. This is because his own father left him and his mother tried to abandon him. Over time, the relationship hardens and Cholly and Polly begin to fight more often. Perhaps this is because Cholly does not have a father figure to guide him in fatherhood. The events that surround Cholly’s drunkard attitude and unconventional actions partially justify his behavior. This raises the philosophical question asking if unethical deeds can be justified by an unethical attitude or an ethical circumstance. The arrangement of events and character biographies in Morrison’s novel demands that we question our ethical and moral standards.
Woodward 5
RL.11-12.9
The twentieth century was a time of change for everyone in the United States, but especially for African Americans and other races. Worldwide events such as World War 1 and World War II, and national events like women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement changed the views of millions. Although one can gain facts and information from the Internet about these events, you can truly understand the thoughts and feelings of those that lived through those circumstances by reading literature. Both One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Bluest Eye are famous books by twentieth century authors that deal with racism, particularly between whites and blacks. In one book, the white people are the “bad guys”; while in the other black people are the “bad guys”. Interestingly enough, in both novels the blacks are the true victims. In Cuckoo’s Nest, you see the end product of white cruelness against blacks—power hungry victims, but in The Bluest Eye the reader is shown the slow molding process that teaches young black children to dislike themselves, which inevitably leads to the situation in Cuckoo’s Nest. However, The Bluest Eye much better depicts racism in the mid nineteen hundreds. By having both first and third person views that see regular society rather than the inside of an asylum, the reader can receive a better idea of what black people had to endure. As a whole, both books do a great job of showing the dangers of racism and the disastrous effects that it can have. They entice you to sympathize with destitute, abused characters like Pecola and Claudia, and to be wary of creating monstrous characters like Washington or Cholly.
Lippert 7
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
One obvious theme in The Bluest Eye is the issue of racism. Pecola has experienced so much racism at the hands of society and at the hands of her own mother she has come to believe she is horribly ugly. She has been so thoroughly taught that white is the superior race she now wishes for blue eyes. Her mother used movies to escape her lonely life when she was first married to Cholly and has used the white, synthetic faces of the stars she witnessed living perfect lives in the movies as her standard for beauty. As a result, Pecola has been ugly to her even before she was born. Pauline so despises the blackness of her family she prefers her time spent working for a white family. That is her real home in her mind, something to take pride in and actually cared for only because it meets her warped sense of beauty she achieved from watching the movies. Another theme in this novel is sexuality. I find it interesting that the whores draw power from the fact that they are whores. Typically we see this person who is down on their luck who has turned to prostitution in order to make ends meet. Not these women. They look down on all those around them, men and women. They even tipped a Jewish man upside down, dumped everything out of his pockets and then threw him out a window. They have become larger than life characters in the premise of the novel; Claudia and Frieda are even scared of the Maginot Line. Morrison created these three women to be inspiring and comical characters, showing us the power we can have when we make our own decisions and take pride in who we are. These women don’t care what society thinks of them, they just do what they do and everybody better stay out of their way. These are the only women accepting of Pecola and the only women who have ever shown her kindness, and, naturally, she wants to be just like them when she grows up.
Petersen 7
RL. 11-12.1
In the book, the text that left me uncertain started on page 113. The text talks about a man called Presence. Presence has no appearance, no voice, no smell. I was confused at first. My mind wanted this Presence to be an actually person, but reading ahead I noticed that Presence may be God. They both are written with capital letters and give comfort and peace. On page 113 it say , "...when someone appeared, with gentle and penetrating eyes, who--with no exchange of words--understood; and before whose glance her foot straightened and her eyes dropped." God is suppose to understand everyone and those in His presence can be healed. The next page 114 also gives support towards exactly what or who Presence is. The woman Ivy sings a song about the Lord. Pauline is the one who meets Presence. When she is in church listening to this song it says the music was sounds of Pauline's soul. She yearned for it and the Stranger knew. Stranger is also written with a capital letter as Presence, God, and Lord. After all this I was sure the author wanted Stranger to be God. But the next paragraph on page 114 says, "Thus it was that when the Stranger, the someone, did appear out of nowhere, Pauline was grateful but not surprised." The Stranger in this paragraph is referring to Cholly Breelove. Therefore my view is uncertain, unless she is talking about two different Strangers. Though this also could mean that Pauline sees Cholly as her savior from her lonely life. The one to save her at one of the lowest points in her life at the moment. But as you read ahead we find that he was not the savior she pictured he would be. Pauline defiantly has some relationship with God and throughout the book it alters.
Redford 7
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye has numerous themes that are brought to light in a memorable—as well as haunting—manner. One of the main themes that stuck out in this novel has to do with racism. Throughout the novel, the effect of being black impacts every character in the book. At the beginning of the book we see how Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola are affected. Claudia grows to hate white people. She despises them and everything that makes them “better” than her. Pecola envies the white people more than anything else. She dreams for blue eyes and the beauty that it seems like each white person has. This can be seen when Pecola drinks all the milk just because she likes looking at the picture of Shirley Temple on the cup. Frieda is more of the middle ground between Pecola and Claudia. She doesn’t seem to like the white people, yet she is more accepting of them than Claudia. However, the effect of racism is not only seen while looking into the mind of the characters, it is also seen in the way they are treated. The white people and even the lighter skinned black people treat them like they are nothing. This is especially seen with Pecola. She is always led into traps where she just gets pushed further and further down. This can be seen when she went over to the boy’s house in order to see the “kittens”. She gets blamed for the death of the cat after the boy killed it. She was treated horribly mainly because she was a poor, pathetic, black girl. Another theme has to do with beauty. This relates mostly to Pecola. She wants more than anything to be pretty. She has had a hard life and she thinks that if she was beautiful, things would be better for her. The main thing she wants is blue eyes. No one would want to do anything bad in front of her or to her if she had blue eyes. This belief is intensified throughout the novel because more and more horrible things keep happening to her. Part of this relates back to the whole race issue. The white girls with blue eyes live privileged lives, which is the total opposite of Pecola’s life.
Bender 7
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Reading through the list of standards this one stuck out as particularly interesting to me. Throughout the novel we’ve been introduced to current plot alternating with background information on characters of interest. This particular writing style is of vast importance in the novel as far as character development goes. Throughout the novel we see people and their actions. We then see things in their past that may have driven or affected these current actions. In my opinion the most interesting of these character developments is that of Pauline Breedlove. We see from her upbringing she has found no sense of belongingness and little to no sense of purpose. Him foot deformity has probably been a slight inconvenience to other members of her family and her only notable skill is to organize things. We then watch her find acceptance with a young Cholly Breedlove. With the knowledge we already have we watch and wait for the relationship to hit some major turning point and go up in flames. The relationship does fine at first and begins to slowly decline as Pauline has no one other than Cholly with which to talk to. We watch as the relationship slowly falls apart like rusted metal. In the present day Pauline is one tooth less and two “ugly” black children more burdened with. We see as even her own daughter is forced to call her Mrs. Breedlove and finds more comfort from whores than her own mother. Immediately prior to all this background knowledge of Pauline we watch as she beats her own daughter for merely spilling a pie. We are then forced to see her be called “Polly” by a little white girl. Insult is added to injury for Pecola as we see her own mother console the little white girl instead of her own abused child. I feel like the timing and delivery of all this information leads to an incredibly powerful and vivid character in Pauline Breedlove.
Wilde 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
I find The Bluest Eye to be extremely captivating as a product of the strategies Toni Morrison implements in expressing the novel’s contents. Particularly, I appreciate the unique ways in which Morrison introduces each chapter, or season, to the reader. The events in Morrison’s novel are not presented in a chronological order. Rather, they are portrayed via the voices and memories of two narrators. The Bluest Eye jumps around from a retrospective outlook to an omniscient take on the past events in Pecola’s life. The novel begins with what seems to be the writing of an elementary student. The sentences are very short, yet hold great significance. The short, simple sentences gradually fade to incomprehensible run-on words lacking spaces. This surely alludes to the idea that Pecola’s outlooks on life are eradicated as she experiences further horrendous acts as an on-set of her unfortunate upbringing. I feel that there is significance in the chapters being replaced with seasons as well. Perhaps this represents the ongoing oppression the black characters in the novel experience. Pecola and the others were born into an unfortunate life they are unable to escape. The small excerpts from the “Dick and Jane” primers parallels the archetypes of the lifestyle of the white upper-middle class. These brief introductions always connect with the reading to follow. For instance, “HEREISTHEFAMILYMOTHERFATHERDICKANDJANETHEYLIVEINTHE…” provides an example of how prevalent the images of white supremacy and perfection are to the young Pecola. However, despite the words making up the introductions, the fact that Morrison clusters the words together indicates how imperfect and unjust Pecola’s beliefs truly are.
Clearly there is much significance to the methods Morrison enacts in expressing Pecola’s experiences.
Arrowsmith 5
RL.11-12.1
At first, I was not quite sure what I would think of The Bluest Eye as it was about a poor black girl in Lorain Ohio. I have absolutely zero things in common with the main character, so how could I relate to her? Shortly after I began reading I realized that Morrison forces you to relate to not only Pecola, but even Cholly, another character that besides our gender we have not a single thing in common. One of the most powerful quotes from the novel is when Cholly finds his dad in Macon playing a game of craps, “When it was gone, he stood up and in a vexed and whiny voice shouted at Cholly, ‘Tell that b**** she get her money. Now, get the f*** outta my face!’” (156) Every person in their life has been abandoned, ditched, or left behind in their life. Whether it be abandoned by a parent, ditched by your friends, or simply left behind by someone off to do something else, everyone has felt that low, heart-sinking feeling that Cholly feels immediately after his father tells him to get the f*** out of his face. Though for most of us that feeling of abandonment is not from a situation as extreme as Cholly’s, the feeling is the same. That is why I believe Morrison is considered such a great writer in today’s standards, because she literally forces you to relate to the character whether you want to or not. Another aspect of the book that I thoroughly enjoy is Morrison’s bluntness. Her writing is up-front, raw, and not sugar coated. Her explicit tone, like the quote I chose, makes you feel as though you are not just reading about a story, but rather you’re in it. I look forward to the ending of the book, and possibly reading more of Morrison’s novels.
Guthmiller, 2
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
The novel _The Bluest Eye_ is set in the year 1939 in the city of Lorain, Ohio. It is a novel that holds a setting that is worn and still going through the Great Depression of the 30’s as well as in a hotbed of racial inequality. You can feel the dirt; you can feel the scars that are open on the land as well as the characters that inhabit it. “It is impossible not to feel a shiver when our feet leave the gravel path and sink into the dead grass in the field (10).” The reader sees this through the eyes—although not blue like she so wishes—of a young, black girl named Pecola we learn more about the struggle that poverty entails. Quickly we are introduced to her mother Pauline, Polly, or as Pecola calls her, Mrs. Breedlove. Her hands are “large and rough” and Pecola describes the pain they bring to her as she tries to rub Vicks salve on her chest. This rough start doesn’t get better when Pecola says that her words humiliate her; she thinks that she is a sickness—the words that her mother says to her at young age poison her development and self-esteem. Continually through the story we see a family that abuses and neglects their children, but we also learn more about their own neglect and their own stories of abuse. Showing us this, Toni Morrison develops much more complex characters and furthermore much more complicated emotions towards them. Should we have empathy for people that commit incest? What emotions do we have towards people in poverty? Toni Morrison, through the development of her story urges us to rethink these.
Ullom 7
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
“Cholly Breedlove, then, a renting black, having put his family outdoors, had catapulted himself beyond the reaches of human consideration” (18). This is the first time in the novel that the reader learns Pecola’s father’s name. After hearing the story of why Pecola is forced to stay with Claudia’s family, the reader does not like Cholly. He acted horribly towards his family and was a violent person. Who could possibly feel sorry for this man? Certainly not me. How could I feel sorry for a man who treats his family the way he does? Impossible. Yet, I can’t help but feel something for him on page 161. His thoughts are running across the page before he does one of the most terrifying deeds possible. “Guilt and impotence rose in a bilious duet. What could he do for her—ever? What give her? What say to her? What could a burned-out black man say to the hunched back of his eleven-year-old daughter? If he looked into her face, he would see those haunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate him—the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn’t she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How? What could his calloused hands produce to make her smile?” This really hit me hard. I wanted so badly to hate him, but I felt for him. I know this is what Toni Morrison wanted, and she was able to portray it exceptionally! The choices Morrison made while developing Cholly’s character are admirable. As much as I felt I should stop reading, I could not put the book down! I had to know why Cholly was doing what he was doing. This novel is proving to be my favorite of the semester thus far.
Bakke 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
The point of The Bluest Eye is to give a perspective of pain and suffering as stated by Toni Morrison. This is contrary to the popular “black is beautiful” literature of the times as African Americans felt a great need to empower themselves and spread the word that beiug black is not a shameful attribute. In The Bluest Eye, the feeling of pain is accomplished by Morrison giving the audience ample time to empathize with virtually every character in the book. We really get to know these characters to really get to know their pain. A shining example of this is Pecola. Pecola is a character with no redeeming qualities. She is ugly, poor, not exceptionally bright. Morrison informs the readers about Pecola’s life—from her desire for blue eyes to her rape from her father—in order to make the audience care about her as a human. Cholly, the pinnacle of black male stereotypes is a character we are bred to hate from the moment we first see him. Cholly does absolutely every thing wrong, and you and a reader are convinced that you are going to hate this fictional man until the day you die. Then he dies. We receive Cholly’s childhood story giving us a plausible explanation for why he turned out the way he did. As a reader we are forced to look back and think, “Was he just a victim of circumstance, or was this the life that he chose?” While reading Cholly’s back story, one cannot help but feel that the former is the true statement. Morrison’s masterful ability to force a reader to feel empathy with every single character in her novel is unparalleled. I have no doubts that with the territory that she crossed into and the great amount of emotion that is felt by this book, Morrison broke some significant racial stereotypes.
Robertson 2
RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Toni Morrison uses many techniques to encourage her readers to think deeply about the meaning of her work. She often speaks vaguely or skims over events, uses artful language, or describes situations with confusing speech and chronologically incomplete sequences. A specific example of her double meaning passages is the final paragraph of the novel.
“And now when I see her searching the garbage—for what? The thing we assassinated? … This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live (206).”
This passage confuses multiple themes of the novel. The seeds and soil could be society and Pecola, Pecola’s pregnancy and society, or even Pecola’s baby and Pecola herself. The idea of “we” is also obscured. “We” could mean, once again, society. It could also mean Pecola’s family or Pecola’s split personality referring to itself and her. There is a disconnect between who is speaking at this point and whom the passage regards. Because of the lack of clarification, the paragraph is a form of satire as it attacks (passive-aggressively) the shortcomings of the characters in question or otherwise in regards to the events of the novel, scorning the town with its garbage and sunflowers in a manner that suggests—with mild spite- that the events that bastardized and condemned Pecola were entirely avoidable and that it was no fault of hers that she was victimized. It sarcastically states that society (and even Pecola’s body) is so subject to the judgements of the greater ideal, the master narrative, that it will obliterate anything that threatens the norm and look upon the death of the unwanted with no remorse as if it deserved to die.
Dawn 2
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Hmmmm. Where to start? Why not go in order? The Bluest Eye is a very eye opening story set in the small, yet culturally diverse town of Lorain, Ohio in the year 1939. Racial tension/conflict is ubiquitous in this society. Why this town? The answer is obvious. Toni Morrison, the author of this amazing novel coincidentally was born in this very town. Growing up in Lorain as a female African-American it would be easy to notice the discrimination of the races and even genders. This familiarity would make it possible to put more emotion into the novel than if a random location had been used. Next is the order of the plot. Establishing a rape scenario at the beginning of a book is definitely and interesting way to set the order. Learning of the rape—and impregnation—of Pecola, by none other than her own father, was one of the first things the reader was introduced to, even before continuing on to tell the story. Even the way Morrison introduces the characters is very interesting. First she gives descriptions of Claudia and Freida that cause immediate sympathy from the reader—the fact that their own mother beats them with little provocation. Next we are introduced to Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove, both of which fight constantly. Then comes Sammy and we feel sympathetic to his circumstances being stuck with parents that fight. Next is Pecola who just wishes something would happen to one of them and the fighting would stop. Even though Cholly is portrayed as a drunk, and abusive rapist, Toni Morrison tries to and achieves the near impossible feat of getting the reader to feel sympathetic towards Cholly. Even after raping his daughter Morrison describes it as a gift. “Cholly loved her…He, at any rate, was the one who loved her enough to touch her, envelop her, give something of himself to her.” So although this feeling may seem strange, the author still develops the character in an unusual way that gives Cholly our sympathy.
Miller 5
RL.11-12.1
“His business was dread. People came to him in dread, whispered in dread, wept and pleaded in dread. And dread was what he counseled.” This quote speaks volumes though it seems not to say much. Dread. Not fear or anxiety but dread. The word choice alone is powerful. The man this excerpt refers to is Soaphead Church; a disturbingly sick man who thinks it innocent and friendly to violate little girls. His wife left him when she realized that his monotone and melancholy way of viewing the world, which was beaten into him by his father, was never going to change. His deception of Pecola was both noble and infuriating. Noble because he wanted her to be happy and see herself as beautiful, but infuriating because of the lie he tries to pass of as a miracle, and the way in which Pecola must obtain her blue eyes. Forcing that little girl to kill the dog named Bob was a terrible thing to put her through. Just because he was not able to do it himself he traumatized a young child to poison an animal. I personally despise the grotesque happenings that are so nonchalantly spoken of and treated as nothing on the part of Soaphead. Another thing about this man which I abhor is how in his letter to God, he states how he played Him; how God is jealous of him. I view this man as the lowest of the low and detest his character vehemently. Morrison at least gives us a small reason to sympathize with Cholly, but I get none of that with Soaphead. He seems like a character created for us to hate.
Miller 5
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Callahan 7
RL.11-12.4
Upon hearing that Toni Morrison is considered to be the modern Shakespeare, I was skeptical. Though irrational, I have the idea in my head that great works only come from the past. However, I was hooked on this book from the first sentence, the shock of which was clearly the intent of Morrison. To pair "nuns" and "lust" together, as well as "drunken men" and "sober eyes" is the epitome of the juxtaposition, the kind of writing that inspires and creates a genuine love of language in myself. The next sentence, or series of sentences, that really struck me occurred on page 32. The girls are talking of menstruation, sex, and children, all of which are subjects unexpectedly thought of by such young girls. They have been exposed to life at a much younger age than what I feel myself and most likely most of my classmates were, because they lack the shelter that we haven't even had to try to obtain. The particular part that I really was impacted by, however, was this: "Then Pecola asked a question that had never entered my mind. 'How do you do that? I mean, how do you get somebody to love you?' But Frieda was asleep. And I didn't know." The irony of the "somebody to love you" part—the fact that Frieda originally meant it as another term for sex, but how Pecola took the most basic meaning of the word "love". Pecola has absolutely no idea what love actually is, and feels the reason she is without love is her own doing. I feel the most heartbreaking portion is on page 45, when Pecola dissects her own appearance in front of a mirror, trying to narrow her ugliness down to a single feature. Lastly, I am particularly fascinated with the introduction of Mr. Yacobowski (page 48). The artistic quality and imagery of these sentences amazes me: "Slowly, like Indian summer moving imperceptibly toward fall, he looks toward her. Somewhere between retina and object, between vision and view, his eyes draw back, hesitate, and hover. At some fixed point in time and space he senses that he need not waste the effort of a glance. He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see." The sight of hatred and discrimination seen so many times that it is almost predictable; it is able to be analyzed in slow-motion. Perhaps this is getting too much into RL.11-12.3, but I was also incredibly interested in the "white immigrant", "taste of potatoes and beer in his mouth" and "mind honed on the doe-eyed Virgin Mary" part. These descriptions work together to spell out I-R-I-S-H. However, I tried to research the surname, and only came up with the meaning: favored of God. And really, how ironic to choose an ethnicity like the Irish, who were only above the blacks on the ladder of discrimination by one rung, to have the surname Yacobowski.
Rogen5
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Ms. Morrison forces the reader to look into a world of terrible deeds, and allows an absolute villain, Cholly, to appear is if he needs our sympathy. She twists the readers mind by showing a heinous act followed by a backstory on the perpetrator. The book reads as if,” Yes he did this, but it is okay because…” Ms. Morrison pushes the reader into the deep end. Yet, it remains to the reader whether her work is a sink or swim.
I was at first a critic of this novel. There are parts of the reading that make me want to set the book down. I forced myself to read one afternoon, and thought, “What is the value in this? Why would Mr. C want me to be reading this novel? What am I supposed to be feeling?” All I felt was sick from the graphic imagery that took place during terribly immoral scenes. Then I realized the hole in my criticism. This book is immeasurably unlike anything I know. I am a white male living in suburban America with a good family life. I do not deal with female difficulties. I am not black. I am not struggling to live. I have not been raped. I have never been unsupported. I am not Pecola. But that does not mean I should not know what goes on in Pecola’s world. This book is a gateway to understanding a way of life that I have been ignorant to. It has motivated me to not be like the devilish white man that Morrison believes I am. The shocking moments in this work make it real. And it is for this verisimilitude that I should come to appreciate and understand the world Morrison has displayed before me.
Westcott, 5
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
A quote discussed in my third during our forum earlier this afternoon was “He wanted to break her neck—but tenderly” (161). I found this quote particularly harsh, but important. It sums up Pecola and Cholly’s entire relationship in eight simple words. He hated her, but loved her at the same time. He wanted to show his love to her, but he despised her and thought she was an ugly creature. Cholly didn’t know how to love his daughter because he was not loved as a child by his parents. We are shown Cholly’s thoughts in this section of the novel, to make us understand his distorted thoughts while raping his daughter. In this same section, Cholly says how he does not understand how Pecola loves him. He doesn’t think he deserves love, especially from someone he is so cruel to. Again, he never was shown this love and does not understand where Pecola stands on the issue. Then, he becomes to be angry about the fact that she loves him as he thinks about it more thoroughly. He says it “irritates” him. He felt she didn’t have any sense at all, and he would not be able to return the love. He realizes that his calloused hands could not produce anything to make her smile, and he is ashamed by this. “But the tenderness will not hold”. Cholly feels that because of the person he has become, there is no saving him. Therefore, he is incapable of showing true love to Pecola, only the love that he knows.
Volk 5
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
When Pecola states that she wants blue eyes, I do not necessarily think that she is talking about eyes specifically, she is talking about the life that the eyes would give her. As a black girl with black hair and dark brown eyes, she is automatically looked down upon by her peers and anyone she comes in contact with. She lives a life that is pre-judged by the world around her. She knows that the reason for this is her appearance. Her life would be completely different if she was white (blue eyes). Claudia is not reading into Pecola’s words enough. She is taking their superficial meaning and nothing more. I do not think that Claudia would become so distraught over this statement if she understood what Pecola was really saying. Pecola just wanted to live the perfect life of a white girl. She wanted all of her troubles to go away and she knew that the only way for this to happen was for her to be white. This is obviously out of her reach. I also believe that many black children at this time truly wanted blue eyes in the sense of race, even Claudia. Toni Morrison’s word choice was meant to stump the narrator, but she knew that a deep reader would understand what the true meaning was. This has a huge impact because although it shouldn’t, it affects Claudia’s view of Pecola. Claudia thought that Pecola wanted to be even uglier, while in Pecola’s mind, she just wanted to be cute and loved.
The Blogger Previously known as Heisel 5. (aka Heisel 2)
RL.11-12.4
Risking scrutiny for expounding on the obvious, the quote I chose was on the last page, and reads, “Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently…” (206) Although I haven’t perused the other blogs yet, I feel like this quote will be overused. Fortunately, I don’t really care. To me this quote is the most substantial sentence in the whole book.
This novel does more than informing the reader about the culture of the poor, African-American communities. It allows distanced people to connect and understand the lifestyles of people that were previously alienated by our sector of the world. The quote I mentioned is the ultimate tie-in. It gives you a connection to all people—love—and it helps you understand how differences in background can drastically change how someone views love.
For instance, the rape of Pecola may seem like an ordinary “culture shock” that is typically integrated into novels to spark the interest of the reader and create publicity, but Morrison intended it to be much more powerful. The rape was the only way Cholly knew how to show Pecola that he loved her. Sex was the only way Cholly ever displayed his love, so the rape was essentially his gift of love. Looking at this from our perspective, it seems completely irrational and insane, but from the drunken Cholly’s standpoint, this is how he can show how much he actually loves his daughter. It is difficult to excuse something so profoundly wrong (in our minds), but easy to sympathize with Mr. Breedlove.
Using the human need for love, Toni Morrison is able to create a tie between all cultures. She makes a poor, little, black girl’s feelings matter to a rich, white hedge-fund manager—and that makes this novel a true masterpiece.
Lenz 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
The Bluest Eye, in my eyes, is the best book we have read all semester. Although, I am not a black girl living in poverty, I feel as if I can relate to this story. That, I do believe is the author’s point as she wrote this story. She said herself that she wanted to “write the opposite of what people expected,” and I feel she did just that. I expected this novel to be about a girl going through poverty and just that. As I analyze further into the story, I begin to realize that is not the case. Each new chapter starts as a mystery. Toni Morrison does not reveal who the chapter is about immediately. I believe that this is because she would like to peak your interest and get you to keep reading, as any author does. Once the climax of the story within the chapter is reached, Morrison reveals the subject of the story. The entire book is not all about Pecola as I had originally expected, but it is instead about her as well as the people around her such as the family she stays with (Freida and Claudia), her mother and also her father. Nobody can ever be sure of the exact reasoning behind an author’s choices, but judging by the interviews we have watched in class, as well as my own understanding of the book, I believe Toni Morrison wrote the book the way she did to peak interests and keep readers intrigued. I know that this method for sure worked for me. Also, the novel starts with “giving away” the whole point of the book by telling the readers that Pecola gets raped by her dad. I believe this was added to peak interest early and give that wow factor that many readers look for. Nobody wants to finish a book if the first few pages do not interest them. Although I do not know how the novel ends, I am more than excited to find out.
Forster 2
RL.11-12.1
"It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights-if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different. (page 46, The Bluest Eye)”
This quote is what Toni Morrison says explicitly while describing Pecola’s self reflection—a pensive, deep, suffering kind of self-analysis. This statement by Morrison is an extension of the obviously overbearing plot element of the novel. That Pecola is homely and believes in her own heart that she is ugly, wishes for blue eyes, and has many other characteristics of low self esteem is no secret to the reader nor the author. Though this quote supports all these true expressions, there is an ere of uncertainty to Morrison’s writing at this point in the novel. This statement offers up the incredible yet impossible possibility of Pecola Breedlove’s eyes being blue—and that that change would have greatly improved her life. Though this is a concrete change to imagine, maybe Toni Morrison yearns for an intelligent reader and analyzer to take a closer look. What if Pecola did not have blue eyes, but had the mindset of one little girl who possessed them? What if this little black girl believed in the beauty of her heart, not because her physicality gained high praise from society, but because she had a confidence and positivity in her every move? Yes, Morrison wants to express Pecola’s insistent yearning to have blue eyes. But, she also wants the reader to imagine a different, better, more successful life for a black child who is believed in and made to feel important just as those around him or her. This is not only a profound statement concerning poor Pecola’s life, but that of black children in America during this time period.
VandeBerg 5
RL.11-12.3
I feel that I can see how and why Toni Morrison chooses her words carefully in The Bluest Eye. On page 135, the text reads, "Far away somebody was playing a mouth organ; the music slithered over the cane fields and into the pine grove; it spiraled around the tree trunks and mixed itself with the pine scent, so Cholly couldn't tell the difference between the sound and the odor that hung about the heads of the people." I find the most keen of words to be slithering. It is not a word that we typically use. However, this is immediately after Morrison tells us that Cholly was intrigued by the devil. The devil was a serpent when meeting Adam and Eve, so it would make sense that the music would slither, like the devil. Her choosing of making Cholly not decipher between sound and smell tells us of his unawareness. His mother dropped him off, he is now living with his aunt, and finally his fascination with the devil. He is unaware of what to think, of what to do, and how to act due to his tough upbringing. He did not have a strong male presence for most of his life so he had no idea how he should act in such family occasions.
Backer 2
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
“It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights—if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different” (Page 46). I found this quote intriguing because in a way, I think it applies to all of us. We all can sometimes fall under the illusion that we are able to make ourselves “better” by wearing the latest fashions and having the newest gadgets. We feel as though we have advanced a step further into society when we obtain what others have. Pecola, however, does not wish for things such as a new dress or the latest edition of an iPhone. Pecola’s main desire is affection. She wants to be viewed as a person—not as a young black girl. She yearns for the feeling that she does not even receive at home: love. Pecola has been under the impression her whole life that to be loved, you must be beautiful. She uses her misinterpretation of the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, to drive her to desire blue eyes. To her, blue eyes symbolize beauty. She wants others to see her differently, but her main goal is to see HERSELF differently. She believes that if she “improves”, the undesirable aspects in her everyday life would improve as well—“If she looked different, beautiful, maybe Cholly would be different, and Mrs. Breedlove too” (Page 46). Pecola’s only outlook on the world is the one that others have provided for her. She has been taught that she is nothing, so she is going to BELIEVE that she is nothing. The absurd idea of her wanting to obtain blue eyes represents how she is the perfect victim. She shares the feeling of desire that we do, but unlike many of us, she desires something that she can never obtain.
K. Peterson 7
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Cholly Breedlove is one of the many characters in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. During chapter eight Spring the reader learns more about his heart wrenching past. This section was added to generate sympathy for this horrid man. Growing up Cholly is thrown away by his mother and his father ditches before Cholly is born. Aunt Jimmy ends up caring for Cholly as he grows up until she tragically dies and Cholly leaves his family on a search to find his dad. When Cholly finally finds his dad, he is rejected again. Throughout his whole life, Cholly has been thrown to the side and the reader could hypothesize that the reason he is so unemotional is due to all this rejection. One quote about Cholly that really shows his nonexistent emotion is “for he had already kill three men” (pg. 159). Killing three men counts as a horrid action and we only get the explanation in one sentence. When I first read this quote I want to know why he killed these men and how did he kill these men. I felt that Toni Morrison left out a huge chunk of the story. While in our small group discussion today, we talked about this quote. Our conclusion is that Toni did not explain the how and why because that was not significant to Cholly so it should not be significant to the reader. Cholly’s ability to not feel normal emotions covered up the feelings of shame and guilt one usually feels after killing another human being. This quote is another explanation of Cholly’s true character. After reading this section I still do not feel sorry for Cholly but maybe more understanding towards him. He had a tough past and maybe does not fully understand the consequences of his actions. The matter uncertain in this quote is how and why Cholly killed these men but our uncertainty was for a reason.
Poppenga 1
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
The Bluest Eye encompasses a quantity of autobiographical elements. It is set in the town where Morrison grew up, and it is told from the point of view of a nine-year-old, the age Morrison would have been the year the novel takes place (1941). Like the MacTeer family, Morrison’s family struggled to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Morrison grew up listening to her mother singing and her grandfather playing the violin, just like Claudia. In the novel’s afterword, Morrison explains that the story developed out of a conversation she had had in elementary school with a little girl, who longed for blue eyes. She was still thinking about this conversation in the 1960s, when the Black is Beautiful movement was working to repossess African-American beauty, and she originated her first novel.
Morrison introduces her audience to the pathetic, needy girl Pecola Breedlove by stating that Pecola was to live with Claudia and her sister, arriving with no clothes but what was on her back. This introduction helps the audience understand that Pecola is black, a child, and poor—everything society back then looked down upon (and some still do today). Cholly Breedlove, Pecola’s father, is a wretched man who Morrison tells us impregnates his own daughter. Starting off his introduction by this statement already makes her readers despise Cholly and feel bad for Pathetic Pecola. Later on, Morrison wants us to sympathize Cholly because he was dropped off in a dumpster only 4 days old. Whilst discussing this with my fellow classmate Emily Larson, we both agreed upon the fact that neither of us sympathize this pathetic, greedy man even though he has had traumatic events occur in his life.
Hanzel 7
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. Throughout The Bluest Eye novel, many potent ideas are uncovered. The first the theme that stands out to me is the theme of race. In the novel, the white race is associated with beauty, perfection, and success. The black race is associated with poverty, hatred, and unattractiveness. Pecola is a strong example of this. Being a young black girl, she believes there is no possibility to ever be beautiful or pretty. She dreams and prays for blue eyes to be pretty. If the blacks cannot be white or better than the whites, they will attempt to be better than one another- no one wants to be at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. This clash between the blacks leads to another theme in the novel, The Bluest Eye. This is the theme of appearance. Pecola worries about her appearance because of her race. She would do whatever it takes to become white and pretty like the other girls she sees around town. Pecola and her mother, Pauline, share this want for a well-off appearance. Pauline even gets into arguments with her husband about her want for money for clothing while he would rather spend the money on his addiction. These two themes continue to build upon one another throughout the novel to create an interesting and complex plot.
Andersen
Period 2
RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
When discussing the dandelions, they go off about how they are weeds and they are ugly, they grow up in places where they are unwanted like in the cracks of sidewalks and in people’s yards. The dandelions are supposed to represent the black people and explaining how they grow in places where they are unwanted. They are like the seeds that do not sprout. No one develops as a character into something more mature, they all dwindle down for they are constantly looked down upon because of their race. And because things cannot grow in unfertile soil, the race of blacks cannot grow to become something more, they are stuck in a rut where they are continually looked down upon along with being told, and treated like they are less. The dandelions are an excellent way of explaining black during this time for dandelions can grow, but are not wanted. Blacks have the capability to become something amazing if there is a crack in the sidewalk where they can grow. Sadly, to this point, they are not recognized as being anything more than an ugly weed that is a nuisance and is unwanted by everyone other than rich people who use them as workers, like dandelions are used for games, or wishes among kids. The black people are also seen as ugly, because of the color of their skin and because we fear them. To avoid our fear, we install fear inside of them by beating them and chopping them down as we do dandelions. Because we continually tell them they are ugly, they begin to believe that they are ugly and cannot escape the diminishing thoughts that occur based on their features and the color of their skin.
Gallo 2
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
I found this standard to be the most applicable to the novel we are currently reading. It is almost immediately obvious that the narrative is “(broken) into parts that (have) to be reassembled by the reader.” After all, Morrison says just that in her foreword. It then follows that the decision to structure specific parts of the text in the manner it was done was a conscious decision by the author, and it is certainly worth considering the implications and impact of said decision.
Would the novel have surged to the same prominence without the broken plot? I believe not. First of all, the disordered plot is simply more interesting. It demands focus and active reading on the part of the reader. Additionally, this novel covers some very fragile topics, and I believe the maturity and subtlety of the plot arrangement is what convinces the reader to visualize the plot, a plot that might otherwise deter many readers immediately. The way the characters are introduced, and then really introduced—we learn to care about each character and feel for them—justifies their later actions in light of the lack of potential we—the white majority—have endowed them with. It is this plot that allows us to understand and sympathize with Cholly after he rapes his daughter. We are first introduced to the family, followed by a detailed account of Cholly’s background. His background explains why he fails to flourish in the garden we call society, and we grasp a few of the variables that ultimately led to the climax: Pecola’s rape.
Toni Morrison says in her foreword that the goal of her plot sequence was to move the reader. She attempted to grant us a caring attitude by helping us understand the psyches of each of the pivotal characters through a knowing narrator. In this way, we would not see the event as one terrible, isolated occurrence in a black community, but rather as a societal oppression of an entire race rooted deeply in centuries-old racism. The wide range of perspectives, of backgrounds, makes the granting of this understanding to the reader feasible. We begin to realize that, truly, these humans were seeds planted in rocky soil. Society has nearly eliminated their chances for success. Indubitably, this revelation could not be reached if the plot was merely a well-written account of one African American’s oppressed life.
Nifong 1
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
In preparation for today’s forum I took a ton of notes. I found this section of the reading to be very interesting. The first quote I have in my notebook from this section is from the passage about Mr. Henry touching Freida. This passage confused me. I couldn’t figure out if she was crying because she got touched inappropriately or if her father’s behavior about the matter freaked her out. However, today during the forum I was introduced to the concept of her crying because she is “ruined”. “…Mama should take me to the doctor, because I might be ruined.” Another section I found very intriguing was the passages about Pauline Breedlove’s job. She forms another identity. Pauline and Polly are two separate identities. When she is at work she gets to play house with perfect white people, and when she arrives home her ugly daughter reminds her of the reality that she lives in. On page 109 she refers to the blonde headed little girl as “baby” and she consoles her. Also on page 109 she calls her own daughter a “crazy fool” directly contrasting the two girls; and clearly showing her favor of the white girl over Pecola. Within this reading I found many mentions of different colors. Green was mentioned at least 5 times. (I tried to keep a tally.) During our forum we discussed green could symbolize envy, money, or the cliché “the grass is greener on the other side.” The color purple was noted at least 3 times. Although I’m not sure what the color might symbolize within the novel. Purple is often affiliated with royalty, luxury, and power.
Waldera 5
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
The Bluest Eye is set in the city of Lorain, Ohio. The time period is in the 30's and the Great Depression is going on. It is very evident in this novel that times are hard from the very beginning. Not only are they economically hard, it is also racially a very hard time for African Americans. The mood from page one is a sullen, glommy one. The story is told through the perspective of a young black girl: Pecola. She symbolizes everything that people of that time period were trying to not be: ugly, black, and poor. Her family is introduced quickly. Her mother Pauline is taking care of Pecola because she is sick. This instaintly sets a feeling of dirtyness. Pauline rubs Vicks salve on Pecola's chest and even puts a little dab into her mouth for her to swollow. For me, this was an awkward and uncomfortable scene right from the start. Throughout the rest of the novel, atleast to the point where we have read up to, there is a constant theme of neglection towards the mother's own children. In place of compasion for their children is a longing and tenderness towards whites and everything that has to do with the color white. Throughout the novel there are always alternitive motives for each action. Toni Morrison does this to make think even harder than normal and really analyze what is going on as you read.
Myrlie 2
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
While reading The Bluest Eye I was greatly drawn in during Cholly’s childhood. Cholly endured an early life more rough than I could ever imagine. He was literally thrown away when he was a baby. I find that the most interesting aspect of Cholly’s life is his relationship with the drayman, Blue Jack. The name Blue is beyond fitting. Pecola longs for blue eyes, whereas her father was influenced by Blue.
Cholly only goes into depth about one particularly story of him and Blue. The bone chilling story took place at a church picnic during the Fourth of July. A father is about ready to break open a watermelon so the family can have a nice refreshing snack. At this moment, Cholly thinks that the father might look like what God looks like. He quickly realizes that he is wrong – black men represent the devil. When Cholly grows up he is foreshadowing that he will be a devilish character. “He never felt anything thinking about God, but just the idea of the devil excited him.” (134) To people that do not know the truth, God comes off as having a strict set of rules. The devil is mysterious and easy to please – just go around doing wrong. After the father breaks the watermelon, the “heart” rolls next to Blue’s feet. Blue and Cholly then share the blood red heart. Cholly eats the hearts of everyone he has the chance to love instead of embracing them. One might be sympathetic for Cholly, since when he was only nine days old his mother and father – the ones that made him – had already devoured his heart. Never to heal again.
Beckman 2
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
Page 90 of the Bluest Eye is about when Junior locks Pecola in a room of his house. She begs him to let her go but he refuses to oblige. “He pushed her down, ran out the door that separated the rooms, and held is shut with his hands. Pecola’s banging on the door increased his gasping, high-pitched laughter” (90 Morrison). Clearly the text is telling the reader that Junior has locked Pecola in the room for nothing but entertainment for himself because he has no friends or siblings to play with. However it may also lead the reader to see it as a rape scene, where the more Pecola fights back against Junior telling him to “let me go” (90 Morrison) the more Junior feels compelled to not only continue aggravating her but he makes it worse. Similar to when a man rapes a woman, the more she fights back screaming and yelling, trying to get away the more he persists and finds the sick entertainment out of her horror. As soon as the woman would stop responding to the man he would be more likely to stop and that is the same with Junior, “curious at not hearing her sobs, [he] opened the door” (90 Morrison). Pecola stopped responding to being locked in the room when Junior’s mother’s cat approached her and Junior felt compelled to see what had happened, why she had stopped yelling and crying; he couldn’t get a rise out of her being locked up if she didn’t care about being locked up—it was counterproductive for him. The final element of rape that can be seen in this section is on page 91 when Junior rips Pecola’s dress just under her arm. Not only has he emotionally damaged her but she now has to bear the physical evidence of what happened that afternoon. Anyone she passed would be able to see that she was no longer in perfect condition, and in that sense it could also be a bit of foreshadowing to the fact that Pecola will be raped by Cholly….
Rusten 5
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
One of the most distinguished themes in the novel The Bluest Eye is the definition of beauty. The novel emphasizes that being white is what beauty amounts too. The black characters in the book all long to be golden haired and blue eyed to be accepted and not feel ugly. Which is portrayed by the white doll given to Claudia at Christmas. Claudia didn’t understand what made the doll beautiful so she destroyed it looking for the beauty. What she found inside the doll was a machine that made the famous “momma” sound which seemed almost fake. The parents also show the obsession of white beauty and take it out of their children. For example, Mrs. Breedlove believes he daughter is ugly and is very cruel to her while she adores the blonde child and the family she works for because she found beauty, order, cleanliness, and praise. The person who is most obsessed with this idea is obviously Pecola. She prays every night for blue eyes and she believes she will be ugly until she acquires them. She also believes that if she has blue eyes people would accept her more and she would be respected. Which leads us into our next theme. The next theme is hiding in plain sight. Which means that people know someone is there but they don’t actually see them, but are ignored as if they are apart of the background. This is also Pecola’s downfall. Of course she is seen when getting teased by the other black kids in school. Her mother doesn’t see her other then chores and her father either unless he is drunk, and we all know what happened when he did see her drunk. She is unseen unless needed which is particularly cruel to a young child because they need to be nurtured and cared for.
Bauer 2
RL.11-12.2
Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye has two main themes: outer beauty and its effects on people and ignorance will be our downfall. Outer beauty is the main thing Pecola wants in the novel. The thing she wants most of all is to have blue eyes. Pecola is young black girl who is not appreciated in her life by the people who should care most for her—her own parents. Her dark skin and eyes is what she believes causes her “ugliness.” Morrison makes many references and descriptions of blue eyes throughout the novel. The murdered cat plays a key role in this theme. The cat has blue eyes which is causes Pecola’s envy towards the cat (90). During the cat scene, Pecola believes the cat withholds the true “beauty”, black with blue eyes. Junior’s cat represents what Pecola wants most in the world. The second theme presented throughout the novel—ignorance will be our downfall—is represented through Pecola being isolated and ignored through her entire life. She is neglected by everyone in her life. Her neighbors, peers, and even her own parents ignore her. A couple of insane prostitutes are the only people in the novel who show any interest in getting to know Pecola. This poor, young girl is rejected by all of society. However, Pecola is not alone when it comes to characters in the novel being rejected and neglected. Cholly was neglected his entire childhood leading to him becoming an abusive alcoholic. Pauline also was neglected as a child and only felt joy in her early days with Cholly and when she worked for a white family who actually paid attention to her. These two were brought up it a terrible environment and now that they are parents, have done nothing to make their child’s—Pecola’s—life any better.
Tripp 7
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Reading The Bluest Eye has been an interesting change from the past novels. Morrison’s choices for how to develop characters and the settings in which they appear are truly different. Setting the main story in Lorain, Ohio (such a small town that most have never heard of) is interesting but makes sense based on the characters. The setting is also significant in that the town is where Morrison grew up so it holds some sentimental value as well. The biggest part that has stuck out to me as interesting or odd is the way that Cholly Breedlove has been introduced in different scenes. In the beginning, he is seen as dirty, naked, and drunk. Love and compassion are not words that would be associated with him. As the story progresses, Cholly’s background is unveiled. He was abandoned by both his mother and father which could explain some of the irrational behaviors that he shows. The sympathy that is created for Cholly at certain points is puzzling. Like discussed in class, why would anyone be able to or want to sympathize with someone who rapes his own daughter? I found this to be a question that was on my mind as well but I could not help but feel a little bad for him during the parts talking about his childhood. Most of the story is very puzzling in that it is about various black families that have very different outlooks on life. This type of story is disturbing yet refreshing. I am continually awestruck by Morrison’s ability to keep a reader’s attention through a chapter that seems to have no connection with the rest of the story. I found myself wondering many times where she was going with it but that only furthered my interest into seeing what new way she could introduce a character and how she would be able to make me feel about them in this scene.
Rollag 5
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
While writing The Bluest Eye it is quit evident that Toni Morrison wished to draw focus to a select number of ideas about society and people that are repeated throughout the book. Her major focus and theme was that society and its views on beauty are wrong. The first introduction to this is when the little black girl receives a little white doll for Christmas and she infers that is what is beautiful and cannot understand why she can never been beautiful in the eyes of society. This theme in repeated later when we are introduced to Pecola who is described simply as ugly but when she looks she cannot determine what it is that makes her ugly. Her mother is the one that instilled the thought that only white people can be beautiful after her many years of being brain washed by Hollywood movies. The second theme Toni Morrison develops is the theme of people should have sympathy for even the lowest of the social and moral ladders. She wants people to feel for the characters in her book so that they begin to want to change society because logic is good but emotion is better. She wants the reader in the beginning to have sympathy for how hard the lives of the black children are in the town from Pecola to Claudia who must work to survive. She then tries to make the reader care for Cholly by presenting the events in his difficult and emotionally scaring past and the love he had for wife. The book ends with a very difficult character to feel for Soaphead Church who is at the very bottom of the moral ladder but he makes Pecola happy by giving her blue eyes and making her believe she can be beautiful.
Scholten 2
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye portrays several themes in which two main ones stand out. The first of those themes that can clearly be identified deals with beauty and the effect it has on the characters. Young Pecola's idea of beauty centers around the idea of having blue eyes. Constantly being told that she's ugly, being bullied and criticized, and having to witness her parent's violence leads her to believe that she is ugly. She attributes her ugliness to her dark skin and dark eyes. The only way for her to cope with all this is to imagine herself as being beautiful with blue eyes. She yearns to look like the Shirley Temple image on the glass she uses. Pecola believes that with blue eyes she won't see the bad things happening around her. Blue eyes will allow her to change how others perceive her and what she's forced to witness. She desperately wishes to change eye color. Pecola's story shows what the beauty conceptions will do to a young girl, espeically an African-American girl living in a white-dominant world, who does not fit those requirements. As the story progresses, the idea of being beautiful is seen through other characters who imitate white celebrities. Pecola's mother tries to wear her hair like the blonde Jean Harlow. The toll of beauty is seen at the end of the novel by Pecola who ultimately loses her sanity in order to be perceived as beautiful. Morrison added this theme to the novel because it can be applied to anyone. We all want what we don't have, looks included. With certain looks, we feel that will be have a better, happier life. The second major theme found in the novel is sexuality which comes with humiliation, shame, and it deals with the loss of innocence. This theme is often encountered with some form of violence and abuse, also. From the very beginning, Pecola gets her first menstrual cycle and we read that Frieda and Claudia get whipped from trying to hide Pecola's soiled clothing. This first event of sexual initiation comes with abuse. Many of the characters connect sex and abuse together. Pecola is raped and impregnated by her father. Cholly's first sexual experience ended in two white men forcing him to finish. The fact that this experience was humiliating and shameful makes us realize that initiation of sex is filled with peril. It seems that everyone's first encounter with sex in this book is scarring, shameful, violent, or illegal. Pecola is raped. Frieda is groped by Henry. Cholly is humiliated by the white men. Often the women fall victim to the men. These themes are powerful and eye-opening and can be seen throughout all of the book.
Minihan 7
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
“The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly.” (Page 38, “The Bluest Eye”) This quote brings a blast of guilt to my conscience. The reasons the Breedloves felt this way, was because of society and all of its pressures. Pauline Breedlove was always attending movies at the local movie theatre. As she watched the films, she would compare herself to the movie stars and to the actors. Skinny bodies, perfect teeth, and even skin color of the epitome actors and actresses caused self-hatred and insecurities for this struggling woman. We were made in such an intimate way; each person is exactly how they are meant to be. This phrase gets used quite often, but “everyone is perfect in their own way.” If only everyone could understand this and realize how much they are loved by their Creator. Even though these characters are fictional, there are true stories exactly like this around the world. People have felt judged and impure because of these expectations and beliefs from those who were fortunate enough to win the genetic lottery, or even the environmental lottery. This quote says that the Breedloves did not need this storefront as a house due to financial reasons, but because of their sense of ugliness for themselves. If this family did not feel so dirty, impure, and ugly, could they live in a real home? Because of stereotypical judgments, the quote leaves us curious how the Breedloves did not need this run-down storefront because of their status, but only because of low self-esteem.
Steffen 5
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
One quote that we discussed in our thirds early today was “She was a child—unburdened—why wasn’t she happy?” (161). This quote from Cholly goes to show just how much he knows his own daughter. He does not even realize that he is part of the reason for her misery. Cholly doesn’t understand how to love his daughter. He doesn’t think he deserves love, especially from someone he is so cruel to. Conflicted that his rough, calloused hands, knowledge of world and life, heavy arms, and befuddled brain will not be sufficient enough for Pecola to love him, Cholly resorts back to when he felt loved. Pauline used to love him. Cholly is reminded of their love when Pecola scratches the back of her calf with her toe, much like Pauline used to scratch her broken foot. His mixed emotions of tenderness and rigidness parallel with his memories of Pauline. Their love started out tender and youthful but progressed to something severe and cruel. We are reminded of this by his expressive thoughts and verbiage. “But the tenderness would not hold” (163). This explains his marriage to Pauline and his feeble attempt at understanding and loving his daughter. Cholly is incapable of being loved and loving another person. Due to his parents abandonment, Cholly will never know what true love means, only the love he thinks is real. However miserable Cholly’s childhood was, I strongly believe that it does not justify—by any means—him raping his own daughter.
N. Peterson 7
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
The strategies Toni Morrison used to write The Bluest Eye really intrigued me. Morrison does not present the events in chronological order. At first, I found this technique to be extremely confusing. Not only are the events scattered around, there are multiple narrators and the story jumps from current events to past memories told from different perspectives. She starts by describing Claudia’s life, a young black girl. She also adds Pecola in Claudia’s story. Then she moves onto a woman who is classified as a higher black. This part of the chapter also includes Pecola, and her role in the family. It then goes back to Claudia, which is when we meet Mrs. Breedlove. Almost every chapter in this book begins by talking about a new character or a story and it takes awhile into it to make sense. I believe one reason Morrison starts the chapters so abruptly is to immediately interest the reader and get right into the point she’s trying to get across. She does not want to waste space or time and bore the reader. This strategy also allows Morrison to make the reader feel sympathy for each character. She develops the characters at different times and in different ways so we can understand the reasons behind the things they do and really understand who the character is. I think it is incredible that Morrison can make us feel sympathy for a character like Cholly Breedlove. Cholly raped his own daughter and did not feel bad afterwards! Because we get to read his story and what he had to endure in his childhood, the reader feels understanding towards him even after the horrible things he has done. We learn so much more about Pecola and all of the other character because of the tactics Morrison used, and I think it adds so much to her novel.
Clemenson 2
RL.11-12.2
The two themes I have noticed the most while reading The Bluest Eye are image and neglect. Pecola Breedlove has convinced herself that she is ugly. She believes that blonde hair and blue eyes are the most beautiful things and she possesses neither. She deeply believes that if she obtained blue eyes then she would become beautiful. Pecola covets blue eyes. For example, she wanted Claudia’s blonde haired blue eyed doll for Christmas because she believed it was beautiful. Pecola also liked the black haired, blue eyed cat because the cat represented the image that she desired to become. Junior killed that cat by swinging it around and throwing it. This symbolized Pecola’s downfall if she obtained blue eyes. (Pecola becomes schizophrenic when she believes that she has blue eyes.) Pecola may not actually be an ugly girl, she is surrounded in an aura of belief of ugliness and the aura is so strong that other characters believe she is ugly too. Pecola lacks self-confidence in her image and this affects the other character’s views. Another prominent theme in this novel is neglect. Pecola is neglected by her family. Pecola lives with Claudia’s family in the beginning of the novel because her family has been put outdoors. Pecola’s family does not pay attention to her. Mrs. Breedlove loves her white employer’s daughter more than Pecola and Cholly is drunk too often to notice his own daughter. Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove fight constantly. Mrs. Breedlove abuses Pecola and Cholly rapes Pecola. Pecola receives no love from her parents and she has not friends at school therefore Pecola does not know what it is like to be loved and this causes her to become mentally unstable. Pecola was born into a rocky life and sadly she was unable to overcome her neglectful and awful situation.
Hensley 5
RL. 11- 12.2
The Bluest eye is a beautiful and yet shocking novel written by Toni Morrison. Throughout the novel we get the very important and very controversial idea of what is beauty. As the novel develops we learn about how society sets the standards of what is beautiful and the horrific consequences that come with these standards. We meet a little girl named Pecola, who’s only wish is to have blue eyes. She thoroughly believes that if she can have blue eyes, she will be considered beautiful and be accepted by society. These standards were imposed on her from several oppressive sources. One source would be the little doll that she receives as a child. The doll quite simply is all white and deemed beautiful and “should” be what every girl wants. These standards were imposed by what was then a strong social-Darwinist society of Anglo- Saxons. This would forever affect how Pecola perceives herself as ugly.
Another crucial theme to the novel would be introduced on page 123 when Pecola’s mother gives up hope on feeling empty and submits to being “ugly”. This passage introduces the idea of those who are forgotten. Pauline wants nothing more than to be “filled” with something to remove the void in her life she is feeling. This void comes from the lack of attention she receives and her desire to be “beautiful” as it ultimately fails in her eyes.
These themes go hand in hand as we see that those who perceive themselves as ugly tend to be forgotten and disappear from society’s eyes. These victims feel hopeless and abandoned for they mean nothing to anybody. By using several characters with these feelings, Toni Morrison shows how this critical issue does not pertain to one specific individual, but affects all of us in some way shape or form as we seek to “fit in” with the standards and be “beautiful” to fill the void we feel deep inside.
Koehn pd. 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Toni Morrison is a purposeful writer. She writes near and dear to her heart. The controversial and sometimes taboo topics she selects to write about, call for specific attention, diction, and ultimately constructions. In The Bluest Eye, Morrison has to make the readers feel sorry for Cholly Breadlove—a man of murder and incest. One example is the incest scene which Cholly rapes his daughter Pecola. If the scene was chosen from Pecola’s perspective the readers could not possibly feel sympathy. Instead, Morrison puts the reader in the eyes of Cholly. Cholly, who was never loved, hated who he was and that his daughter Pecola loved him still. His struggle is shown:
“He wanted to break her neck—but tenderly. Guilt and impotence rose in a bilious duet. What could he do for her—ever? What give her? What say to her? What could a burned-out black man say to the hunched back of his eleven-year-old daughter? If he looked into her face, he would see those haunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate him—the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn’t she any sense at all?...What could his calloused hands produce to make her smile?”
Cholly is truly trying to find a way to give her joy, love, and acceptance. That is all Pecola is searching for in her life. Since Cholly never received such things in his life, he does not know how to give them to his daughter. The last sentence completely reveals his sick motives soon to come. Morrison inserted more foreshadowing sentences leading to the rape in her book, even in the introduction. The structure all holds the interest of the reader and creates suspense throughout. The aesthetic impact is extremely horrid. In my opinion, the fact that Morrison is able to compose a story about incest, while forcing readers to feel sorry for the poor fellow who committed the act, is horrifyingly terrific—literally. The only way she was able to accomplish this sympathy was by how her novel was deliberately constructed and her words expertly chosen.
Peltier 5
RL.11-12.2
Toni Morrison had several different themes throughout her book The Bluest Eye. I highly enjoy her writing. She relates so much to the characters and makes them so real. Three themes that I have seen throughout the book is that Morrison makes sure to place characters that would normally be on the outside and not even thought of to center stage. I remember in one of her interviews, she shared that in so many novels there is always a white person who is center stage. She went on to say that it was very rare for a black person to be at the center of a story, let alone a black child. So the first reoccurring theme I noticed is that Morrison likes to bring unknown characters to life. Even though they continue to be picked on, she still makes them known rather than hid in the darkness so that we feel pity toward the character. Morrison’s second reoccurring theme is that she always writes a book to find an answer to something for herself. For instance, she wondered how a person could feel so worthless. As she wrote about Pecola, she realized how awful Pecola must have felt. Toni Morrison’s last reoccurring theme is that she rarely has any form of humor in her novels. Sometimes in The Bluest Eye, I read certain phrases that would be funny to me at any other time, but how the wording and context follows certain phrases destroys the humor. When describing Pecola, Morrison writes…“Head full of pretttty hair, but Lord she was ugly” (126). I honestly wanted to laugh at this part in the story. I could just hear an African-American woman in my mind saying, “but Lord was she ugly…mhmmmm…” That phrase was humorous to me, but at the same time I could not laugh, because Morrison made sure that we would feel bad for Pecola.
Morrison has several clever ways to her writing. What I love most about her writing is that she does not do any of it to impress other people. She does it simply for herself.
Johnson 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
The biggest aesthetic impact that is most noticeable is the italics. Why does Morrison do that? Who narrates the italicized words? My theory is that italics are journal entries by Pecola. Before, the idea of writing was correlated with poison so it only makes sense that the writing should be exposed in the story. Obviously writing is a tabooed concept to the undesirable people in the story so it would be appropriate to incorporate Pecola’s ability to write. It’s very apparent that Morrison wants to continue to debase the black population. Yet Morrison has to be like this. She has to bluntly explain these concepts that everybody else works around because there is simply no other way.
The sentence structure overall is very basic. Many of the sentences in the story consist of very simple subject-verb-object sentences along with a few novice compound sentences. This is either just an awful job by the author or she is trying to portray the simple and grammatically incorrect nature of her characters. Again, this concept of defaming her race is quite the concept. She is telling it how it is so to speak, but I can see where she is coming from. At the time there were many fluffy books on how black people were so perfect in their own ways and need to rise up; when in reality they have their own issues.
I truly commend Morrison for structuring the book the way she did. Morrison makes the reader feel curious as to all of the niches in the characters of the book. With her flashback techniques and changes in narrators, she finds a way to make a topic that is often avoided and candy-coated interesting. The reader will actually want to work his or her way through the simple sentences and Black, southern slang to get through to the main point of the story.
Johnke Pd.5
I will demonstrate RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
The way in which Morrison sets up the structure of the book is simply ingenious. She gives us a background of each character in a way that gets us, as a reader, to completely judge. For example, she spends a long time describing Pecola and the way in which she presents herself. As readers, we tend not to think much of it, but subconsciously, everyone has already decided whether or not they like Pecola. Another example of this is the way Morrison introduces Cholly. We learn in the beginning pages of the book that Cholly raped his own daughter. Naturally, we are led to hate Cholly for who he is and what he stands for which is exactly what Morrison wants us to do. Later on in the book we discover that Cholly does indeed have feelings and morals, however small they may be. As we read on many are begin to feel sorry for Cholly. This type of reversed hatred is exactly what Morrison wanted from us. As readers we are forced to think more carefully about the characters and in turn, are forced to think about problems in real life, outside of the book's fantasy world. As we view our problems we can then also look over our own moral and ethical standards.
Pederson 7
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
When reading through the first few pages, we are given a haunting image of what is to come. The appearance of the master narrative almost seems playful at first, but it quickly becomes distorted and run together, much like Pecola’s transition into insanity. Nearly every sentence in this nursery rhyme fits in later with the novel. Miss Morrison creates misfortune within each of these chapters. A cat gets murdered, a woman feels empty inside, a man turns to drinking and gambling, and a dog is poisoned. Two pages further in, and we are given a foreshadowing of Pecola’s rape by her father. I supposed this is to help dull the shock of what is to come. However, I still believe we are meant to hate him, before we even fully understand him. Also, I wonder if it’s to help try to salvage more sympathy for Cholly Breedlove. By mentioning it before the novel even starts, the action of rape is in the reader’s mind as they learn about Cholly’s unfortunate upbringing. Even during the scene, we are given the perspective of Cholly, making it seem more like a drunken mistake than a blatant act of incest. Also, Morrison continually reinforces Pecola being a submissive, neglected child. The only people who pay attention to her are the three, men-hating whores that live right above. Even her own mother treats the white girls better. This develops into Pecola’s own love of whiteness. Pecola is forced into the master narrative, as it would be the only way for her to be loved. The way she absorbs the ugliness of those around her makes me feel so sorry for her. People will abuse her innocence just to feel better about themselves. This message of grief and misfortune is what Morrison wants her readers to understand, and I can never fully comprehend what these practically invisible children of this era had to go through.
Etrheim 5
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
Throughout this novel, we are shown things we usually do not see in our world. Saying “our world” I mean the wealthy/middle class society of Brandon, South Dakota. Another aspect of “our world” is our whiteness. Living in the upper Midwest, a very big agriculture region in the United States, we do not have or even see much of a racial diversity. Generally, the population is white—not black. Toni Morrison shows us the ugliness black people living in poverty used to have it with her book The Bluest Eye. Two themes in the novel that are very evident to me are racism and sexual abuse. Racism is everywhere in the novel. Even black children make fun of other black children because they are lighter-skinned. This perplexed me. I thought that black was black, no matter the shade of it. Maureen Peal also added to this thought of mine. When she was described in the novel, I was almost positive that she was white. But later in the chapter the reader realizes that she is not white—she is lighter black. Almost everyone at the children’s school likes Maureen and says that she is so pretty. This is an instance where Morrison is trying to establish that society views white as beauty and black as ugliness. The doll Claudia receives on Christmas is also a white doll and everyone thinks that it is so pretty. This is another instance Morrison is telling us that society views white as beauty. We are told often that Pecola, the protagonist in the novel, is ugly. We are told this by her mother and even she that she thinks that she is ugly. This proves what society has done to poor little Pecola. She believes that she is ugly because of what everyone else has told her. The second theme that stuck with me is sexual abuse. We are told that Pecola is sexually abused by her father. This affects her greatly. Pecola feels even uglier than before after these occurrences happen. Freida also gets sexually abused—but by Mr. Henry. He touches her and now she thinks that she is “ruined” like the whores who live by Pecola. All of these sexual abuse happenings are confusing the little girls in this novel. Growing up around abusive parents and parent-figures will only damage the children’s futures.
Collin Livingston Pd.5
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eyes has displayed to all, and to us, the more sheltered suburban children, just exactly what went on in an era of great tension between the white and black races. A particular quote from the text had a seemingly mind-boggling effect on me was the following: “She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people” (page 47). This quote has such a traumatic meaning to any true decipherer of literature. Throughout the entire novel Pecola dreams, pleads, and yearns for a set of vibrant blue eyes. Morrison brings to the attention of the reader that not only do the people of the town feel Pecola is worthless, but she herself sees it that way too. She is so caught up and hypnotized by the white race that she believes receiving a pair of pretty blue eyes would change the makeup of the world entirely. In a certain instant in the novel, Pecola went to visit the candy shop in town when her gaze fell upon a patch of dandelions. She was curious, curious as to why everyone hated the yellow bulb of this common garden pest. Yes, there wasn’t a use for it like there was for the leaves – dandelion soup – but she couldn’t help but admire the shimmering, yellow effect the weed had upon her. Shortly after having a terrifying experience with Mr. Yugobowski (in which he didn’t like Pecola for her appearance), she re-appears at the same field in which the dandelions lay, except she loathes them now. Pecola expresses seething hatred and disgust for such pitiful, ugly weeds. Yet again she believes that if she had blue eyes she wouldn’t see the ugly weeds anymore but maybe instead be blessed with the sight of passionate roses or humble orchids. Pecola is truly the perfect example of the ultimate negative because she expresses hate for everything she is in comparison to everyone else. Clearly giving her blue eyes wouldn’t allow her to see beautiful things but would giving her blue eyes change the perspective of the reader? Perhaps the characters in the novel? The question may remain, but Pecola’s coveting for sky-blue eyes is clearly a focal point of the story and how it develops/resolves.
Andrews2
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
One of the main ideas in this novel is the perception of beauty. What is beauty? How is it gained? Earned? Given? How do we determine what is beautiful? Who are we to say what is and isn't beautiful? We shouldn't be able to do such a thing, but we do. Little girls like Pecola Breedlove suffer from these types of judgement. Forever she will see herself as ugly and pathetic. Pecola isn't just the perfect victim. She is the perfect symbol. Pecola's personality consists of attributes that were beaten into her by society. Ugliness and worthlessness is all she ever will be if its all she ever knows. And she will. That is why she will forever be yearning for those perfect Bluest Eyes. Wanting for something we can never have just drives further into insanity.
Another one of the main ideas in the novel is love. Love that isn't given and love that should never be given. Cholly's hatred for the people he tries to "love" is despicable. It never seems that Cholly ever makes love. He just hates. In the beginning of his marriage, he did but that was soon destroyed since he was not satisfied and nor was his wife. He hates the first woman who the two white men caught him with. He even goes as far to say he wants to strangle her and cause her unimaginable pain. The rape of Pecola is not only disturbing, but knowing why he did it only makes matters worse. Growing to learn his background and sympathize with him doesn't effect how loathsome this character is. In the book, Pecola's rape was described as a gift. A sick, disgusting gift. There was nothing left to be given to that poor girl, but pure destruction to take what is left of her.
Tibke 1
As of right now I have found a few quotes in The Bluest Eye to be very intriguing. The one I am choosing is not my favorite or one that I think is the best. It is a quote I think was very disturbing yet powerful in its own way. The one I chose was in the letter to god. “Now you are jealous. You are jealous of me. You see? I, too, have created.”(182). I found it so strange that this man actually though God could be jealous of him. He seemed to be proud of the fact that he violated those girls. This also shows that his upbringing could have led to this. Having a rough childhood would have surely messed with his mind. I for one though have no sympathy or pity for someone like this. I do not believe that he can place any of the blame on anything but himself. No matter how hard you had it when you were younger, you should know right from wrong. There are many people in the world that have gone through the same situation or even worse ones and came out the other side unscathed. Another thing about this that is also interesting is what he did with Pecola. He lied to the girl about her blue eyes, but his intentions I believe were of a good cause. He wanted her to feel happy so he thought of a way to make her believe she had blue eyes. He states: “No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will. And she will live happily ever after” (182). All though I don’t believe he needs to make her kill the dog I still have to think he was looking out for Pecola. She was always ugly to the world. Even agreeing with others. But he gave her a beauty that only she could see. And I think that is all she really wanted.
This was meant to be posted yesterday afternoon, but for some reason it didn’t post.
Boerhave 7
RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
The Bluest Eye is a great book and I am glad to be getting a chance to read and analyze Toni Morrison’s exquisite work. I like the bluntness of the book and what message it gives to its wide range of readers. I find it interesting to me in the way of, as a young white reader, to get Toni Morrison’s perspective on many levels. I especially admire her word choices and her figurative meanings.
I personally was surprised to hear the word ugly used overall in this book. This word is so harsh but it still flows with the passage. It is most definitely the right word to use but it surprises the reader by being so blunt, especially on page 39, “You looked down at them and wondered why they were so ugly…” There are so many interesting phrases on this page dealing with the Breedloves and how they dealt with their “ugliness”. “It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear.” In a way, this might state that they didn’t choose to be ugly; they were chosen to be ugly. “And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it.” This passage gives the reader the impression that the Breedloves know they are ugly and choose to not do anything about it. They let themselves believe they are, and always will be, ugly. On page 38, we read the passage, “But their ugliness was unique.” I found this to be very interesting reading how each member of the family had their own ugliness. It was definitely nothing like I have ever read before. Toni Morrison is such an intelligent author.
Rasmussen pd.5
RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. I think that it can be said that we the readers don’t know much of what Pecola thinks of the whole situation. Sure we get a little inference and first person from her perspective but in the long run, we are told from others perspectives. We rarely get to see into the mind of Pecola. This adds to the thought that she is just a creature. When the interviewer said “creature”, I didn’t think that his statement was racist or insensitive at all. I think that you could say that with any person that is put in Pecola’s place. I like how we can call Pecola the main character even though she never really talks. If someone asked you what the main character does, what would you say? In reality, she does not do much of anything. She is the perfect victim says Morrison. She doesn’t need to take any action in order for there to be a story. The story in my opinion isn’t about her, it is about the situation she is in. In my personal opinion, I don’t feel sympathy for the character as much as I do the many situations in which all of the characters are in. They are all in terrible situations that make them seem lesser than that of the white community. But couldn’t you compare this to some white communities as well? I think that you could take this story out of context and apply it to a poor white community as well. Of course I’m not taking away from the fact that racism and all of that is bad, im just saying that I think a white version of this book is in fact possible.
Kirkus 2
RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
Two themes stand out clearly in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: racism and inferiority among certain groups. Racism is omnipresent in the setting of this novel, and is shown from the point of view of the targets of the prejudice. This is particularly effective to white readers because we often fail to comprehend what it is like from the other side. The characters in The Bluest Eye are saturated with feelings of inferiority—whether it is because they are black, because they are women, because they are children, or all three. Most likely it is all three because these are groups that are (still now, but more so back then) a lot of times viewed as “lower class.” These stereotypes are formed by people who do not understand people who are different. Just because blacks look different, women may be physically weaker, and children are younger, some—white men mostly—think they are incapable of being beneficial to society. The racism from outside sources and feelings of inferiority from within multiply each other’s effects to the point where characters like Pecola, Claudia, and Frieda start to believe these ideas about themselves. One of these feelings is bad enough, but together they beat the characters self-esteem until there is none left. Pecola has it worse than Claudia and Frieda because of her somewhat nonexistent home life. For a while, she is living with the MacTeers because her father, Cholly Breedlove, is in jail. Her father is a drunk raped her, and her mother intentionally provokes him when he is drunk and aggressive. Claudia and Frieda may be same or almost the same in age, gender, and race, but their home life is better, if only a little bit. Their mother may be angry and yell at them often, but we can tell she really loves them. This is about the only factor that makes their lives slightly more bearable than Pecola’s.
Olesen 1
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Pecola is introduced as a minor character compared to most of the other characters and is hardly developed. Throughout the novel Pecola Breedlove is always getting into trouble, forever looked down upon by everyone in town. Even the very first encounter the reader has with Pecola is the scene where she is getting indirectly yelled at by Mrs. MacTeer for drinking all the milk. Like many of the other characters in the story Pecola is barely physically described to the reader. The only few descriptions of Pecola we receive is that she is an “ugly, black, eleven-year-old girl. What we read further moving in the book about herself, her family, and experiences only becomes more horribly depressing.
We learn that her family is an extremely sick, abusive family. Both of her parents show their own life stories in short flashback chapters in the novel. After learning about both Cholly’s and Mrs. Breedloves’s histories we begin to sympathize for them and how their life is. Toni Morrison does a wonderful job of making you honestly see and feel the character of Cholly Breedlove. You feel so sorry for him. So much of who we become, how we behave, how we love ect. Are based upon the nurture we receive from our caregivers. As a baby Cholly was abandoned and casted out by his father and mother.
As the relationship changes with Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove it becomes more violet, sexually charged, and aggressive. They started out utterly in love and happy with together. After moving, Mrs. Breedlove became depressed with Cholly never around. It all went downhill from there. Their physical relationship started out with love making, and it ended with rough, pure, animalistic sex. Both instigate physical fights they begin to have nightly.
Stephens 1
Page 134 is from Cholly’s perspective. One quote that caught my bluest eyes was, “Watching the figure etched against the bright blue sky, Cholly felt goose pimples popping along his arms and neck. He wondered if God looked like that. No. God was a nice old white man, with long white hair, flowing white beard, and little blue eyes that looked sad when people died and mean when they were bad. It must be the devil who looks like that—holding the world in his hands, ready to dash it to the ground and spill the red guts so niggers could eat the sweet, warm insides.” This is a great representation of two ideas. Tone and perspective. The entire novel constantly embodies a negative tone and this quote is absolutely no exception. It goes on to read, “If the devil did look like the, Cholly preferred him. He never felt anything thinking about God, but just the idea of the devil excited him. And now the strong, black devil was blotting out the sun and getting ready to split open the world.” This is a wonderful portrayal of perspective; though not a perspective that I can relate to. Having recently witnessed live exorcisms, the devil definitely does not excite me. I have seen what he can do to people and I do not prefer him. But Cholly sees evil with more power. He has not seen good conquering evil. It is easy for people who live that way to be angry with God and not understand why their life is this way. It interests me that Morrision takes a man that we initially were led to admire and makes him into Satan when she says, “And now the strong, black devil was blotting out the sun…” Perspective is a powerful literary tool that we all ought to apply to our composition.
Grapevine 7
RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
In Toni Morrison's novel, I do think that she uses things in specific areas that hit hard when read, and one line that always stands out to me when I think about this novel is Pecola talking to Soaphead Church. "I want them blue." Four simple little words, four words that deeply impact you and sum up the novel in just a short sentence. Pecola is a poor character, a victim that has all the things that make her most vunerable: black, young, a female, and uneducated. Pecola is obviously the victim, and you feel sympathy for her, but Morrison writes in such a way that allows you to feel sympathy for even the most evil of characters. Soaphead Church seems to be one exception, however. He is a character that I felt no sympathy for, a lying, cheating man whom I hated from the moment he was introduced in the novel. Soaphead lies and cheats, tricking people into believing he can do miracles. He tricks Pecola, and says he is better than God, that he can perform miracles too. Even with Cholly, the reader feels some sympathy to him, in spite of the cruel and evil things he did to Pecola. But Soaphead Church is a liar, and I felt absolutely no sympathy for this character in the novel, and I now wonder if Morrison wanted readers to feel that way.
Coyle 2
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
The Bluest Eye is a very heavy story that personally is very difficult to read. Many of the events of the story are so utterly revolting that I could barely bring myself to continue reading it. Having the story set in Lorain, Ohio during the Great Depression, the story focuses on the plight of poor, young Pecola Breedlove. The story is also never told from Pecola’s perspective, instead we see her through the eyes of those around her, starting with Frieda and Claudia MacTeer. Pecola is instantly a depressing character, she is not attractive and everyone around her lets her know that. She feels that the only way that people will begin to like her would be to somehow gain blue eyes. We then go into the description of both her father and her mother. Her mother was crippled at a young age and when Cholly Breedlove came along and wooed her she was thrilled. They lived happily for a while until they moved to Lorain Ohio and Cholly became distant and Mrs. Breedlove couldn’t seem to make any friends. This is where Pecola’s mother becomes bitter and callous. The plot then shifts to Cholly’s back story. We discover that Cholly has come from a very broken past, his father left him when he was just a baby and his mother left him to die. His Great Aunt saved him and raised him, but after she dies, Cholly is alone in the world. He sets off to find his father, who, unfortunately for Cholly, wants nothing to do with him. The story continues as Cholly becomes more and more unstable, even to the point where Cholly believes he is doing his daughter Pecola a favor and a kindness by ‘loving’ her. In the end We see that Pecola has duped herself into believing that she has blue eyes, for nothing more than the sake of having something to like about herself.
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