Good Morning!

Please type your responses to the following questions by the end of class. Do not forget to hand them in before you leave today! If you do not finish, please hand in the questions you answered and complete the rest for homework!

The Bluest Eye

pg.5-6 The Second Opening

1.  Who is the narrator of the italicized section that begins, “Quiet as it’s kept”?  Who is keeping what quiet? You should have some answers to these questions before you reach the end of this section.

2. What happened to Pecola?  How might her baby’s death connect to the withered seeds the narrator describes?

3. Why does Morrison “give away” Pecola’s fate so early on in this novel?  That is, what is her narrative’s message, and how is it enhanced by giving her unsuspecting readers the harsh facts right up front?  Be prepared to free write on this topic in class.

4. What might the “failed seeds” of this second opening symbolize—come up with 2-3 ideas.

Autumn

5. Note how we learn this narrator’s name on p.11. What is Morrison trying to show us?

6. After this rather harsh flashback to her childhood, Claudia ends with these words on p.12:

And in the night, when my coughing was dry and tough, feet padded into the room, hands repinned the flannel, readjusted the quilt, and rested a moment on my forehead. So when I think of autumn, I think of somebody with hands who does not want me to die.

Why does Morrison include these two sentences here?  How does it change the tone of all that Claudia has told us prior to this moment?

7. Given all the clues Morrison has handed us, when do you think this novel is set?

8. What connections do you see between Claudia’s attitude towards blue-eyed, blond-haired dolls and Pecola’s fascination with Shirley Temple’s image on the tea cup (p.23)?

9. Re-read the ending of this section on p.32 (“How do you get someone to love you?”) Can you connect it to the passage above in question 2?

pg.33-80

10. First section: Why does Morrison use the word “no” over 12 times in her description of the Breedlove’s home pp.36-37?

11. Given the way they live, how is the family’s name ironic?

12. Consider the dynamics of the parents’ relationship: why does Mrs. Breedlove need Cholly and why does Cholly need his wife? Note the origin of his hatred (see text detailing an early sexual experience).  Do we see this kind of displaced hatred and anger in our culture today?  Explain.

13. Why does Pecola wonder at the chapter’s final conclusion—“Were they real?”