When did Toni Morrison write The Bluest Eye?
The Bluest Eye, debut novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, published in 1970. Set in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, in 1940–41, the novel tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, an African American girl from an abusive home.
What is the setting of the Bluest Eye?
The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression.
Did Pecola kill the cat?
The cat is terrified, and Pecola tries to rescue it. When she pulls Junior down, he lets go of the cat, and it hits the radiator and collapses in a lifeless heap. At this moment, Geraldine comes home, and Junior tells her that Pecola has killed the cat.
What happened to the Bluest Eye?
The Bluest Eye was legally challenged on February 10, 1998 by a mother from Montgomery County, Maryland named Christine Schwalm. She brought The Bluest Eye and four other books to the attention of the Montgomery County school board, describing The Bluest Eye and others as "lewd, adult books."
Why does junior throw the cat at Pecola?
Junior's racist views and perception of Pecola as ugly allows him to feel no regret about luring her into his house to harm her. Once inside, the beauty of Junior's house amazes Pecola. Junior pulls her into another room, and throws his mother's cat at Pecola's face.
What does the cat symbolize in The Bluest Eye?
The cat is a black creature with blue eyes, and blue eyes represent perfection. Morrison gives the cat these features to illustrate that perfection and the good life are not always what they appear to be.
Who is the villain in The Bluest Eye?
Cholly BreedloveCholly Breedlove Cholly is cowardly and abusive. His actions all point to him as the novel's antagonist: he begins seeking an escape from his family as soon as Pauline gives birth to Sammy; he hits Pauline; he tries to set the house on fire; and he rapes his young daughter.
Who dies in The Bluest Eye?
The marigolds never bloom, and Pecola's child, who is born prematurely, dies. In the aftermath, a dialogue is presented between two sides of Pecola's deluded imagination, in which she indicates conflicting feelings about her rape by her father.
Who is blamed for killing geraldines cat?
At this moment, Geraldine comes home, and Junior tells her that Pecola has killed the cat.
What does milk symbolize in The Bluest Eye?
Milk has come to represent whiteness. Claudia and Frieda's mother, Mrs. MacMeer, calls Pecola greedy and claims that her excessive drinking of milk symbolizes her desire for whiteness. If Pecola continues to drink milk, then she will become white – this whiteness will somehow make her more beautiful.
Why did Pecola go crazy?
Pecola, a little black girl who thirsts for a pair of blue eyes, finally goes mad because of her never achieved wish. She can only live in her fantasy, persuading herself that she has a pair of beautiful blue eyes. She believes that only when she has a pair of blue eyes can she be loved.
Does Pecola blind herself?
When Pecola is finally granted her wish for blue eyes, she receives it in a perverse and darkly ironic form. She is able to obtain blue eyes only by losing her mind. Rather than granting Pecola insight into the world around her and providing a redeeming connection with other people, these eyes are a form of blindness.
Is Cholly The Villain or Victim?
Cholly's victimhood manifested as corrupted views on love and in violent sexual encounters, but he is nonetheless a victim of the systemic racism so prevalent in the setting of this novel.
Why is The Bluest Eye banned?
Reasons cited have included, “sexually explicit material,” “lots of graphic descriptions and lots of disturbing language,” and “an underlying socialist-communist agenda.” One complaint simply called it a “bad book.”
Who is Pecola talking to at the end of The Bluest Eye?
By Toni Morrison Pecola tells her friend that she's just jealous of her blue eyes. She says that everyone in town is so jealous of them that they won't look at her or talk to her anymore. Pecola says her friend is the only one who ever tells her that her eyes are pretty.
What happened to Pecola in the end of the book?
After the dog eats the meat, gags, and dies, Pecola believes her wish has been granted. Thus begins her sharp descent into madness. The fourth and final section (“Summer”) takes place after Pecola loses her mind. In the beginning, Claudia and Frieda learn that Pecola has been impregnated by her father.
What are symbols in The Bluest Eye?
Bluest Eye(s) To Pecola, blue eyes symbolize the beauty and happiness that she associates with the white, middle-class world. They also come to symbolize her own blindness, for she gains blue eyes only at the cost of her sanity.
What does Cholly Breedlove symbolize in The Bluest Eye?
Cholly represents a negative form of freedom. He is not free to love and be loved or to enjoy full dignity, but he is free to have sex and fight and even kill; he is free to be indifferent to death.
Why in Part 4 does Pecola obsess on the fact that her eye is the bluest rather than being satisfied with just having her eye changed to blue?
Pecola is obsessed with having blue eyes because she believes that this mark of conventional, white beauty will change the way that she is seen and therefore the way that she sees the world.
What does the torn sofa symbolize in The Bluest Eye?
The couch in particular becomes a symbol of the family's situation. The rip in the upholstery connects to the perceived ugliness of the family, and also reveals the couch's cheap frame, an image that alludes to the Breedlove's frail family structure.
Why was The Bluest Eye banned?
Since its publication in 1970, there have been numerous attempts to ban The Bluest Eye from schools and libraries because of its depictions of sex, violence, racism, incest, and child molestation; it frequents the American Library Association’s list of banned and challenged books .
Where is the Bluest Eye set?
The Bluest Eye, debut novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, published in 1970. Set in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, in 1940–41, the novel tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, an African American girl from an abusive home. Eleven-year-old Pecola equates beauty and social acceptance with whiteness;
How many chapters are there in The Bluest Eye?
The Bluest Eye is divided into four sections, each of which is named for a different season. (The novel begins with “Autumn” and ends with “Summer.”) The four sections are further divided into chapters. Most of the chapter titles are taken from the simulated text of a Dick and Jane reader. Three versions of the simulated text appear at the beginning of the novel. The first version is clear and grammatically correct; it tells a short story about “Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane,” focusing in particular on Jane, who seeks a playmate. The second version repeats the message of the first, but without proper punctuation or capitalization. The third version lacks punctuation, capitalization, and spaces between words. It reads:
Is the Bluest Eye a classic?
Although largely ignored upon publication, The Bluest Eye is now considered an American classic and an essential account of the African American experience after the Great Depression. Britannica Quiz. 49 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Literature Quizzes.
Where was the book The Bluest Eye challenged?
In September 2017, The Bluest Eye was challenged at North Buncombe High School in Buncombe County, North Carolina, by a parent, Tim Coley. Tim Coley, a self-described "Christian single dad", took notice of the book for its sexual content and formed a committee concerning the removal of the book in the English honors academics. Coley told WLOS-13 that "It's astounding really that somebody thinks it's OK for kids to be reading this in school." Eric Grant, the English coordinator, defended the book by making the committee aware that the school offered an alternative assignment for those who were not comfortable with the book. He also mentioned that the book was in the syllabus that was handed out at the beginning of the year. The committee was given time to read the book and determine if there was academic value offered from the book.
What is the book Bluest Eye about?
30110136. Followed by. Sula. The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression.
Why was the book The Bluest Eye removed from the reading list?
In 1999, parents of students at Stevens High School in Claremont, New Hampshire, objected to the book's being assigned to lower grade levels. The case started when parents complained to the school that they thought the book contained content that was sexually inappropriate for children. As a result, the school decided to remove the book from freshmen and sophomore reading lists, and deemed that the novel was only "suitable" for juniors and seniors. In addition, the school also ruled that teachers must send reading lists to parents early on in the year to get their approval as to which books their children could read and discuss in class. While some parents would have preferred heavier restrictions against the book at Stevens High School, they were glad that action was taken, as they viewed The Bluest Eye to be an "adult book."
What was Morrison's graphic storytelling within The Bluest Eye?
Morrison's graphic storytelling within The Bluest Eye challenged existing attitudes about keeping children's literature free of sex and violence. The lifestyle standards found in Dick and Jane were not achievable for many children who shared backgrounds similar to Pecola.
Why is The Bluest Eye banned?
The Bluest Eye has frequently landed on American Library Association 's (ALA) list of most challenged books because it contains offensive language, sexually explicit material, and controversial issues, as well as depicting child sexual abuse and being unsuited for the age group. The ALA placed it on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists for 2006 (5), 2014 (4), 2013 (2), and 2020 (9). Ultimately, it became the 34th-most banned book in the United States 1990-1999, the 15th-most banned book 2000-2009, and the 10th-most banned book 2010-2019
Where does the Bluest Eye take place?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression. Set in 1941, the story tells that she is consistently ...
When was The Bluest Eye first performed?
An adaptation of The Bluest Eye by Lydia R. Diamond was first performed in Chicago, Illinois in 2005, before seeing further adaptations around the United States. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois commissioned Lydia R. Diamond to adapt the novel into a full-length stage production.