The Bluest Eye

Plot Overview

Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular
basal readers written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp, that were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States

Non-White characters were not introduced till 1965

when the series was already in decline

Plot Structure
Prologue

Autumn
Winter Spring Summer

Prologue Autumn Winter Spring Summer

I: Night II: Shopping III: Night IV: Waiting Room V: Nap VI: Household VII: Night VIII: Birth Day IX: Night X: Soul Scrolls XI: Night Xii: Jezebels XIII:: Night XIV: Salvaging XV: Night Historical Notes

The Brahmins Son With the Samanas Gotama Awakening Kamala With the People Sansara By the river The Ferryman The Son Om Govinda

Eatonville (Present) Grandmother (Past Logan (Past) Joe-Eatonville (Past) Tea Cake (Past) Everglades (Past) Eatonville (Present)

Prologue- Part 1
The novel begins with a series of sentences that seem
to come from a childrens reader. The sentences describe a house and the family that lives in the houseMother, Father, Dick, and Jane. The brief narrative focuses on Jane. The pet cat will not play with Jane, and when Jane asks her mother to play, she laughs. When Jane asks her father to play, he smiles, and the dog runs away instead of playing with Jane. Then a friend comes to play with Jane. This sequence is repeated verbatim without punctuation, and then is repeated a third time without spaces between the words or punctuation.

 HOW IS THE FORM OF THIS STORY DIFFERENT

FROM ITS ORIGINAL? WHAT IS THE EFFECT

Prologue- Part 2
An unnamed narrator gives an explanation of why
marigolds did not grow in 1941. The second prologue works as a more cohesive overview of the story highlighting the connections and relationships as compared to the disconnected first monologue.

The prologue states that not only are people dead, but
so is innocence. It also comment on the why is to hard, so the book will be about how

Autumn- Chapter 1

Narrator : Claudia Main Idea: Introduction to her early memories of love and emotional distance. Reveals complex dynamic of relationship Main Events: -Claudia gets sick. She misinterprets mother anger at situation as anger at her. Henry Washington turns up: Foreshadows future molestation of Frieda Pecola stays with them because father has gone to jail. Family being outside represents ultimate failure. Shirley Temple Cup Pecola has first period: Transition to adulthood. Last line: How do you make someone love you? Major Theme

Autumn-Chapter 2
Main Focus: The Breedloves Apartment(after Cholly gets out of
prison)

Lots of symbolism Three time periods: Present-Empty; Past- Breedlove; Distant PastHungarian Bakery. This is symbolic of space and how it can have different meanings Deserted, Suffering, Warmth.

Breedloves: Focus on furniture which are aged, but not by

frequent use. Furniture that has no emotional value except for couch that was bought new but delivered split down the middle represents frustration and anger.

In the house there is also a two year old Christmas tree that
represents an attempt at homeliness, and a stove in which the fire will symbolically always be out in the morning

Autumn-Chapter 3
Main Focus: Life at the Breedloves

Discussion on ugliness, and how they are ugly people. This

however in not an objective ugliness. They are ugly because they believe they are ugly and wear it.

We see the relationship between Mrs.Breedlove and Cholly.

They are symbiotic. The nature of violence is complex as it provides both a chance to define themselves as victims or martyrs.

We see the effect on Sammy through violent participation or

running away, and Pecola through withdrawal.

Autumn-Chapter 3
The chapter begin the symbolic journey of Pecola into eyes.
She imagines her body vanishing apart from her eyes.

She goes to the store considering the beauty of dandelions.

At the store she is unable to use her voice. The storeowner speaks harshly to her. She feels ashamed and is reinforced of her ugliness. She decided dandelions are ugly and Mary Janes are beautiful.

Pecola visits the prostitutes upstairs. She considers love and

her parents love making. Her father sounding in pain, and her mother silent. Impressions of love and sexuality.

Winter-Chapter 4
Main focus: White is beautiful, Black is ugly. The
development of self-hate.

Light skinned black girl Maureen arrives. Her family is

wealthy which reinforces ideas about color and class.

Claudia is jealous. While she has not fully learned self-hate,

we see the early stages through her destructive envy and feeling of inferiority after the ice cream incident.

The discussion about the movie reinforces the connection

between self-image and popular culture.

The black boys who pick on Pecola are calling her black
derogatively- revealing their own self-hatred.

Winter-Chapter 4
The mysteries of sex are further developed with the
argument of Maureen discussing menstruation, the revelation of the awkwardness of Claudia and Pecola seeing their fathers naked, and Henry being caught with the prostitutes.

Winter-Chapter 5
Main Focus: Story of middle class family showing how
this is not an issue of just wealth.

Description of an Archetype.. Black women, small rural

town, takes care of appearance and body. Goes to land-grant college and learns a skill so she can work for white people. Has family that she takes care of well. Tyrant over house and body image. Does not enjoy sex. Feels affection for household cat which is neat and quite like herself. Cannot show same affection to her family.

Winter-Chapter 5
Main Focus: Story of middle class family showing how this is
not an issue of just wealth.

Introduces such a women.. Geraldine. Has son named

Junior. Well cared for but emotionally neglected. Only allows him to play with upper-class colored people, not niggers.

Junior decides to pick on Pecola. Makes her come over by

promising to show her some kittens.

Pecola gets scared and tries to leave. Starts to cry. Cat

gives her affection. Junior kills cat.

Blames Pecola, Mother calls her a nasty little black bitch

Spring-Chapter 6
Main Focus: Frieda being sexually molested, Mrs
Breedloves contrasting personality with the white family.
with a switch instead of a strap. Goes home and finds out Frieda has been touched by Henry. Father tries to shoot Henry. This protection allows her not to be damaged the way Pecola is later.

Spring has started which Claudia associates with being hit

Humorous scene, in which Frieda and Claudia overhear the

adults say she is ruined. They make some childlike connections and believe it means she will become fat. Deduce that other prostitutes who are not fat drink whiskey, and therefore go and find Pecola to get Cholly;s whiskey.

Spring-Chapter 6
Go to a beautiful lakefront house where Mrs Breedlove
works for a white family.

White girl comes out to ask for Polly. Claudia is angry

that Pecola calls her Mrs Breedlove.

A pie is spilt, and the girl starts cring. Mrs.Breedlove

beats Pecola and sends her away. Comforts white girl.

Spring-Chapter 7
Narrator: Omniscient and occasionally First Person (Polly)

Point of View: Polly Breedlove

Focus: How she is both a victim of fate and choices. How
she creates a narrative to explain her life.

Grows up in Alabama. At 2, impales her foot on a nail. Gets

a limp. Sees this event as shaping her destiny.

Becomes isolated. Likes organizing things.

At fifteen dreams of love, being taken away. Is courted by

Cholly.

Spring-Chapter 7
This start well but they move and the people up north are
unfriendly. She begins to long for clothes that will change the way people see her. They have money problems and Cholly starts drinking.

Things get better when she is pregnant. Cholly is excited.

She is still lonely and takes refuge in movies. Wants to look like a movie star. Losses her front tooth on a piece of candy. She feels ugly, and the fights begin again.

First baby fails to fill hole in life. Vows to love second no

matter what.

Doctor refers to black women as horses. Despite this is

pleased with Pecola but knows she is ugly.

Spring-Chapter 7
She takes on the identity as martyr. Become
breadwinner working for a wealthy family who like her work, joins church. Loves work because she can make things orderly and beautiful.

Begins to neglect her own house and family. Thinks of goodtimes with Cholly when sex turned the
world to rainbows. Not anymore.

Spring-Chapter 8
Point of View: Cholly Breedlove

Main Focus: Morrison approaches the rape of Pecola from

the rapists point of view. This give the act a horrific sense.

Abandoned at four days old. Rescued by Great Aunt Jimmy.

After 6 years of school takes a job at a feed store. Old man

jack treats him well and shares watermelon with him. Always remembers

Aunt Jimmy dies, at first Cholly not hit by grief. Jimmys

brother is supposed to take him.

Spring-Chapter 8
That night goes into the woods with girl- first sexual
experience- white hunters catch them and force him to finish. He pretends to. He hates the girl. Does not hate the white men because he knows that anger may destroy him.

Goes to find father. Father rejects him. He goes to the street

crying and defecates his pants. Goes to river where the grief of Jimmy death hits him.

Cholly finds a new freedom at this point. He no longer cares

about life. He is free to go in and out relationships, take and leave jobs, and kill three white men.

Spring-Chapter 8
Meets Pauline, her sweetness and innocence touch
him but the damage is too deep. Marriage makes him feel trapped. He has no interest in life and drinks. Cannot connect to children

Cholly returns home one day and sees Pecola doing

the dishes. Feeling both tenderness and rage, fueled by guilt, he rapes her. She faints and he covers her with quilt.

Spring-Chapter 9
Point of View: Soaphead Church

Main Focus: Education and religion do overcome self-hate

and disconnection with the body.

Comes from educated family. Suggestions of inbreeding to avoid marrying blacks. Raised by sadistic schoolmaster father. Grows up feeling
superior and develops a revulsion to dirt.

Marries a women, who soon leaves him. Tries the ministry,

studies psychiatry and other social studies. Moves to Lorain and works as a mystic (Reader advisor)

Spring-Chapter 9
Is a pedophile as he sees children as clean.

Hates the landladies dog because it is dirty.

Pecola comes to ask him for blue eyes. His own
attraction to whiteness and cleanness allows him to empathize with her.

Knows he cannot help, but uses her anyway. Tells her

to give the dog, secretly poisoned meat. If the dog reacts she will get her wish. Dog dies

Spring-Chapter 9
Soaphead writes a letter to god, which allows him to tell
his story. Unlike Others, it does not make him sympathetic.

Letter reveals love for budding breaths, and he

compares himself to god by giving her blue eyes. See his misanthropic personality. Hate people, loves things.

Summer-Chapter 10
Main Focus: Claudia and Frieda try to make meaning
out of Pecolas pregnancy to Cholly.

The chapter starts with anecdotes about storms.

Mother tells her about storm in 1929. Claudia finds a metaphorical peace in the image of her mother unharmed. It represent security through the mother.

The girls overhear the adults discuss Peola. Chooly

has runaway, the neighbors are disgusted at him but Pecola as well. Want her out of school.

 Her own mother beats close to death after finding out.

The girls are not only sad for Pecola but hurt that none of
the adults seem to share this.

Claudia creates her own narrative of this beautiful child

growing in her.

The incest part is not a big concern, because they do not

understand how babies are made yet.

The girls plant some summer money and Marigold seeds in

their own yard. This is a sacrifice to help Pecola.

Summer-Chapter 11
Point of View: Two voices in Dialogue- Pecola and Imaginary Friend:
Claudia finishes narration in first person plural

Main Focus: Pecolas disconnection with reality. How what happened

to society is a result of the societies inability exorcise its own demons

Pecola has blue eyes and her friend is criticizing her for being vain. She says no one looks at her because people are prejudiced against
her eyes.

They talk about Cholly. Friends says Choly made her have sex.
Pecola denies it. The friend implies Pecola enjoyed the advances the second time. Pecola gets angry.

She wonders if her eyes are blue enough. Her friend leaves

Summer-Chapter 11
Claudia narrates again and describes Pecolas madness.

Believes the flowers not growing is symbolic of Pecolas still

born baby.

Cholly has died. Claudia comments that Pecolas ugliness and life allowed
other to feel beautiful, healthy, and righteous.

Believes Cholly did love her, how love is only as good as the
lover. Therefore his love killed her.

Its too easy to blame the town, all we now is for Pecola it is
too late.