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The Bluest Eye: AUTUMN
Chapter 1
1) Comment on the opening line of this rather complex opening line.
2) How does Claudia feel about her neighbour, Rosemary Villanucci? Pick out two key
quotes.
Hatred
She hates / loathes / detests / can’t stand / can’t bear Rosemary because / as / since +
REASON
Anger
Claudia feels anger towards Rosemary because ...
She is angry at / with Rosemary since ...
She resents the fact that ...
She resents the way that ...
3) “Adults do not talk to us” (Page 5), “Our illness is treated with contempt” (Page 6), and
“I think of somebody with hands who does not want me to die.” (Page 7).
a. What reproaches does she make to adults and how they treat children? Use some of the
following expressions.
Reproach
She blames adults for + V ing
She accuses them of + V ing
She approaches adults with + Noun / for + V ing
She criticises adults for (not) + V ing
b. How appropriate is the description of Claudia’s mother’s love for her children as “tough
love”?
4) Read pages 7-9 and identify what Claudia and Frieda learn from the adults’ conversation.
5) Mr Henry
a. Read page 10 and contrast Mr Henry’s treatment of the girls with the way the parents treat
the girls. Use contrast words: whereas / while / unlike + Noun or Pronoun
b. “We loved him. Even after what came later, there was no bitterness in our memory of him.”
What did come later?
6) Read pages 10 -12 and say what we learn about each of the different members of the
Breedlove family: Cholly, Sammy, Pauline and Pecola.
7) Read pages 12-16 and find the following elements:
a. Shirley Temple
b. the blue-eyed baby doll and Raggedy Ann dolls
c. Bojangles
d. Shirley Temple cup
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Find quotations for each of these objects to show exactly how Claudia feels about them. How
does Pecola feel about them? Use some of the expressions below.
Hatred
She finds the doll nauseating / disgusting : loathesome/ repugnant / repellant since ...
She is repelled by it since / as / because ...
The reason why she feels such disgust for the doll is that ...
Admiration
She is in awe of ...
She admires / appreciates the doll because ...
She thinks highly of ...
She is impressed by ...
8) On page 17 Claudia’s mother criticises Pecola for drinking too much milk and so appears
to be quite harsh and stern. Find evidence on pages 17-23 of a softer side to Mrs MacTeer.
9) How does this scene on pages 17-23 show the children’s innocence?
Chapter 2
10) Pages 24-27- how does the description of the Breedlove house differ from the primer
extract at the top of page 24? Pick out a key quote to sum up the house.
11) Identity: read pages 28-29.
a. “They believed they were ugly.” (¨Page 28)
b. “They had looked about themselves and saw nothing to contradict the statement; saw, in
fact, support for it learning at them from every billboard, every movie, every glance.”
What is Toni Morrison saying about how identity is created? What effect do certain images
have on black people’s identity?
12) Describe the Breedlove family’s relationship. How does this make Pecola feel? Look at
the passage on pages 33-34.
Wish
Pecola wishes that she could + Verb
She wishes that her parents would (not) + Verb
She wishes she + past tense
13) Read pages 34-37 and identify the symbols used by Morrison.
Symbols
Blue eyes
Dandelions (pissenlit)
Mary Jane sweets
What do they represent?
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14) Note down how Mr Yacobowski treats Pecola with contempt (mépris). Find key quotes
showing this.
15) On page 38 Pecola thinks: “Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane.” How does this foreshadow
later events?
16) Read pages 38-44 concerning the three prostitutes.
a. How do the three women treat Pecola? Contrast it with other people in the town.
b. Pick out words linked to the lexical field of affection.
c. These women are not accepted in society, yet they seem happy. How does this differ from
Pecola’s own position in society?
d. Comment on the three women’s names.
e. Comment on the song that Poland sings at the end of the chapter.