The Bluest Eye Socratic Seminar Prep
60 points prep; 50 points participation
Prep work must be 100% complete upon arrival to class to participate in SS!
Label each section clearly!
1. [24 points] Write a paragraph each answering 3 of the following prompts.
a. Compare/contrast The Bluest Eye’s perspective of beauty to The Book Thief’s perspective.
b. How is this novel a story about the pursuit of love?
c. Compare/contrast 2 or more characters’ pursuit of love.
d. Why so much perversion in the novel? What is Morrison doing and why?
e. Pick a symbol and analyze it.
f. Compare/contrast a character from this novel to a character from The Book Thief.
g. Discuss the narrative choices of Morrison, their results, and how the novel would be different if she utilized a
different narration technique.
h. Who is the most sympathetic character in the novel and why?
i. What kind of racism is Morrison most indicting through this novel? Why?
j. How does nature and/or natural language function in the novel?
k. How is this novel an exploration of character motives? What drives characters in the novel, and why? What theme
does this connect to?
l. How and why does Morrison use violence in the novel?
m. Analyze the absence or presence of a hero in this novel.
n. Discuss the oppression Morrison illustrates and/or condemns.
o. The title of the novel refers to Pecola Breedlove's intense desire for blue eyes. She believes herself ugly and
unworthy of love and respect, but is convinced that her life would be magically transformed if she possessed blue
eyes. How does racial self-loathing corrode the lives of Pecola and her parents, Cholly and Pauline Breedlove?
How does racial self-hatred manifest itself in characters like Maureen Peal, Geraldine, and Soaphead Church?
p. At a certain point in the novel, Morrison, through her narrator, states that romantic love and physical beauty are
"probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought." How do the lives of individual characters
bear out that statement? To what degree are these two concepts generated from within or imposed on us by
society? Where do the characters first encounter ideas of romantic love and beauty-ideas which will eventually
torture and exclude them? What positive visions of beauty and love does the novel offer?
q. The novel is set in a Midwestern industrial town, Lorain, Ohio, Morrison's own birthplace. Pauline and Cholly
Breedlove are transplanted Southerners and several key scenes in the novel are set in the South. How does
Morrison set up comparisons between a Northern black community and the Southern black way of life? What
values have been lost in the migration north?
r. Consider Morrison's characterization of Cholly Breedlove. While she clearly condemns his actions, she resists
dehumanizing him. If rape of one's daughter is an "unimaginable" crime, can one at least trace the events (and
resulting emotions) that made it possible for Cholly to commit this brutal act? Is there a connection between the
white hunters' "rape" of Cholly and the sexual aggression he eventually turned on his daughter?
s. Analyze Toni Morrison’s writing style.
t. How is The Bluest Eye a bildungsroman?
u. What is a theme of the novel, and how is it communicated?
v. Analyze a dynamic character from the novel.
w. Analyze the effect of the structure of the novel, with seasons, the “Dick and Jane” allusions, and alternating
perspectives.
x. Analyze Morrison’s theme of eyes: seeing, being seen, and how that connects to power.
2. [15 points] Find 3 quotes that are important to the text.
a. If they are not too long, write them. If they are too long, put the page and location on the page.
b. Write 2-4 sentences each about the importance of those quotes.
This is really important in terms of the AP exam essay #3!
3. [12 points] Find 3 different literary devices used in the novel. For each:
a. Write an example (or reference the page).
b. Write 2-4 sentences each about why Morrison uses those devices. (analysis)
4. [9 points] Write 3-5 discussion questions. Make sure they are not yes/no questions; they should provoke differing
opinions, discussion, and critical, analytical thinking.
Period 2/3 due:
Period 4/5 due: