Sarah+The+Bluest+Eye

By Toni Morrison media type="file" key="04 My Immortal.m4a" width="81" height="83" cLiCk HeRe FoR mUsIc My Immortal Evanesence

"She was never able, after her education in the movies, to look at a face and not assign it some category in the scale of absolute beauty, and the scale was one she absorbed in full from the silver screen." - Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

code format="ocaml" Biography of Toni Morrison: code Full Biography http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-bio.html

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Toni Morrison’s real name is Chloe Anthony Wofford. She was born on February 18th, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio as the second of four children. When she was young, her parents moved form the south to Ohio in an attempt to escape racism. Chloe graduated form Lorain High School in 1949 and went to college at Howard University and Cornell University. She got a B.A. degree in English from Howard and her master’s degree in English from Cornell. Her first job was and English teacher at Texas Southern University, and then later she became a staff member of Howard University. There she met architect Harold Morrison and they married in 1958. Later, Morrison divorced her husband and moved to her parent’s house with her two sons. Her first novel was indeed, __The Bluest Eye__, which started out as a short story from her childhood that she wrote for a writer’s group. Morrison then moved to New York where she was an Editor for Random House. __The Bluest Eye__ was published in 1970. Morrison would later go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, __Beloved__. She also won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Toni Morrison’s works are all African American Literature. These include __The Bluest Eye__, __Sula__, __Song of Solomon__, __Tar Baby__, __Beloved__, and __Jazz__.====== Watch an Interview with Toni Morrison! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsqzajdlyNw = = == == =Why is this book outstanding? Click the link to find out!=

Literary Information: __ Genre __ : Coming-of-age, tragedy, elegy (mournful) __ Point of View: __ 1st person through Claudia MacTeer and 1st person by an omniscient narrator __ Style: __ Novel __ Symbolism __ : The title of the book symbolizes the separation of white domination and black inferiority. Blue eyes symbolized the pretty white girls who always seemed to be happy. Pecola’s need for blue eyes comes from her lack of beauty and broken and mangled family. The brokenness of her family comes from her crippled mother who would rather care for her mistress’ daughter than her own. Her father is the cause of her inquiry because he is a drunk with a rejected past. The marigold seeds are another symbol portrayed in the book. They symbolize sacrifice, town culpability and the absence of happiness in the characters’ lives. Frieda and Claudia planted the seeds as a form of prayer for Pecola. Claudia states that the marigolds never grew because the soil was not right for them. Or in other words, Pecola was not right for the town. The marigold seeds also symbolized many of the characters whose lives consisted of a lot of sorrow. __ Setting: __ Lorrain, Ohio 1940-1941 right after the Great Depression and right before World War II. __Characters:__ ** Claudia MacTeer- ** the narrator for part of the story who portrays Pecola in a different point of view. Criticism Overall, //The Bluest Eye// was a good book that told the story of a girl struggling with her self esteem. Although, the way Morrison wrote it was very confusing to a reader. She has two narrators; one is Claudia MacTeer, the other an omniscient narrator. It’s confusing because the book jumps back and forth between theses two people. However, I found it useful for her to tell the story of Pecola’s mother and Father. Giving background on them led to the heart breaking ending of the story. I would recommend this book if you want to read a story that makes you think about life a different way. //The Bluest Eye// portrays wishful thinking compared to harsh reality. If you want a story that strains your mind and wrenches your heart, this is the book for you. Plot Synopsis: The book opens with Mr. Henry coming to stay at the Breedlove home. Pecola Breedlove then comes to stay because her father, Cholly, is in jail and Pecola needed a place to stay while her family gets reunited. Claudia and Frieda are surprised at how shy the young girl is. Christmas comes around and Claudia receives yet another blue-eyed baby doll. She finds fun in disconnecting the doll’s limbs from the body. During her stay, Pecola starts menstruating for the first time. Claudia and Frieda try to help her but are soon caught by the snotty neighbor girl, Rosemary, who tells Mrs. Macteer that they are “playing nasty”. We are then introduced to the rest of the Breedloves. Pecola and Sammy, the son, witness their mother and drunk father in a fight in which Cholly forces Mrs. Macteer to make love. It is after that when we first hear of Pecola’s wish for a set of beautiful, blue eyes. Pecola goes to visit her prostitute friends who live above her. China, Poland, and Miss Marie tell Pecola stories of old flames. The story transitions to winter, where Claudia and Frieda are fascinated by the beautiful, rich Maureen. When walking home with Maureen, the three girls spot a group of black boys circled around Pecola, taunting and humiliating her. The boys stop as soon as Maureen comes over. The girls later get in a fight over their families and their race. Henry sends Claudia and Frieda out to get some ice cream so they won’t see him with China. When crossing through the school-yard, Pecola is stopped by a black boy named Junior. He brings her into his house and locks her in a room with the cat he hates. Junior then kills the cat and blames it on Pecola. When Junior’s mom comes home she sends Pecola out of the house, calling her a nasty little black *#%@!. The season changes to spring and Frieda is molested by Mr. Henry. Frieda is sure she’s ruined so the girls go to find Pecola to get some alcohol. They are sure Pecola has some because her father is a drunk. They ask the feared Maginot line where she is. They then proceed to Mrs. Breedlove’s house that she serves where Pecola tips over a pie and makes the little white girl cry. The story transfers to the early lives of Mrs. Breedlove and Cholly. We learn about their torn childhoods and how they have come to be the sad people they are today. Pauline (Mrs. Breedlove) has a bum foot and can never find happiness in her appearance. Cholly was abandoned by his parents and lives with his aunt until she dies. Cholly is interrupted with a girl by two white men who mock him. Cholly then tries to find his father only to realize his father doesn’t want him. Pecola is doing the dishes when Cholly gets home drunk again. He rapes her and she becomes pregnant. Mrs. Breedlove is upset over this and beats Pecola. The baby is born prematurely and dies. Cholly rapes Pecola again and runs away. He later dies in a workhouse. Pecola later goes to Soaphead Church who says he can solve all problems. Pecola asks him to give her blue eyes. He tricks her into thinking she got them and Pecola loses her normal frame of mind. She creates an imaginary friend who is the only one who will talk to her.
 * Pecola Breedlove-** a young girl struggling with her self esteem
 * Cholly Breedlove**- Pecola's father who has lived a very violent and terrible life
 * Pauline Breedlove-** Pecola's mother who struggles in the white supremacist world. She has lived a life of humiliation and finds more comfort in caring for a white family than her own.

If you liked the topic of my book, check out these! Joe C Betsey Brown http://park204.wikispaces.com/Joe+C+Betsey+Brown

"Sparknotes"2008. Oct. 23 2008 "Sparknotes"2008. Oct. 27 2008 
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