raising questions

Photo: Dreamland Theater, Lorain Ohio

1. What is Morrison trying to do by titling the parts of the Breedlove’s life with various parts of the "Jane" story?

2. Why does Pecola and Freida admire Shirley Temple?

3. Why does Mr. Yacobowski find it hard to look at Pecola?

4. What is the significance of switching the narrative’s point of view?

5. Why is Pecola still unsatisfied even after she got her "blue eyes?" Why does she want them to be the bluest?

6. How are Persuasion, Meditations on First Philosophy, and The Bluest Eye related?

7. One of the main themes in the novel The Bluest Eye is the racism
against and oppression of colored people, yet there are not many instances
in the novel where white people directly show racism. What aspect of the
book makes it racist?

8. What is the significance of the "perfect family" of Father, Mother, Dick, and Jane in The Bluest Eye. What does it serve as?

9. What seems to be the dominant gender in the novel and why? Give specific examples from the novel along with comparisons and contrasts to support your answer.

10. Are the first-person narrators reliable or unreliable (provide evidence)? What does this contribute or take away from the story?

11. How does the Jane/Dick/Mom/Dad story help convey the themes of the novel?

12. What roles do eyes (in general) play throughout the novel? Look for specific text citations.

13. Near the end of the novel, Pecola has a conversation with an unknown person/voice about her new blue eyes. Who do you think this voice is, and what might it represent?

14. Claudia and Frieda try to help Pecola, but after the baby dies, they stop talking to her. Why?

15. Why does Claudia dismember the dolls she is given, and why do the adults get so upset with her for it?

16. Why does Pecola like drinking milk?

17. Why does Pecola visit Soaphead Church, and what does the dog named Bob relate to them?

18. Who is Maureen Peal?

19. Does Toni Morrison ask us to identify with one form of consciousness throughout the novel or many? Explain.

20. What is "epistemological confidence" in relation to Morrison's The Bluest Eye?

21. What is the significance of the Boys on the street corner flicking ash from their cigarette butts and what does the gesture expose about them?
22. What is beauty? What is beauty to Claudia?

23. Maureen Peal came into Claudia's and Frieda's life. How did this person affect their lives?

24. What do you think of Pecola's method of relieving herself after watching her parents fight?