Friday, December 18, 2009
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison - TW - T/F P.2 & W P.4
This forum is for specific discussion on The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. What are your first reactions? What did you like most about the story and/or the book? Also what question(s) do you have about the book? Students should try their best to answer each other’s questions. See Blog Assignment for additional information!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
59 comments:
When I read The Bluest Eye, I really liked how it was written and how it went into deep detail on almost every character. It was help full to know their background and it helped me understand their actions. I did feel very sad though about how it ended. The book brought up race in a very interesting way. Instead of talking about one race against another I was surprised that it showed a race against itself. I was a little confused because the entire book was in past tense and I could not tell if the begining of the book was before or after Pecola's story began. The book made me very sad but I still think it was very good because of how it was not from the perspective of the main character and I could see things happening in a disconnected way. Near the end of the book Pecola was talking to someone, I am still confused as to whom. One of the scenes from the book that struck me most was the one where the boy takes her into his house and kills his cat. i was almost scared for Pecola. The way Toni Morrison discribes the house is almost spooky. Everything is prefect but it is obvious that the people who live there are not and i thought that this maybe a message about inner beuty. Although Pecola was not the most attractive girl she seemed to be nice and an angel compared to her parents who had reasons of their own to be so mean.
I thought the bluest eye was rather confusing, the way that Toni Morrison skipped from narrative to narrative made the story hard to follow. But I also enjoyed the deep back story and personality the author gave to each character in the novel. I did not really have a favorite part of the book of the book because I found most of it rather disturbing. I do have one question who was the man that lived with Frieda and Claudia that gave them money to go away and claimed he was having a "scripture reading class".
The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison
When I first started to read the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, I loved how I felt as if I was actually in that time period. I loved how the book was written in great detail, and that all of the people talked like they did back then. Overall, the book was very sad. There were many situations such as when Cholly was the father to Pecola’s baby and when the old dog was poisoned that were upsetting to me. I thought that this book had many sad and twisted parts to it, but that is what made the book interesting. It gave us a new way to look at things, and you soon gained sympathy towards the characters. There were some parts in the book in which I was really confused. Morrison would randomly begin to tell the life of Pecola’s mother, and how she met her father. This confused me because before, we were talking about Claudia and Frieda, and then the next chapter would be all about Pecola’s mother. The sudden transitions confused me, and I was lost at times. I also did not understand the significance of the beginning of the book. I was confused when they kept repeating the same phrase. I also still do not understand the relevance of it, and why they titled their chapters with parts of the phrase. I do like, however, that they split the book into sections based on the season: Autumn, winter, spring, and summer. I liked the different way of looking at race. Towards the end of the book, I understood why Morrison decided to give the book it’s title. I think that it was because people stereotype what is beautiful, and what you have to do to fit in. In this case, it was having blue eyes. The little girl at the end wanted blue eyes because she thought people would accept her. She thought it would make her beautiful. Instead of battling against the other race, she wanted to unite with it, and be a part of it. This book had an interesting way of concluding that people always try to fit it in. Although this book was sad, it was very moving.
When I first picked up the bluest eye it sounded interesting. But when I read the book it became harder to follow. The book then began to grow several different plots. This made it harder for me to understand everything that was happening. In conclusion it had a good plot but the follow through was terrible.
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was one of the most interesting books on race that I have read. I liked and disliked the story. I liked it because the different viewpoints of each character were unique and added to the overall quality of the book. I also liked the different perspective that Toni Morrison took on the struggle between blacks and whites during that time. Instead of having the two races fight with each other, the black women and children are sort of jealous of the white women and children. They consider beauty to be blonde with blue eyes and so when they look at themselves they believe themselves to be ugly. For example, Pecola’s mother, Mrs. Breedlove, used to go to the movies too often and she began to believe only in the beauty on screen. She always looked down on herself and anyone else that wasn’t as beautiful as the people in the movies. Pecola herself wanted blue eyes so badly that she killed for them and went mad believing she had them just because she was ugly and she thought that blue eyes would make her beautiful. . I disliked how sometimes the different perspectives got confusing and I would sometimes get a bit lost. I also disliked how much the blacks seemed to hate their own race. Everybody wanted to white and it got annoying to constantly here someone call themselves ugly. I felt sorry for Pecola though. She seemed to be a magnet for bad things and it made her seem so helpless and innocent. One question I had was: why did the man that had the prostitutes not want the mother to know and also who was he because I think he was only mentioned that one time?
My first reactions to reading The Bluest Eye were sadness, anger, surprise, and confusion. It was extremely sad to see black people’s hatred of themselves and white people spurring it on. It made me sad to read about people with such low self confidence that they had barely any chance of redeeming. I felt angry, but not surprised, when I read about white people agreeing and going along with the black people feeling inferior. What did surprise me was the black characters lack of self esteem and feelings of inferiority to the white people. The majority of books one reads about race are about how despite one race may think they are superior, they are not. They are about overcoming the prejudices and undeserved inferiority. This book, on the other hand, is about people embracing their own supposed inferiority. The character Pecola wants to look white and have blue eyes, because in her environment, white people are better and prettier. It made me sad to see her having no respect or love for herself. I was occasionally confused while reading this book. Momentarily, I felt happy when Maureen Peal was acting friendly towards Pecola, Heidi, and Claudia. I was confused when she suddenly started calling them ugly and throwing racial slurs at them. I understood that they upset her, but she had not had a problem with their race before that. What I liked most about the book was how descriptive it was. It really made you feel like you could see exactly what the person was seeing. I also liked how much the story went in depth about the characters. Both the vivid descriptions and in depth characters made me feel like I really understood most of the book. A question I have about it is why the author seems to leave some things unconcluded. For example, I wanted to know what happened later to the boy who told his mother that Pecola killed their cat. I wanted to know if the mother ever gave some of the love she held for the cat to her son, but you never found out.
I really enjoyed reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. It was a fairly interesting book to read, although, as others have stated, it was pretty complicated to understand. Sometimes I would even have to go back and read pages repeatedly to get the full understanding of what was trying to be said. Aside from that, the book was good. I enjoyed how it was so descriptive when describing the characters and different scenes in the book. For certain parts of the book, I was actually able to paint vivid images in my head as to what was going on. An example being, when Mr. Henry gave Frieda and Claudia money for ice cream and when they returned home, he was in their house with two women, one sucking his fingers, and when the girls asked who they were, he pretended as if they were having a scripture reading, telling the girls they better not tell their mama. I also was able to get a good feel for each character and was able to tell what they were like, getting more into the book by the language used. The way the people spoke in the book made it a lot better because everything was not just written one specific way. The way the book spoke about race was interesting as well, but I do not like the way that the girl wanted to be blue eyed with long blonde hair because I feel as if she will not accept herself, then how does she expect others to accept who she is. That was one part that upset me. I also was very disturbed at points in the book, especially the fact that Mr. Breedlove was to be the father of his own daughter’s child. Agreeing to what Lauren D said, I too did not understand what significance the beginning of the book had and why they were repeating the same phrase, nor did I understand why the beginning of each chapter used a portion of that phrase. In conclusion, the book was great. I would have to say it was one of the most interesting books so far.
I found The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison confusing in the beginning. She skipped around from one person’s story to another. I do like how she described everything. For example in the beginning she described the house three times so the reading can really visualize what the house looked like. She put emphasis on certain things she wanted the readers to pay attention to. When she described Jane the cat she did not space her words and they font was bigger. She also gave a good description of each of the characters, like Maureen. She described how rich she was and how she was adored by the whole school. I thought this book was very sad and depressing. Pecola was tormented for no reason. I do not think she deserved to be treated the way she did. Her parents did not have a stable childhood, so they do not treat Pecola well. It also bothered me how Pecola could not love herself they was she is. She wanted blue eyes and light skin because she thought it would make her beautiful, and people would like her. Things were also kind of hard on Claudia and Frieda because they felt bad for Pecola, but did not know how to help her. Some parts of the book I thought were kind of irrelevant. For example, Morrison talked about how the woman only cared for her cat and not her family. This did not tie into the story entirely. I wondered why there was so much emphasis on the house described in the beginning. Whose house is it?
After reading the Bluest Eye, I found it very disturbing. The story about the young girl, Pecola, is very sad. I did like the way the book is written; the author gives us background information on the characters that Pecola come in contact with. When I read the back of the book it described the story as being told through Pecola’s eyes. I was very confused as to why we were introduced to Frieda and Claudia first, and I do not understand why the author opens some chapters with a short paragraph about Mother, Dick, Jane and a house.
The house that was described in the start of the book was a Greek hotel. To my understanding it was irrelevant to most of the story. My guess about the Greek hotel is that it served as a way to convey how clear adult Claudia’s memory of the events in the book is. I agree with every one else that the narrative in the book was extremely hard to follow the sifting story line and narrative. In retrospect I now realize that all the detailed descriptions of all these seemingly minor character are some what essential to the story. While I did enjoy the entire back story Toni Morrison gave every character I think it seemed rather tiring to read through a massive description of the house sex habits and ethnic background of a minor character such as the mother of junior. These descriptions were mostly a little excess but some of them make sense and tie in to the overall plot of the story in an effective manner such as the life story of Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove, these descriptions added to the depth and complexity of the book. Cholly story explained why he was a ruined drunkard and Mrs. Breedlove story explained why she stayed with such a ruined and destroyed man such as Cholly.
The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was an excellent book. I really enjoyed reading it. The writing techniques that she used amazed my reaction to this book. Also I like the way she wrote in narratives and she really got into how the character would talk in that time period. My favorite part of the book was when Pecola and Maureen had walked home together and talked. And all of a sudden it turned into this argument on an unimportant statement that was said. But overall I liked the overall theme of the book it’s a lot of young teen girls can relate.
Overall, I enjoyed reading The Bluest Eye. However, I found it confusing how the author often switched from character to character and even changed the voice in which she was writing. Still, after reading the book, I recognized Toni Morrison as an amazing author, and I understand why she received praise for the book. The Bluest Eye was very descriptive, and the author used strong words and descriptions to engage the readers. I was very amused by the quotes from the very first chapter of the book that were dispersed in the beginnings of the chapters that followed. This book also made me sad. How could someone treat a sweet child that way? I can't imagine being in Pecola's shoes. I enjoyed the final chapter of the book. Pecola had, in some way, reached a self fulfillment. I concluded that the person Pecola was speaking to must have been imaginary. It was interesting that Morrison described Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove towards the end of the novel, as opposed to the beginning. I did not understand why she did this. Regardless, I enjoyed reading the book, although it was at some points confusing.
My main thoughts on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye were that her ideas did not seem to be together when she first began to write the book, and that her way of organization was less than perfect. However, I also believe that her story was very interesting, due to her vivid descriptions and her entrancing way of writing. I could not follow her storyline all that well simply because of the fact that she was not consistent when talking about each scene and each character. She would jump from one story to the next, without ever joining them together. I also thought that some information in the book was almost like a filler, which had nothing to do with the stories surrounding it. For example, a character would be mentioned, like Mr. Henry, and then they would have no vital parts in the story. Another example would be the amount of reminiscing that a lot of the characters do. On a positive note, I was kept interested with Morrison's use of graphic and intense language to give us the mental images needed to grasp the stories many different meanings. i liked how the book was divided into seasons, so I could get a grasp of when certain things are going on in the book. A question that I have had since finishing the book is simply why Morrison finds it necessary to include so many anecdotes and seemingly unrelated topics. I think that if the structure was better organized, more of us would be able to understand her message that she was trying to communicate to us, the readers.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was an interesting read. When i first saw it i thought it would be the same as other segregation/jealousy stories. But i was wrong. Toni Morrison is an incredible author. Her writing style and diction is beautiful. Everything she writes has a purpose and a deeper meaning. I really enjoyed that. Everything she writes has a reason. For example, there is really deep symbolism in the opening pages of the book with the Dick and Jane story. It immediately caught my attention and got me thinking right away. Dick and Jane are recognizable to everyone as being white. Almost extremely white. Because Morrison runs the story together three times, the reader does not know what to think. I thought that this was a very brilliant technique. Morrison depicts the struggle of the races in a way not often seen. Instead of the blacks just hating the whites, Morrison shows you how they hated themselves. How "beauty" was clearly defined by having blue eyes, blond hair, and white skin. Toni Morrison does have the reputation of being a depressing author, and the bluest eye was no exception. This book was extremely sad in the end.
My first reaction to The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was confusion. The confusion later dissipated and I was able to enjoy the book. Because of the transition from character to character my confusion returned. It seemed like characters were added randomly to try to make the story confusing and complicated. There are characters in the book that are properly introduced and characters that are not. This resembles life to me. Life is filled with people, some you may know and some you don’t. Once my confusion lifted I was able to enjoy the book. One thing that I enjoyed was the delay of discovering the meaning of the title. You were left wondering what does the bluest eye mean. Furthermore, I like how the chapters were not numbered like traditional books. The chapter title was derived from the story of the character Jane from the beginning of the book. Another element of the book that I found interesting was how the story resembled real life. In life, happy endings are not always guarantied. A girl chasing the dreams that she will never acquire shows the truth, that life is unfair. As much as this book was a pleasure to read there were times when I was lost. One question that I have is why did Mr. Breedlove and Mrs. Breedlove separate in the beginning of the book? A follow up to my previous question is whether Mr. and Mrs. Breedlove get back together? Also, does the chapter where Pecola is with her family occur before she lives with Frieda and Claudia?
The Bluest Eye was reasonable to read. When I first picked up The Bluest Eye, I was at total lost. It took me a while to find my place and get situated. Something else that added to my confusion were the random characters that were added and never seen or heard from again, so I kind of forgot about them. One thing that I loved was that Toni Morrison tried to preserve the style of the language back then in her book, although I did had trouble comprehending it. While I was reading this book I also felt anger. I disliked how the parents treated the kids and the conditions they had to live in. Reading this book, I could tell the parts that were really emphasized so the reader could pay attention, I just wish Toni Morrison did it more often in the book. Overall, I found the book fairly intriguing.
My first reaction to The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison was surprise and then sympathetic. In the very beginning of the book, it states that white is more beautiful than black. This surprised me a great deal because there is a quote that opposes this idea of white beauty, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.” This quote was first used in the early 1900’s in a book by Wallace Thurman, The Blacker the Berry: a Novel of Negro Life. Until The Bluest Eye, I had always thought of darker skin as a symbol for being poised and strikingly gorgeous. The book also made me feel sympathetic towards not only Pecola but most of the characters in it too. Although almost every one of them did something wrong, they all had reasons for behaving that way. I enjoyed The Bluest Eye because it showed the monsters inside of people, but it also told of why they became that monster. In other books, an evil character is just written as evil with no reason at all. Toni Morrison has accomplished in creating realistic characters and in doing this has also made a way to make it easier for me to connect with the characters, evoking sympathy. How did Ms. Morrison came up with the plot for a book as symbolic as The Bluest Eye?
The Bluest Eye
When I read the book I was really surprised how a girl of eleven years old could be so obsessed with her appearance. But then I really liked the theme of the story, it was well written and the author could explain issues of race, class, and gender and the effects that these issues can have upon a society. In fact, later I understood the real problem of Pecola and her insecurity that could be common in this society. The thing I liked most about the story was how Toni Morrison analyzed every character in particularly aspects of their personality; and also how she could show us , through the story, that we need to search for the qualities inside a person to find their true character. But I was really sad when she described Pecola’s family problems because her father drinks, her mother is distant, and the two of them often beat one another; so her life is really difficult and at the end I thought it would get better but I was sadder when I found out that Pecola got pregnant by her father, and mostly later when Pecola’s baby died when it was born prematurely.
I think that one of the main problems with The Bluest Eye was that multiple characters in the book were not there for actual reasons. Instead, they were there to add insult to Pecola's injuries. For example, the part where the boy kills the cat and blames it on Pecola when his mother finds out. The motehr calls Pecola something that I cannot post due to how vulgar it is. Another example of random characters is the man, Soaphead Church, who gave Pecola the meat to kill the dog he did not like. He told Pecola if the dog reacted strangely after it ate the meat then she would be given blue eyes. When the dog did react strangely, meaning it died, Pecola believed she had her eyes. In reality, she was the same Pecola before she killed the dog. The man who gave Pecola the meat had given her false hope at something she would never get. Just thinking about how Soaphead Church "gave her hope" makes me feel sad.
It is interesting that Lauren points out Pecola wanting to fit in with the other race, rather than fight it. When I read The Bluest Eye, I did not think that it had anything to do with fitting in, but rather being someone who you’re not, and not being content with who you are. There are many novels that have to do with finding yourself and becoming to have faith in yourself, but not many about fitting in. Even if there are books where the characters are just obsessed over their social status, they usually never make it to the top of the social chain. Pecola craves, so much, to fit in with the “beautiful” people that she is driven to the point of insanity! Being unique is the most precious characteristic a person can have. A close friend of mine got blue eye contacts last year because she hated having brown eyes that matched the color of her skin. Of course, she was already pretty without the contacts, but she still wears them all the time. I am still surprised when I look at her and see those eyes staring back at me as a different color than they were when I first met her. It is not that she wanted to fit in with other people; she just didn’t want to look like herself anymore. Maybe, Pecola didn’t want to fit in, she was just tired of being made fun and taken advantage of, and the only way that she thought she could stop this was by changing who she was.
Amy’s view on the beginning of The Bluest Eye is very interesting. I have never thought about it in that way. In the beginning of the book, Toni Morrison keeps telling us about these two characters and their house. I did not understand the relation between the two. Now, I understand; Dick and Jane are a pair of very white siblings whom most people can recognize. I think that Morrison was trying to compare the perfect life of Dick and Jane’s with Pecola’s. Dick and Jane had a beautiful house with loving parents and people to play with. Pecola, though, was not as fortunate. Her house had been burned down, and she was forced to live with another family. Pecola was dark-skinned, and she did not feel as beautiful as the other white girls in town. Pecola had multiple family problems, while the Dick and Jane had a good life. Her father was a creepy man who was the father to the baby she was carrying. Pecola’s mother was also very distant. Unlike Dick and Jane, her life was rough and full of insecurities. Dick and Jane were also blessed with people to play with. When Claudia and Frieda learned that Pecola’s father had raped her they completely isolated her instead of providing her with comfort like friends are supposed to. She had no one to play with. I agree with Amy when she said that she likes Toni Morrison’s different way of looking at race and their struggle. Instead of fighting with others, the race is struggling with itself. Like Amy said, beauty was seen as having blue eyes, hence the name of the book. I believe that beauty cannot be defined like that. I do not think that it is right to think that someone is ugly if they are not white with blonde hair and blue eyes. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. I agree with Amy’s opinion when she said that Toni Morrison is depressing, because at the end of the book I felt very sad and sympathetic towards the characters. I think I felt sad because Morrison explains each character’s situation and life so descriptively that you connect with them almost as if you were their friend. I also agreed with Giulia when she was confused about how an eleven year old girl could be so obsessed with her appearance. I think that she was insecure because she was surrounded by people who were prettier than her, and she wanted to fit in since she did not have that many friends besides Frieda and Claudia. I loved how Giulia pointed out that Pecola’s problem is much like the problems in our society. I had never thought about it that way, but I was later able to make connections with the real world and Pecola’s insecurities. A question I still have about the book is how Toni Morrison could have come up with such a different perspective on race? Where did she get this new perspective from? Has she, or someone else she knew, felt like Pecola did?
I really enjoyed reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Before reading the book I thought it was going to be your typical book about race, but from the very first page I realized it was not. While reading the book I often felt sad, Pecola had a very had life style. If found various part of the book disturbing, like when Junior threw the cat at Pecola. The way that Toni Morrison describes things in the book is wonderful; I can imagine what I am reading because of Toni Morrison’s vivid details. The way Toni Morrison describes a character really allows me to understand their personality and the way they look. By having the characters speak the way they did at that time allowed me to really understand the time period of the book, I really enjoyed the dialogue in the book. I also enjoyed how the book was divided by the seasons, and how unlike traditional books the books chapters did not start with numbers because sometimes I get caught up on what chapter I am on and not what the chapter is about. I however did not enjoy the way that Toni Morrison introduced characters at random times, I was often confused. In addition, sometimes I did not know who was talking and what the book was about. I would like to read this book four years from now, I think I would be able to really understand what Toni Morrison was trying to convey. A question I do have is why does Toni Morrison start the book off with the story about Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane?
I agree with Nikko's comments about the way the author switches the voice in which the book is written. It was very confusing. I could not understand why Morrison did this. In response to Alice's comment, I agree about how upsetting it was to read about people, especially a whole race at that time, feeling inferior. Perhaps Morrison leaves certain aspects of the story unconcluded because she wants the readers to interpret those parts themselves. When I read the part in the book about the boy and the cat, I immediately assumed that the boy and his mother must be close for her to believe him, but this was just my own way of interpreting the story. In response to Lauren M's comment, I believe that the house was significant because of the ideology it presented. The house and the description of the people in it makes it seem perfect. At the beginning of almost every chapter, a line from the house description is repeated. I noticed that most of these descriptions related to what the chapter was about. For example, the chapter that starts with "HEREISTHEFAMILYMOTHERFATHERDICKANDJANETHEYLIVEINTHEGREENANDWHITEHOUSEANDTHEYAREVERYH", is about the Breedloves and their family. Maybe the word "happy" is cut off because the chapter clearly shows how dysfunctional the family really is. I did not understand the significance of jumbling the words together. In the first passage of the first chapter, the entire passage is punctuated properly and not jumbled together. In the second passage, all punctuation is removed. In the third passage, the words are completely jumbled together. I still do not understand why Toni Morrison does this.
In response to Chris, I also agree that some of the characters Toni Morrison introduce are irrelevant in a way. We are introduced to the woman with the cat and her family. We are given a background of her life and weird relationship with her cat. We also see a glimpse of the reason why her son likes to hurt females. Even though Pecola comes in contact with these characters I did not see the point in knowing their background information; this seemed unimportant to me. I also agree with Desahn, when I first began to read the book I was a little confused. The storyline was kind of difficult to keep up with. At first I thought the author was jumping through time. I am still confused as to why Pecola was living with Freida and Claudia. In response to Arrisa, to my understanding the house and family descriptions at he beginning of the chapters are Pecola’s thoughts on what the “ picture perfect” family is, including the perfect house, parents, and children. As the story goes on the descriptions no longer have punctuation or spaces. I believe the words are jumbled together because Pecola begins to lose her sanity, like at the end of the book when she is acting completely crazy. In response to Angel, Toni Morrison introduces many characters in a very non- traditional way, personally I found this helpful. Often when reading a book, you do not understand why characters do the things they do. Ms. Morrison introduces every character in a way where you can have some understanding of why they turned out the way they did.
Going along with what Alice and Lauren said in their first posts, it is strange that the black characters agree with the white people that white means beautiful and instead of fighting against it, they try to fit in. The Bluest Eye gives a whole different perspective on the civil rights movement. Is this actually how it was in some places? Picturing all of those who struggled and battled throughout their lives for equality, and then this image of weaker people who submit unto the thought of white beauty bursts through, completely changing the idea of it all. It is even stranger that one of my best friends, who is black, bought blue eye contacts last year. She was tired of having eyes the same color as her skin. Today, it is so easy to hate who we are, and even easier to change our appearances. Although we might not go by “white beauty” as an edict, there is still a level of physical looks that one must reach to be seen as attractive. This level is set by celebrities and others who live in the social limelight. Standards that we ourselves create, and then compare ourselves to after they are set too high. In The Bluest Eye, not only must a character be white to fit in, but they also must have blonde hair and blue eyes. The last two traits are changeable, eye color and hair color. However, you are born into this world with one skin color, and leave in the same, with the exception of results from certain diseases. Pecola is eventually driven mad from her yearning for something she does not have and does not look like. Will this happen to society, today, too? Instead of changing to fit the “norm”, try wearing who you are proudly.
When first reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, I did not really understand too much of it. I feel like now I have a better understanding of what was going on in the book. In response to Evan’s question, the man who had the prostitutes in the house was named Mr. Henry and he probably did not want Claudia and Frieda to tell their mother that they were in the house because the mother always spoke so poorly of prostitutes. I think that if they were to tell their mother what they saw going on in her house while she was away, she would be raging. She would not appreciate Mr. Henry having them in her home, and he and the girls knew that, which is why Frieda and Claudia decided not to tell mom since the prostitutes had not eaten off of her plates. In response to Angel, my interpretation of why Morrison started the book out by talking about the large house of the mother, father, Dick, and Jane would be because she is comparing it to the other house in the book. The family she began the book talking about was a white family that lived in a fairly larger green and white house. The family in the actual book did not live in such a nice house. I also think that by the way she describes the other house in the story; it shows how different the people in the book are. Dick and Jane were a part of a happy family as opposed to the families in the book because, the family was pretty dysfunctional, which was why it was such an easy comparison.
In response to Evan C’s comment, I agree, Morrison’s outlook in writing this story was, different to say the least. She seemed almost overly excited to write the story, and in her hastiness, jumbled together all of her thoughts without really thinking about her organization. I also can relate to Evan’s idea about how almost every black female in the story wanted to change themselves, so much in fact, that the repetitiveness of it all eventually put me down. It is definitely plausible that some of the characters would be unhappy about whom they are, but I do not agree that all of the characters should have been created with such low self esteem. In response to Alice P’s comment, I also agree, I had many mixed emotions when I read the The Bluest Eye. I felt excited at the prospect of reading a new novel, then that turned into interest, which then changed into confusion, which then transformed into surprise, and the cycle continued. Also, as both Alice and I stated before, the black characters had no self esteem, and felt that they were naturally inferior, which simply was not true. As far as an answer to both of their questions, I cannot answer them, since I cannot ask the author. I concur, I am just as confused on many topics, and simply do not understand why the author would put so much irrelevant information into the story. A question that I would pose towards Morrison would simply be, why does it seem like she makes an attempt to confuse the reader?
I agree with Arrisa's response to The Bluest Eye. I believe most of us had a hard time understanding the book, because of the switching of the narrators, and the persons Toni Morrison was writing in. Although the moral of the story was pretty original and easier to understand, this book was somehow different from other books that describe racial discrimination towards others. Toni uses great technique in transitioning from character to character even though they might only appear once in the whole story, as well as using very descriptive words to point out the importance of things to the reader. I found that some of Toni Morrison's use of quotes to be odd but needed to lighten the mood. I also agree on how children could be treated in such a manner. I could understand why Pecola went a little mad at the end, but I just wish she was a little more independent on others, however, if were to follow someone, why not Claudia? No child should have to go through what Pecola went through. Despite my feelings, this book was still enjoyable to read.
In response to Gulia P’s comment, I agree with her completely. It is surprising that an eleven year old girl could be so obsessed with her appearance. It was also very surprising that someone so young could lead such a terrible life. Her parents were also so terrible that I think her appearance was the last thing that she should have been worried about. She had distant and unloving mom, a drunk of a father that she got pregnant by and then her baby died. It was all very depressing and saddening. I also feel that these qualities are obviously present in today’s society. It is all very unsettling. In response to Desahn D’s comment, I agree with certain parts. I do like the fact that the book was divided into seasons so that you can get an idea of what everything looks like but I don’t like how vivid and detailed her descriptions were. There were certain parts of the book that did not need to be so vivid and did not need a crystal clear image for the reader to understand what was going on. I also agree that I could not follow the story very easily. It was confusing and she would constantly jump from character to character even if it was not a major character. Also, it was confusing trying to figure out what was happening in real time and was actually a memory.
The Bluest Eye
In the book the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison I loved the plot of the story and I liked the characters. But. As I other teammates comments on the book it made me and kind of change the way I thought of the book. I would like to agree with Nikko because he was saying that it was hard to follow who was telling the story. I also got confused about who the narrator of the story, Like at one point Cholly was telling the story, then Pecola, and the mother. I thought she could have been more obvious that there was a narrator change coming in the story. Also I would like to agree with Evan’s comment on the book and what he thought about the book. I agree with him when he said that he like that she used different perspectives between the white and the black people in that period. I agree I like how she would show the life of a white girl and the life of a black girl. I also liked that she showed the change in Mauren and Pecola’s relationship throughout the book. Also I want disagree with Corey because yes the plot was hard to follow, but it wasn’t terrible. Once you read the book it will be hard to follow but when you start to read enough of it you’ll start to follow the pattern of the book. I struggled reading the book at first ,but I just didn’t give up while reading.
I agree with Lauryn, in the way that Claudia and Frieda seemed to want to help Pecola but did not know how. The seeds that they thought were going to help Pecola, the ones that they did not sell so to help Pecola had failed. Being the reader you knew that planting as few seeds could not help a person. You can only wait for the sad truth to finally occur in their heads when this plan failed, for them to experience the painful sting of disappointment. On the end there was no help for the Pecola. Furthermore, I agree with Arissa. In the end of the book Pecola was finally satisfied, while others were disgusted or sorry for her. As Arissa said how could they treat a child so horribly? How could people be so mean? To increase their self esteem they reduce hers. For this reason, they may make sly comments when she passes by or behind her back. However, Pecola was oblivious to this hatred when she had finally received her blue eyes, only stating that they were jealous of her new blue eyes. Though, she not only had acquired the blue eyes that she wanted she gained a new friend, imaginary or not. As a result, she was not alone in her life. There would always be someone to remark on her new found beauty and blue eyes. She was finally content on the way things were in her life.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
In response to Evan C’s comment, I disagree with the book being divided in to sections. I felt as if it was very confusing and I could not catch up to the book. But I do agree with the fact that. Ms. Morrison did jump from character to character and I felt it was not the appropriate time to do so.
Toni Morrison did not explain the characters relationships well, which confused me on who was whose father, mother, sister, and so on. But I do agree with Evan that some unnecessary segments of the book were given detailed description when the did not have much relevance to the story For example, in the story Ms. Morrison began talking about how Soaphead Church’s family was mixed and no one wanted there black roots to be shown ,so they continued to have children with other races. I did not see the relevance of his story in the book. But I do believe the boy’s mother, the one with the cat was relevant because it explained how a person cannot always get love from a human being so they look towards animals for some sort of comfort. I agree with Arissa, on how the word Happy is cut off due to the family’s dysfunctional relationship. Pecola just wanted love from her mother, but she never received it. Her mother gave her tough love which I don’t think was right for Pecola. Her father was really never around and when he was it was awkward for them. Though the book is very confusing it is still sad and touching.
When I first read Cecily's post, I agreed with the majority of her statement. The Bluest Eye was a story that had a deeper meaning, escially coming from a Black person and how the society makes people percieve themselves. On the other hand, I did not ejoy reading the book as much as I hoped. In addtion, I did not enjoy how Morrison wrote the story. I think the writing style was unique but it was not the way I like to read my stories. Although, what I did like about the story learning about the family's past. I liked this part becuase it was easy to follow. In conclusion, Morrison is a talented writer and I think other young adults will enjoy it, it just was not for me.
In response to Monique’s comment, I disagree with the book being confusing. I personally agree with Evan more. Pecola was obsessed with her appearance because too many people in her home and community let it be known that she was not beautiful. Her own mother, Pauline Breedlove, prefers the white girl she works for over her daughter. I would feel ugly too. There was no reassurance in her home that her skin color was beautiful. Just like how Pecola idealized Shirley Temple, today’s society idealizes Paris Hilton or Barbie. The way she divided the book into seasons was brilliant. The events in the book clearly contradict each season, which brings more emotion out into the reader. Toni Morrison uses these seasons to show the awkwardness of Pecola’s life. I do not think the book was confusing at all. You have to think outside of a normal novel. Morrison puts subtle messages in every element of The Bluest Eye. The blue eyes and the marigolds, among others, all have a meaning behind them. Soaphead Church’s life signifies the hypocrisy in many communities around the world. He is supposed to be a religious man, but meanwhile he has many thoughts of young girls in an explicit way. Monique is right about Geraldine. She only shows true feelings for her cat. She also puts a lot of time and effort into the cleanliness of her house and her and her family’s outer appearance. The Bluest Eye shows the many parallelisms between the characters of this book; this book depicts the realities of yesteryear and today.
I for one disagree with Monique N about the relevance and importance of the detailed back story. I enjoyed the back story that Toni Morrison provided about every character and how their life story formed them. While it may be true that Toni Morrison’s descriptions and biographies of almost every single character that has a role in the story can be rather over bearing, the back story makes the world that all the character inhabit more deep and dynamic. As Mr.Igoudjil would say it gives “blood and flesh” to the characters. While I do admit, that the story of Soaphead Church was rather tedious and a bit of overkill, it still enriched the world and made the setting more realized and helped with the suspension of disbelief. Christopher C also had a good point that the people or towns folk were ridiculing, mocking and talking behind Pecolas back because they wanted to improve their self esteem. Anyone who makes fun of a child that is pregnant probably has very low self esteem. But they also could be discussing this merely because they’re bored and it is the talk of the town. My question is who is why is pecolas staying at Claudia and Freidas house. Dose she not have a home even if the home is not really very safe or loving. Was pecolas in foster care? And if so why was she back in her old house in the second chapter. Was she booted out of Frieda and Claudia’s house because of the milk or because of the period that she had
I completely agree with Cassidy because this book was kind of different in the way the author explained the racial problems. It really impressed me because Toni Morrison could show the racial discrimination against other people in a special way: from the story of an eleven years old girl. I agree also with Desahn because I think that the way that the author used to divide the book was really clear, and so it was easier to understand the story but I do not really liked the parts in which there were a lot of descriptions, with so much particular details. In addition, I think that is boring to read all that useless detailed description, and sometimes I also skip them. Besides, I agree with Angel, not in everything she said, but I completely agree in the part in which she talks about how Toni Morrison introduces characters in random times, in fact sometimes that made me a lot confused. Furthermore, I agree in the part of Evan‘s comment in which he talks about how in this book the blacks seemed to hate their own race, because they thought that being white was better and they constantly keep calling themselves ugly. This was something in particular that I noted in The Bluest Eye and that made me really sad, especially for Pecola and for her terrible lack of self confidence.
Amy’s response helped me understand the purpose of the beginning of the book. It helped me see that it was not irrelevant, and had a deeper meaning connected with the story line. This also helped me realize why Morrison gave an in depth description of each character. She did this so the reader can understand each characters actions. I agree with Terrisha when she said she did not like how Morrison introduced characters once and never brought them up again. I feel that if there is an in depth description and background of a character than I think they should be consistent in the story. I disagree with Alice when she said she was surprised that the black people in the book felt they were inferior to the whites. This has been a problem in the black community for a long time. In Spike Lee’s movie School Daze there are a group of women that have long blonde weaves with blue eyes. The movies message is similar to The Bluest Eye, its about how some black people think that being white with blonde hair and blue eyes it the only way to be beautiful. I also disagree with Desahn when he said he did not think that all of the characters should have such low self-esteem. I think Morrison was trying to make the book more real instead of trying to sugar coat it. In the real world a lot of people have a low self-esteem and always want to be like the people on television.
In response to Arrisa, Nikko, and others who wrote about the book being hard to follow because Toni Morrison skips around from narrative to narrative, constantly describing people and the leaving them and then never to be re-introduced to the story ever again; I think one needs to keep an open mind when reading this story; to not expect anything from the book and to just absorb all that happens unbiasedly . When reading it, i felt it was written from the prospective of a child but one who's vocabulary was quite extensive and who could really express her thoughts, which it was (for the most part). So I saw that Morrison's constant method of describing people was like a kids mind at work. Young kids see a certain person or object and then think so many thoughts at once about that person or object, and then forget about them. I was really reminded of that while reading this book. It also shows somewhat of an innocence that one associates with a child. The voices of the characters in the story are just telling things as they see it. It is a very sad book but it tells the blunt truth of the time. It accurately shows the struggle and the mindset of the black community. It is not putting the white community down par-say, it is quietly showing what it is like living in that time. So although her style is confusing, I was still able to enjoy and appreciate it.
I agree with Amy V. I also thought that The Bluest Eye would be another race story about jealousy and segregation. It did not intrigue me, because I had read stories like that before. I also think that everything Morrison writes has a deeper meaning. I think that the deeper meaning changes for whoever is reading the story. Everybody looks at things in different ways, and can connect things to different parts of their lives. In further agreement with Amy V, I think that the Dick and Jane excerpts in the story were very important in their deeper meaning. To me, they showed what white people were perceived as to Pecola. They were what she wanted to be the very most. Pecola wanted the lives and appearances of white people. The book surprised me a lot. I thought it would be a book where there was even the smallest bit of justice to those who deserved it. The difference in this book was that there was not really an antagonist. In many books about race, a white person is an antagonist. In this story, it was almost as if Pecola was her own antagonist for plaguing herself with the need to be white. Looking at in at a different aspect, her society is the antagonist. The problem with that is that one can not pinpoint an exact thing that made Pecola the way she was. I agree with Amy saying that the book is a different aspect of racial problems. You read books about white people hating black people, and black people hating white people. It is very rare that you read about a race hating itself.
In response to Evan, I disagree with your comment: “Her parents were also so terrible that I think her appearance was the last thing that she should have been worried about.” Indeed, she had far worst issues in her life: domestic abuse, physically and verbally. However, Pecola felt as though having the bluest eyes would be the answer to all of her problems. In the society she grows up in it appears as though people with blue eyes, white people, do not have any issues. Also, I believe Ms. Morrison was so vivid in her descriptions in the book for a reason. Many authors do not vividly depict vulgar scenes, she does this for you to fully understand the hurt and pain Pecola endures. In response to Merritt, I am not surprised that the black characters agree with the white characters, that white means beauty. In her society the standards of beauty are limited to the bluest eye. I do agree that in our society today that there still are standards of beauty. While they may not be as evident or drastic, they are there. I also agree with Chris and Lauryn, Frieda and Claudia are sad for Pecola once they here the disheartening news that she is pregnant with her father’s child. They want to help, but at the same time are afraid. Like many people are, they were afraid of the abnormal. They probably did not know what to say or how to act, so they decided to try and help her from a distance.
In response to Arissa's second comment, I think that Morrison jumbles the last paragraph of the Dick and Jane story to symbolize the falling apart of the "perfect family". I think it shows that in Pecola's word, no such thing can exist. The words in the third paragraph are jumbled together and almost illegible symbolizing the impossibility of Pecola having that kind of wonderful family. I am glad that I helped a few of my classmates understand the story and the symbolism of the Dick and Jane story a bit better. I agree with what Jade said about how there was no positive influence in the household so it was obvious that Pecola would develop extremely low self esteem. In response to what Corey said about how Soaphead Church gave her "false hope", I disagree to some extent that that action was a bad thing to do. At the end of the story Pecola was at the happiest that she had ever been, is this a bad thing? Pecola herself believed that she had blue eyes, the bluest in all the world. And she was given this joy because of the opportunity Church gave her. In the end Pecola "goes mad" but she was living in her own perfect world. Where she was was her "safe place" the place where she was beautiful. She did not know about all the people who were judging her on the outside; on the contrary, she believed that they adored her. So I think that Church, by giving her blue eyes, also gave her a way to discover her freedom. Because, by finding a way into her own world, she is free of the hatred and cruelty of the “real” world. After I finished reading this book I went back to the beginning and re-read the forward written by Morrison. After reading the story, Morrison’s motives for writing the book were much more apparent. When she was young, one of her best friends wished that she had blue eyes, and Morrison was horrified. She states that “The death of self-esteem can occur quickly, easily in children…couple the vulnerability of youth with indifferent parents, dismissive adults, and a world, which, in its language, laws, and images, re-enforces despair, and the journey to destruction is sealed” which is why I think she chose to write the novel as she did. She wanted to show people the struggle of growing up in this abusive time period and how easily it can break one’s spirit. In response to Alice’s comment on how reading about a race hating itself it is somewhat rare, I say that still it is diffidently, extremely, and seriously real. In this novel Morrison has touched upon some issues that still plaque our society today. All and all, this was an excellent book, and I think it did, in fact, deserve to win the noble prize. It was sad, but it was one of the first of its kind, to show the adversity within the black community.
I for one agree with Alice P that I was surprised that it was not another run of the mill book about African Americans being oppressed by rich white people during the Civil Rights Movement or a book about African slaves during the 1800s. I am used to straight forward books about the horrors of oppression in the past. I also thought that the time period was an interesting choice. “The Bluest Eye” is set in the 1940s. The 1940s were not near any mile stones in the history of segregation. It would be another 20 years before improvement in racial equality was made. I think the time period influenced how African Americans in the “The Bluest Eye” saw the world. There is not much hope for change or betterment. The total oppression contributed to African Americans internalized racism as is demonstrated by Mrs.Breedlove. in the novel. Most of the African Americans in the novel simply accept their fate and simply hope to get by in the world. The sole exception in the book being Cholly who “killed three white people” though the book doesn’t specify why. Addressing Amy V earlier post, I believe that the book is not actually written from the perspective of a child, rather that of an adult, reminiscing about their troubled childhood. I also agree with Terrisha J that Pecola’s desperate hope for blue eyes were rooted in her belief that if she could get that one attribute everything would be better. This is a prime example of naivety and innocence that I think is a major theme through out “The Bluest Eye.”
At first I agreed with Evan, but now that Terrisha makes me think about it an a different way, I change my mind, because Terrisha is absolutely right, the obsession of Pecola with her appearance is because she wanted to escape from the reality, she wanted to create he own world in which maybe she could feel better. Her life is really terrible: the abuse of her father, her mother that is always isolated, her brother frequently runs away, and she passively suffers the abuse of her classmates too. So she is lonely and imaginative, and she create her own world, thinking that white people are better, prettier and she loves Shirley Temple. I also agree with Chris and Lauryn because Claudia and Frieda are sad and worried for Pecola when they find out that she has been impregnated by her father. So they tried to help her and I think it was really nice from them because, unlike the rest of the neighborhood, they wanted the baby to live. I also think that from Claudia and Frieda it was a wonderful thought, because they sacrificed their money that they have been saving, for a bicycle and a plant marigold seeds. Then I also agree with Jade just in the fact about Pecola’ s sense of ugliness continually receives confirmations, for example the grocer looks right through her when she buys candy, boys make fun of her, and a light-skinned girl, Maureen, who temporarily befriends her makes fun of her too. So I think it would be hard for Pecola to convince herself that she is not ugly. But one thing that surprised me was that also a mature woman like Pauline Breedlove, Pecola’s mother, feels most alive when she is at work, cleaning a white woman’s home, and that she loves this home and she despises her own.
In response to Amy, I understand your comment about the jumbling as a representation of Pecola's world and how it will clearly never achieve that perfection. If someone cannot even appreciate their own beauty, how can people around them be expected to do so? I also agree with Alice and Amy's comments about the story. It seemed as though the book would probably be about segregation problems or civil rights. However, the book was not like that. Instead, The Bluest Eye was about experiences that many people regardless of race, age, or gender go through. Certain aspects of the book did relate to Pecola's role as a black child, obviously, but the true conflict of the story stems from Pecola's dislike of her own appearance. The fact that she is black just contributes to her own self hatred. In response to Cassidy's comment, I think that when Pecola "goes mad" at the end of the novel, she isn't really going mad. Toni Morrison is trying to show that Pecola has a new found confidence as opposed to the continued self hatred that we see throughout the novel. If Pecola was granted actual blue eyes, then the entire book would have seemed like wasteful reading. If Pecola had not been granted blue eyes, the entire story would have just seemed incredibly tragic. There has to be a climactic point in novels, and I think Pecola's encounter with Soaphead Church is that climactic point. From then on, Pecola's "blue eyes" are just the falling action of the novel. The "going mad" just seems to fit at the end, even though it is slightly confusing. Overall, the book was an enjoyable read, despite confusions at some point. All of these comments have really helped me to understand The Bluest Eye from other points of view, as well.
After reading Christopher C’s comment, I must say that I agree with just about every word he said. The way the book brought characters into the book was pretty random and didn’t seem to serve a significant purpose except to cause confusion to the reader. This book was a lot like life as Christopher said. In life people can come in your life for a day and then be gone with a few months. Another interesting topic that Chris brought up was how in real life there is not always going to be a happy ending because “life is unfair”. I also agree with Cecily Scott Martin about the little boy’s house. It was very creepy and I was a little scared for her when the boy through the cat. At first, I thought that she might be in danger, and then the mom came home. I was more worried for her then because angry mothers are way much worse than deranged little boys. Furthermore, I agree with Lauren D. There were a lot of strange and twisted situations. Some of these weird situations included the poisoned dog, Pecola going crazy, and the creepy house followed by the cat’s death. I also like how the book’s chapters were name like Jane’s story in the beginning and how they were also in order of the seasons. The beginning of the book did seem a bit random and weird. It also got annoying reading that part over and over again. In conclusion, the Bluest Eye was a good book but had one to many random and depressing parts to it.
I agree with Arissa’s confusion when she did not understand parts of The Bluest Eye. Both Arissa and Nikko did not understand why Morrison kept switching from character to character, and not keeping the story chronological. I think that maybe Morrison did this so she could introduce us to multiple characters. Even though it was very confusing, I think that she did this because it was her unique style of writing. It was also very interesting to me when Arissa responded to Lauryn’s comment. Arissa analyzed the relevance of the beginning of the book when Morrison kept repeating the same phrase. Although I looked at it a little differently, I understood her perspective. I always thought that it represented a happy, white family which was the complete opposite of Pecola’s hard life. Then later on, when she jumbles all of the words together, it represents the family falling apart. Arissa had the same point as me, but she also mentioned that in one section of the book, Morrison titles the chapter, "HEREISTHEFAMILYMOTHERFATHERDICKANDJANETHEYLIVEINTHEGREENANDWHITEHOUSEANDTHEYAREVERYH”. She noted that they cut off happy, and mentioned that they did this because it represents how dysfunctional Pecola’s family is. I agree with Arissa’s new point of view on the beginning of the book. Also, Merritt made a good point in her post. She mentioned the struggles girls deal with. These days, girls are worried about their appearance and if they fit “the standards”. In addition to Merritt’s perspective, I think that they do that because they are insecure and they want to fit in. This is like Pecola’s case. She always feels as if she is not good enough. The only way to maintain friends is to be pretty. Pecola wants to achieve something she cannot have; blue eyes. Like the Rolling Stones once said, “you can’t always get what you want”.
The Bluest Eye
In the book there were a matter of things that could be discussed about the issues and events in the book. One of my teammates said that they liked that she made them feel as if they were in that time period. I agree because she was very descriptive about the events. You could really see what was going on in the book in your head. She had really good visual imagery in the book. She was intentionally being very descriptive because she wanted the reader to really be engaged in the book. I also agree with her about how she interrupted the book and what she thought about it. I thought the overall theme was everybody is beautiful in there own way. Because Pecola didn’t think she was pretty because she didn’t have blue eyes. Another thing was that there was a stereotype in the book; that stated that blue eyed people are the best looking people. It’s something that is still going on in the world now. Some girls have low self confidence in themselves because of this stereotype. For some reason America thinks that whit people are the most beautiful women and men in the world. One of my other teammates said that the book was confusing to read and understand. I agree because it took me a while to understand what they were trying to say sometimes. But after awhile it became to get easier to understand. The book was hard to follow, but it was a great book.
I agree with what Lauryn's first comment was. I am talking about what she said about Pecola's parents growing up with childhoods where they both felt ugly. Pecola's mother had her foot impaled and had a her tooth chipped while eating a piece of candy at the movie theater. These two combined made her feel hideous. Pecola's father had his experience when he was a teenager. He was dating a white woman at the time and while he was having his "first time" two white men saw them and watched him finish. After this demoralizing incident he always felt as if he needed authority to make up for his ugliness. Not only did they feel sad about this but other people made them feel even worse. This belief of ugliness was passed down to their children. Pecola believed she was ugly not only because her parents made her feel that way but because of the Anglo-Saxon stereotype that beauty is blue eyes. Pecola's quest to find this left nothing but broken promises, broken doll babies and still no answers. Pecola had broken doll babies because she tried ripping them open to find out what made them pretty. She only wanted to get the beauty from inside of them to use on herself.
In response to Giulia P. I agree that I was surprised and sad. However I felt no sympathy towards Pecola, because black is beautiful and she should have realized that. People are still obsessed with the color of their skin, hair, and having the latest fashion styles. I also agree that people have many insecurities and focus too much on the little things in our society now and back then. I think the only time people should worry about appearances should be when they are going to parties, special occasions, work, or for interviews because it is always nice to make a good impression. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison highlights the good and not so good qualities of what a person should act like. She emphasizes the characteristics of a person with beauty both on the in and the outside. Again, I agree that the ending was truly sad because Pecola has had one of the most toughest lives I could possibly ever imagine which is why I understand her breakdown at the end. I would still recommend this book to anyone searching for the real meaning of inner beauty.
In response to Angel G’s first comment, I agree with the fact that there were many surprises in the book, as far as content and the storyline. Some were indeed pleasant, while others were not. It seems that nearly everyone is confused about the book. I agree that there are parts that make the book interesting, which is one of the reasons why I did not just quit reading and get spark notes. I like how Angel pointed out Morrison’s use of the dialogue that was used in that time period, which definitely set the stage for the reader. I also agree with Angel’s statement, “I would like to read this book four years from now, I think I would be able to really understand what Toni Morrison was trying to convey.” I think that the more times I read the novel, and the more knowledge I have, the better I will be able to comprehend her style of writing. Also, in response to Lauryn M’s first comment, as I stated in my own post, the way Morrison used descriptive words was very captivating, and was one of the main good parts of the novel. It seems that all three of us agree to the idea that Pecola seems depressed and has a low self-esteem. I think it is because of the fact that her parents do not seem to care for her, and she does not have a shoulder to cry on. After reading everyone’s comments, I can see the underlying points that were in the book, like how race can be twisted around to help some and hurt others. All in all, I can see that almost everyone, including myself, enjoyed the novel and can understand its purpose after these blog postings.
Again, I am in complete agreement with Amy V. I agree that the Dick and Jane word jumbles in The Bluest Eye symbolize the falling apart of Pecola’s idea of a perfect white family. It shows even more that Pecola has no chance of having this. I also think it shows how much Pecola lived in her own fantasy, wanting something that she could never have. While reading the book, I was sad that no one ever reached out to Pecola to tell her that the way she was could not be changed and that she should not want it to be. I was angry at her society for making her feel this way, but giving it further thought, I think that it is quite possible that there were examples of how black people are not inferior to whites. Pecola was just too lost to see them. She was so sure of what she wanted and what she thought was good, she was blind to the truth. I also agree with what Lauryn M. said about low self esteem. It is true that many people have low self esteem because of what the world tells them they should be. What shocked me was that in The Bluest Eye, it was not one person with low self esteem, it was an entire race. The focus was on Pecola, but it seemed as though almost everyone was feeling what she was, just to a lesser extreme. Lastly, I agree with Terrisha J.’s comments about how people are afraid of the abnormal. If a situation is too out of the ordinary for them, but they still care, they will try to help from a distance. This makes me sad, because I believe that helping from a distance does not always make a difference in a situation so extreme. In some cases it can, but in most cases not. I think that if someone cares enough about a problem, no matter how abnormal, they should face it head on.
I agree with Niani’s comment on how descriptive the book was. When I read it I felt taken to the places and vulnerable to the situations. I even shuttered when the cat was killed. The way she went into the background of ever character just reinforced the images that occurred in the book. I enjoyed how everything did not seem to make sense but then Toni Morrison would piece it all together. When people say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” it fits into the book. At the end of the book when Pecola thinks she has blue eyes she is he beholder of her own beauty. This shows that no matter what the stereotype there are people who over come it and find there own beauty in themselves even if they do not know they have. So people can be held back by stereotypes but in the end the strong people can get through them. Even if Pecola dies at the end at least she has proved to herself that she is beautiful. I also liked the way that Claudia and Pecola grew up as the story went on. It helped the story develop and incorporate who they were in relation to the rest of the world.
I agree with Merritt’s statement about the attitude of black people in The Bluest Eye. In The Bluest Eye it seems that the black characters are content, and agree that white skin is better, allowing them to remain below the status of white people. However, they are not to blame for this lack of confidence. All around them is evidence that their skin is inferior. For example, in The Bluest Eye all of the dolls were white. As a little black girl who just received this doll you must be wondering why it is not the same as you. Obviously if you are the mother, the one who must take care of this doll, why does it not resemble your skin? I also agree with Jade. Pecola is a true example of this problem. Pecola’s own mother preferred the white daughter of the family she works for over her own daughter. Thus, if her mother must love this white girl over her flesh and blood there must be something about her that is better. So she concluded that white skin is superior to black skin. This seemed to haunt her every move. Believing that white is beautiful while black is ugly. Leaving Pecola to strive for eyes that’s he would never be able to acquire, the eyes of a pretty white girl. However, she did not know you are born with the skin tone, eyes, mouth, nose that you will forever have. No amount of medical procedures, makeup, or wishing will change this. You are who you are, and nothing will change this.
I disagree with what Desahn said about self esteem. In The Bluest Eye, the young black girl did not like her appearance. She had very low self esteem, which gives the book its title and sets up a plot for the story. If the characters did not have low self esteem, it would pretty much defeat the purpose of the idea the book is trying to portray. The book speaks strongly on how the girl wanted to be something she was not and if she had confidence in her appearance, the entire story line would be changed because the book was not written to give the girl confidence, but to describe how uncomfortable she is with herself. I completely agree with Amy and what she sated about how we should read the book. When reading such a complex book as The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the reader should definitely not have any expectations as to what the book will be about or how complicated it will be to read. Taking in all of what is happening in the story without taking a side or trying to decide what should happen in the book should really help resolve the confusion people may have had with the book. I myself was confused at certain points in the book, but after reviewing what I read and actually trying to understand what was going on, helped me to follow the book a lot better. I actually really enjoyed reading this book because it has a relation to things of the real world and some things, such as racism, that still go on in places throughout the world. I find Morrison’s writing to be very enjoyable.
In their first posts, both Cecily and Evan point out the hate within a race. This hatred is extremely unhealthy because it turns everyone against one another. They do not see that it is not being “ugly” that makes them weak, it is the amount of faith-which is little to none- that they have for themselves. If the character in The Bluest Eye actually opened their eyes, they would see that Pecola is not much different from them. Nonetheless, they close her out of their lives because she is darker than they are. They know what it is like to be black, why are they discriminating Pecola instead of comforting her about her self-doubt? All of the characters are so cruel to her. It is especially hard to think about this after the civil rights movement. Yes, there is still hate between races, but I have not heard of anyone hating their own race. Hating your own race and believing that you are better is downright egotistical. What makes a person better than others? Even the worst of the bad have a good side. Pecola was not given a chance to show her good side to these judgmental people. What is even worse is that they saw how her life was, they saw her struggle, but no one other than Frieda and Claudia dared to actually help her. The worst thing a person do is turn their back on the people they know. By hating their own race, the characters of The Bluest Eye showed a mean and nasty side of themselves.
Though the book was some what confusing, at times it was an excellent book. The way Toni Morrison gave detail to every character; it was very easy to visualize them. She illustrated the book so the reader would be able to imagine her characters. For example, she illustrated how much Pecola wanted those blue eyes. Ms. Morrison gave such a feel to it, that the reader would also want the eyes. She left the reader with a mystery, wondering why the blue eyes were so captivating. I agree with Alice P. Ms. Morrison brought in some much depth with a particular event and would suddenly jump to another event. Leaving that scene and never discussing it again. I felt as if she threw the reader into the river and before she saved the reader she ran to go save another one. Therefore, leaving the reader stuck on the scene before it, pondering what could have occurred. I also agree with what Lauren D said. Insecurity is an issue that everyone goes through at one point in their lives. Ms. Morrison shows the details of people dealing with this insecurity. Every character in the story dealt with some sort of insecurity. Insecurity left a scar in all their hearts affecting those around them. Reading about the dealing with these issues was very emotional. Each character had so many obstacles to cross, and some of these obstacles were too unbearable for them. I think that Ms. Morrison might have left each story hanging to show how there insecurities and obstacles were just left their and they did nothing about them.
I agree with Merritt’s thought that society sometimes puts pressure on us to look like the “norm”, but I still think it is our responsibility to be confident in the way that we look. In addition, the way you are raised also has an effect on how you feel about yourself. Pecola did not have a loving family that told her she was beautiful. While reading the book I wanted it to end with Pecola realizing that she was beautiful and that she did not need blue eyes, but unfortunately it did not. I agree with Evan’s thoughts that an eleven year old girl with terrible family problems should not be consumed with the thoughts of having blue eyes. In contrast, Pecola thought that if her eyes were blue that all of her problems would go away, that could be the reason why blue eyes were so important to her. In addition, Evan’s thoughts toward how Toni Morrison jumped from character to character and not knowing if the setting happened in the past or present was similar to mines. We both felt very confused and that took away from me enjoying the book. Also, when Toni Morrison described unnecessary events that seemed of no importance to the story I tried to find the reason she included it, which confused me even more. I do disagree with Evan on his thoughts about Toni Morrison’s vivid descriptions of the season. Some of my favorite parts of the story were the descriptions of the seasons, especially when Morrison described winter and Pecola’s father together. Overall, I enjoyed reading The Bluest Eye and I was able to understand the book more by reading my classmates thoughts on the blog.
Throughout reading The Bluest Eye I pondered when Pecola was going to realize she was beautiful in her own skin. It saddened me that blonde hair and blue eyes was such a necessity for her. All readers can understand that Pecola was too young to realize that such a beauty was stereotyped. Having blue eyes and blonde hair doesn’t make you beautiful, your self-esteem, confidence, and inner beauty is what makes you beautiful. I do agree with Monique N. about how it was easy to visualize each character by their vivid descriptions. I understood Pecola character and the relationship with her father quickly when I read the beginning of the book. Toni Morrison provided illustrations without drawing any, her descriptions about the settings and characters were so detailed. I also agree with Angel G., not having a loving family does affect how you feel about yourself. If you are never told you are beautiful in your own skin, who is going to tell you. That is why Pecola deeply believed in the stereotype of beauty. Growing up in a family full of hatred has such a negative effect on your personality. Your personality becomes ugly and no one likes to be around a person with an ugly attitude. This affected Pecola deeply, she grew up in a house with a father who personality and attitude was unbearable. How was she able to believe in herself when everyday someone’s ugly personality is affecting hers. This is why at the age of eleven Pecola had such a determination for the stereotype of “beauty”.
In response to Evan’s comment I do not think Pecola’s mom was “unloving.” I think she just did not know how to love her since she had a rough childhood and adulthood herself. It is hard for a person to love someone else if they cannot love themselves. Pecola and her mother are very similar. Pecola thinks she needs blue eyes to be beautiful and her mother thinks she needs to look like a movie star to be beautiful. Her mother was also very sad and lonely, and I think she took some of her anger out on Pecola. I disagree with Desahn’s comment, she organized the novel the way she did for a reason. She wants the reader to know the backgrounds of all the characters so they can know why the character does something. I agree and disagree with Amy when she said that it was a good thing for Pecola to believe she had blue eyes. I believe that it was a good thing for Pecola to be happy, however, I think she should be happy with who she is, even though that is hard for her. Everybody should be happy with himself or herself, even if others are not. There is always one person that will truly love someone, and one person can make a big difference. Everybody’s comments really helped me understand the book a lot better. I understand the relevance of most of the characters and their detailed background description. If I read this book again I am sure I will enjoy it a lot more. Toni Morrison is a marvelous author, so there has to be a reason to the confusion.
Post a Comment