1. Literature Review Project: The Bluest Eye
By: Mary Show
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2. Why the work was chosen
Over the summer, out of all the books I read on the AP Literature Reading List, The Bluest Eye was my favorite one.
I enjoyed the themes and Toni Morrison’s style of writing.
I thought it was filled with lots of analysis which would have been easy to write the several essays on.
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3. Brief Summary
The book consists of a one-paged introduction that tells a story of a functional family. Then, the novel is broken into four parts - the seasons (autumn, winter, fall, spring). Each chapter within the seasons consists of a sentence from the introduction and discusses how the Breedloves’ do the opposite of what a functional family would do.
Pecola Breedlove is mistreated by multiple people such as her classmates, mother, father, and even society.
Each part describes a different character’s life and their interaction with Pecola.
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4. Protagonist – Pecola Breedlove
11-year-old African American girl
Fantasies over blue eyes because she thinks they will grant her the beauty she lacks.
Obsesses over societal beauty standards
Is abused by mostly everyone in the novel.
Has no friends except Claudia and Frieda
Suffered 2 cases of rape from her own father
Got impregnated then had a miscarriage
Mother was callous toward her
Had a mental breakdown after she’s “granted” blue eyes
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5. Antagonist – Cholly Breedlove
Father of Pecola
Cowardly and Abusive
Tries to escape his responsibilities if his family after Sammy’s (Pecola’s brother) born
Hits Pauline, Rapes Pecola
In Spring, the narrator explains Cholly’s harsh past that has resulted in his terrible fathering.
THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE, just to draw sympathy to Cholly.
Bad experience with women makes him confuse a love moment with lust which leads him to rape Pecola not once, but TWICE.
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6. Major Themes Families in the novel are set against an ideal family.
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Families in the novel are set against an ideal family.
The Breedloves live in an abandoned storefront and have the lowest sense of self-worth.
Geraldine lives in a beautiful house, which allows her to feel superior to other black families.
Beauty in the novel is based on outer appearance instead of what’s on the inside
Race specified if you were beautiful or not
All the characters who internalize ideas of middle-class whiteness are obsessed with cleanliness, order, and/or purity.
Oppression of women is another focus of the novel.
Horrors to racial oppression
Tyranny and violation brought upon them by the men in their lives

7. Pros – Aspects I Enjoyed
Toni Morrison poetic writing style
Easy to read, switches narration to change perspective
Discusses the significance of racial, personal, and sexual issues
Allows the reader to engage and understand the hardships African American went through during World War II
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8. Cons – Aspects I found difficult or unenjoyable
I wanted to strangle Cholly when he raped Pecola.
The book is graphic and discusses incest and domestic violence
Difficult to comprehend the meaning as a whole since some characters seem to be driven by emotion and sexual feelings they can’t control.
When it came to take-home essays and in-class essays, the topic did not always correlate with the book.
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9. Recommendation for Future Student
If I could go back to the beginning of the year and change my selection, I would.
Overall, AMAZING novel, but being “married” to it for the whole school year is kind of depressing.
Intense and graphic novel that makes you sympathetic to Pecola.
Difficult to write essays on
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