The Bluest Eye

The timing of the novel's events connects to 

• hostility towards veterans of the Vietnam war
• the legacy of slavery in the Cold War
• World War II and Nazi ideas about racial superiority
• taxation of the poor under Nixon

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.9

CCSS.RL.8.9

Who is the actress whom everyone but Claudia loves?

• Shirley Temple
• Marilyn Monroe
• Ginger Rogers
• Marlene Dietrich

Tags

CCSS.RI.1.4

CCSS.RI.2.1

CCSS.RI.3.1

CCSS.RL.2.1

CCSS.RL.3.1

Claudia destroys white baby dolls because...

• she is angry with her mother
• she wanted something else
• Morrison wants to deconstruct ideas about beauty
• Morrison characterises Claudia as violent to create tension

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

Pecola is taken by surprise at her first menstruation because....

• Her mother had not prepared her
• Her mother is not like Mrs MacTeer
• the school did not teach sex education
• All of these reasons

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.11-12.5

Pecola's first menstruation is ominous because...

• We are reminded that her father will impregnate her
• It reminds us of the bloodshed of WWII
• It shows she is very ignorant
• She could die

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

The relationship between Cholly and Pauline is...

• tender and caring
• devoid of meaning
• co-dependent in a cycle of mutual destruction
• based on a misunderstanding of their history

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

The names of the three prostitutes ...

• are typical of the era
• echo the names of countries invaded in WWII
• are nicknames to make them sound attractive
• show their low status in the community

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RI.9-10.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Eyes and eyesight are important symbols of....

• the legacy of slavery
• the power of the human will
• the deceptive nature of appearances
• the ability to project a sense of selfhood 

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Claudia and Frieda avoid Pecola after her baby dies because ....

• she is no longer at school
• their mother asks them to stay away from her
• they don't want to become The Maginot Line
• they feel they failed her

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

Morrison claims girls from Mobile learn...

• better housekeeping skills and flower arranging
• obedience and to do the white man's work
• confidence and typing skills
• how to dream and fall in love

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RI.9-10.9

CCSS.RI.K.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.9-10.9