Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1.
The
Bluest Eye uses multiple narrators, including Claudia as
a child, Claudia as an adult, and an omniscient narrator. Which
narrative point of view do you think is most central to the novel
and why?
2. Who do you
think is the most sympathetic character in the novel and why?
3.
The
Bluest Eye is a novel about racism, and yet there are relatively
few instances of the direct oppression of black people by white
people in the book. Explain how racism functions in the story.
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How does nature function in
the novel? Do you consider it a benevolent presence against which
the events of the novel are contrasted, or a potentially malevolent
force? Is Morrison's use of natural imagery hopeful or ironic?
2. Which is a greater threat
to the children in The Bluest Eye: racism or sexism?
3. At the end of the novel, Claudia
questions her own right or ability to tell the truth about Pecola's
experience. How seriously are we to take her questioning? Is she
a reliable narrator?
4. To what extent is Cholly to
blame for his violence against his family? Which other people or
circumstances may also be to blame? What is the novel's position
on blame?
5. The novel includes a number
of secondary story lines, such as Geraldine's and Soaphead Church's
histories, with the main story line of the Breedlove family. Select
one of these secondary stories and explain how it relates to or
comments upon the main story line.
