The Bluest Eye

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Foreword-Prologue

Reading Check

1. In the Foreword, how is the house described?

2. In the Foreword, how is Jane described?

3. What is missing in the fall of 1941?

4. How is Pecola described in the Prologue?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the source of the text beginning, “Here is the house”?

2. What do you notice about the way the text beginning, “Here is the house,” is printed on the page?

3. What do Claudia and Frieda attribute to the lack of growth in the fall of 1941?

4. Based on the Prologue, what is the purpose of the novel?

Paired Resources

“Dick and Jane: Story of These Early Readers”

• This article by Kate Kelly traces the history of the Dick and Jane readers, which Morrison quotes in the Foreword.
• As you begin to think about the theme of Black Female Identity, imagine the effect of these readers on the developing identities of Black girls like Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola.

Interview with Charnaie Gordon

• In this interview, Gordon speaks about the importance of diversity in early literacy.
• As you continue to think about the theme of Black Female Identity, imagine how diverse books might have affected the developing identities of Black girls like Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola.

Autumn

Reading Check

1. In the autumn, what two people move in with Claudia’s family?

2. What past Christmas gift does Claudia despise?

3. Which two celebrities do Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola admire?

4. Why is Claudia’s mother upset with Pecola?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the difference between being “put out” and “put outdoors”?

2. How does Claudia treat her despised Christmas gift?

3. What is Pecola’s family life like?

4. Who are the only adults Pecola feels connected to?

Paired Resources

“Jane Withers, Child Star Who Later Won Fame in Commercials, Dies at 95”

• This obituary talks about Jane Withers’s life. (Subscription may be needed for viewing.)
• As you continue to think about the theme of Black Female Identity, consider why Claudia prefers Jane Withers to Shirley Temple.

“Shirley Temple Black, Hollywood’s Biggest Little Star, Dies at 85”

• This obituary talks about Shirley Temple’s life. (Subscription may be needed for viewing)
• As you continue to think about the theme of Black Female Identity, consider why Frieda and Pecola prefer Shirley Temple to Jane Withers.

Winter

Reading Check

1. How is Pecola treated by Bay Boy, Woodrow Cain, Buddy Wilson, and Junie Bug?

2. How does Frieda defend Pecola?

3. Who visits Mr. Henry in Claudia’s house?

4. Why do Claudia and Frieda decide not to tell their mother about Mr. Henry’s visitors?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Meringue Pie?

2. How does Meringue Pie insult Claudia and Frieda?

3. How does Junior trap Pecola?

4. How does Junior’s mother react to Pecola?

Paired Resource

“Being Antiracist”

• The National Museum of African American History and Culture presents an article in the Talking About Race series that explains systemic racism and how to be an antiracist.
• As you think about the theme of Black Respectability and the Family, consider the role that internalized racism plays in Claudia’s life and the life of her family.

Spring

Reading Check

1.  Why is Mr. Henry put out of Claudia’s house?

2. What does Pecola spill at the house where her mother works?

3. How does Cholly introduce himself to Pauline?

4. What happened to Cholly when he was four days old?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happens during Cholly’s first sexual encounter?

2. What is the nature of Cholly’s reunion with his biological father?

3. How does Cholly assault Pecola?

4. Who is Soaphead Church?

Paired Resource

“I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me

• These song lyrics are a direct address to God.
• As you think about the theme of The Nature of Love, compare and contrast Soaphead Church’s letter to God with the lyrics of this song.

Summer

Reading Check

1. How do the people of Lorain react to Pecola’s pregnancy?

2. What happens to Cholly and Sammy?

3. To whom is Pecola speaking as she looks in the mirror?

4. What happens to Pauline and Pecola?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Pecola think she has blue eyes?

2. Why is Pecola worried about how her blue eyes compare with the blue eyes of others?

3. What does the narrator mean when she says, “the horror…of her [Pecola’s] yearning is exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment”?

4. Why does Claudia associate the marigold seeds with Pecola?

Paired Resource

“Baby Blue” by George Straight

• These song lyrics lament the loss of a blue-eyed daughter.
• Consider how this song might serve as a tribute to the lost Pecola.

Recommended Next Reads 

Sula by Toni Morrison

• Best friends Sula Peace and Nel Wright come of age in their close Black community in Ohio in this historical novel. The girls begin to follow different paths as they grow up; conflict ensues in the community when one betrays the other later in their lives.
• Shared themes include Black Female Identity and The Nature of Love.
• Sula on SuperSummary

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

• This novel explores the identity struggles of a light-skinned, multiracial woman with blue eyes.
• Shared themes include Black Female Identity and Black Respectability and the Family.
• The Girl Who Fell from the Sky on SuperSummary