The story begins curiously with a little girl's description of marigolds and dead hope for a child about to bear her father's child. It's difficult to interpret the meaning of the opening and the significance it holds to all the events that will later be described and some reiterated.

Claudia is one of the main narrators of the story. She tells the fascinating tale of a young girl, Pecola and her awkward unsightliness. At the top of every chapter there is a sentence from a child's story depicting the life of a perfect, happy home and family. Toni Morrison's ability to equate a family's idealistic lifestyle with the indefinite tragedies and sorrows of Pecola's, unravels true contrast in society that are seen, but not necessarily pointed out. Her description of Pecola's life evokes a true sense of pity and wonder. Despite the uncommon misfortunes of the family...