1. Of Pecola, the narrator says in Part V, “Her inarticulateness made us believe we were” what?
(a) “Cultured.”
(b) “Blessed.”
(c) “Eloquent.”
(d) “Fluent.”

2. According to Toni Morrison in the book’s Foreword, “The extremity of Pecola's case stemmed largely from" what?
(a) “Societal pressures.”
(b) “The poorest of luck.”
(c) “A series of bad choices.”
(d) “A crippled and crippling family.”

3. The “competent midwife and decisive diagnostician” tells Aunt Jimmy to drink nothing but what when she is ill in Part IV?
(a) Whiskey.
(b) Orange Juice.
(c) Water.
(d) Pot liquor.

4. What does Pecola pray for every night, according to the narrator in Part II?
(a) A new dress.
(b) Food to eat.
(c) A boyfriend.
(d) Blue eyes.

5. The author writes in the novel's Foreword that when she began writing The Bluest Eye, she was interested in the "far more tragic and disabling consequences of accepting rejection as" what?
(a) “Legitimate.”
(b) “Honorable.”
(c) “Beautiful.”
(d) “Inevitable.”

Short Answer Questions

1. In describing Pecola’s mother in Part IV, the narrator says, “Holding Cholly as a model of sin and failure, she bore him like a crown of thorns, and her children like” what?

2. Claudia’s mother sings a song about trains where in the beginning of Part IV?

3. What does the narrator say Aunt Jimmy died of in Part IV?

4. Part I of the novel begins with a story about a girl named Jane and her brother, who is named what?

5. What were the baby twin siblings of Pauline Williams called, according to the narrator in Part IV?

(see the answer key)

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