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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Toni Morrison refer to as the “most delicate member of society” in the book’s Foreword?

2. According to the narrator in Part II, who “spent all their energies, all their love, on their nests”?

3. What is the name of Pecola’s brother in the novel?

4. The narrator in Part I says that at first they thought there were no marigolds that fall because Pecola was what?

5. What does the narrator say has become of Pecola’s father in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Claudia’s feelings about Shirley Temple and about baby dolls illustrated in “Autumn”?

2. What commotion begins when Rosemary “tattles” on Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola for “being nasty” in “Autumn”?

3. How did author Toni Morrison perceive the Civil Rights Movement’s slogan “Black is Beautiful”? How is this seen in the novel?

4. Describe the narrative style of the novel. Who narrates the opening passages before “Autumn”?

5. What does Pecola pray for every night, according to the narrator in “Here is the Family…”? Why?

6. Who can be seen in Part I as characters that face trouble assimilating into “white society’s standards of beauty”?

7. How is the MacTeer home described in “Autumn”? How are the relationships between the children and the adults characterized?

8. What foreshadowing is revealed by the narrator in the end of Part I?

9. According to some critics, the three versions of the reader presented on the first page of The Bluest Eye represent three lifestyles presented in the novel. What does the second version represent?

10. Why does Pecola Breedlove come to live with the MacTeers in “Autumn”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the major movie stars discussed in the narrative in Part II. When was Shirley Temple’s height of fame? What other actresses are discussed? What do they share in common? How is Pecola’s name related to the movies?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Foreword to The Bluest Eye. Discuss the author of the work and the overview of Morrison’s career as detailed in the text. What inspired Morrison to write the novel? What was Morrison’s objective in writing the book? Why did Toni Morrison contest the slogan “Black is Beautiful”? How does this viewpoint lend itself to the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Define the term “foreshadowing,” and discuss different reasons that an author may choose to use foreshadowing in his/her narrative. In what ways does foreshadowing develop suspense? What foreshadowing is presented in Part I of The Bluest Eye? How does the author’s use of foreshadowing here affect the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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