Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Bluest Eye:
1. Morrison has written about a young black girl's obsession with a concept of beauty established by a white culture.
- How is the concept of "beauty" is created—and how subjective is it?
- What are the parameters of beauty—for men and women, black and white. Do those parameters change across cultures or through history?
- How pervasive is the "culture of beauty" in modern society—and to what extent are all of us prisoners of "beauty"?
2. Pecola's connects the idea of beauty with being loved. To what extent are we all guilty of making that connection?
3. What is Claudia's role? You might also talk about the power of storytelling to create a distinct reality.
4. Discuss the role of racism in this work.
5. Talk about how Pecola and other African-American characters have internalized the white world—even starting with the Dick and Jane primer.
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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