Contrary to the light, innocent happiness of spring, sexual assault has dark, ominous tone. ... Another reason that Morrison might have included this scene in 'spring' is to set a tone for what happens later in the book. Because spring is regarded as the start of the cycle of seasons, what happens during spring usually sets the tone for what the next year will be like. ... I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, the land, of our town. ... And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us. ...

• Word Count: 1519
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The research will focus on, in the The Bluest Eye, the themes of the white standard of beauty, rejection, and the skin tone hierarchy. ... Toni Morrison wrote this novel in 1970, when racial tensions were high and the model of white beauty was accepted as the norm, but even now in today society we can see that it still applies to our culture. ... The narrator tells us, in the novel's only concrete description of Pecola's facial features, that "her teeth are good, and at least her nose is not big and flat like some of those who were thought so cute-(Morrison 40) And then we see o...

• Word Count: 2499
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography

The story is set in Lorain, Ohio, the town where Morrison was born in and grew up in. ... One reason why she wrote "The Bluest Eye" is because someone would actually be apologetic about the fact that their skin tone was different than other kids. ... We felt comfortable in our own skins, enjoyed the news that our senses released to us, admired our dirt, cultivated our scars, and could not comprehend this unworthiness.... It exposes our tendency at times to equate race and class. ...

• Word Count: 1083
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He returns a shattered man, unable to accept the complexities of the world; he lives on the outskirts of town, attempting to create order in his life. ... The town is at first wary of him and his ritual, then, over time, unthinkingly accepts him. ... "She had practiced not just the words but the tone, the pitch of her voice. ... Instantly, her views become aligned with those of the town and she "belonged to the town and all of its ways" (Morrison, 120). ... Nel's outrage at Sula's actions is reflective of the town's anger at Sula and we see the personal hurt that Sula's in...

• Word Count: 2614
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

John Kotre's How Memory Speaks describes memory as: "A scene we experience for a moment-and only once-remains clear in our minds for a lifetime, yet we forget the looks of things we see and touch almost every day." ... Housman's To an Athlete Dying Young show the different strong holds memories posses and a greater remembrance through diction, tone, and mood exemplified by the author through characters. ... "The time you won your town the race/ we chaired you through the market- place/ Man and boy stood cheering by/ and home we brought you shoulder high/." ... Does memory provide ...

• Word Count: 1615
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

In The Bluest Eye, Morrison thoroughly uses her previous experiences in aid to create the feeling of hardship and the melancholy tone of the novel. ... The town of Lorain on Lake Erie is where both families settled and is also where Morrison was eventually born. ... It opens our eyes to the challenges of the past while allowing us to experience an absolutely wonderful and influential story. ... Our cultural knowledge and values that are central to the blues form the thematic and rhetorical understanding of The Bluest Eye, as the narrative's structure appears to follow a pattern common...

• Word Count: 2626
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate