Literary Analysis Essay #4: Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Angela Davis, b. 1944

Literary Analysis Quiz #4 – Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

DUE IN-CLASS on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2010

No late essays or make-ups will be allowed!

ALL ESSAYS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS!* 

Write an essay of between 350-500 words (MAXIMUM!) in answer to the following question.  Please follow standard essay-writing principles—strong thesis statement, thoughtful, well-reasoned, organized, and fully-developed argument, supporting details, and proper grammar. 

I am not asking you for your opinion in the absence of reasoned analysis, although you are free to include a final personal observation at the end of your essay. For this quiz, please paraphrase and include only page numbers, MLA-style. Ex: (54). Please base your response on textual evidence and quotes from the text.

 

This essay must be TYPED and DOUBLE-SPACED, per MLA format. Cite specifically to the source, using standard MLA-style documentation. Any paper that is not MLA-compliant (proper heading, title, citation style) will lose automatically lose 1 point. 

Here is the question:

In author Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, shame and internalized racial self-hatred are motivating factors in the actions of some of the major characters we meet. Discuss how these self-destructive factors manifest themselves in two (2) of the following characters: Junior, Pecola, Geraldine, or Cholly. 

 *For each 10 minutes that you are late to class, 1 point will be deducted from the essay.