The Bluest Eye Autumn Summary

The setting of the book is mostly in the old, run down house of the Macteer's that is renting to a new tenant, Henry Washington. Claudia catches a cold at the beginning of the school year. Comforted by Frieda's singing and her mother's care, Claudia feels the presence of love. At the arrival of Henry Washington, the children love his magic tricks and games. Another new arrival to the household is Pecola, who was put out of her home after her father burned it down. Pecola has a love a Shirley Temple cup, of which Claudia resents. Shirley Temple, just as her baby doll, represents blonde haired, blue eyed white girls. She doesn't understand why those are the standards for "beauty. This hatred turned into a hatred for white girls. One afternoon, Pecola started her period and that night asked Freida how babies are made. Then, she asked how to get someone to love you. The next chapter described the apartment the Breedloves occupy after Pecola's father is out of jail. It was a storefront that was divided by wooden planks. It was an unmemorable home and didn't have much meaning to the family. The Breedloves are a poor black family that has little confidence in their appearance. Pecola wakes up one night to her mother picking a fight with her father in the kitchen. Mrs. Breedlove and Cholly rely on each other, despite the arguments and drunken episodes. The reader learns that when Cholly was young, two white men caught him having sex with a girl and forced him to continue while they watched. Cholly gained hatred for the girl instead of the men. Pecola often lays in bed and listens to the arguments, wishing she would just disappear. One day, Pecola visits the prostitutes that live above her. They tell Pecola all about their boyfriends, who are actually their clients. Miss Marie is in love with Dewey Price, yet the narrator says these women actually hate men. Pecola continues to wonder what love is like.