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100
Where does this story take place?
Lorain Ohio
100
Who is the main character?
Pecola Breedlove, an 11 year old black girl who believes she is ugly.
100
What did Cholly do to Pecola?
Cholly raped Pecola.
200
What time period does this story take place in?
1940s
200
Who narrates the story?
Claudia MacTeer
200
What was the significance of Claudia ripping up the doll?
It showed how much other people's visions of beauty frustrates her and other black girls. She didn't understand why those specific features such as blonde hair and blue eyes made a person so lovable.
300
What kind of town do they live in?
A quiet, rural coal town
300
What is the significance of Maureen Peal in the story?
Maureen is the new light skinned black girl at school. Everyone is jealous of her looks, especially Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola. She befriends Pecola after she is picked on by some boys on the playground, but soon after fights with Claudia and Freida, proving her nastiness
300
How does Pecola view China, Marie (Maginot line), and Poland differ from everyone else's view of them?
Pecola thinks of these three ladies as cool and her friends meanwhile everyone else views them as dirty prostitutes. This is partially due to her innocence of not knowing better but also because she looks pass that and actually got to know who they are.
400
What is the significance of the houses in the story?
The houses in this story symbolizes the class of the family that live in them.
400
Do you think Mrs. Breedlove or Mrs. MacTeer is a better parent to Pecola? Why?
Mrs. MacTeer is a better parent to Pecola. Although sometimes harsh, she puts her girls first and obviously cares about them. She took great care of Pecola when she started menstruating. Mrs. Breedlove cares more about the white family that she works with than her own. She thinks she is an ugly woman, so she is cold and lonely.
400
What happened after Pecola accidentally dropped the pie pan? What was the significance of this scene?
Pecola's mom hit her then sent her out of the house meanwhile taking care for the little white girl in the pink dress. The significance of this scene is that Mrs. Breedlove cared more about the white girl than her own daughter. This could be because she values her job more than her family, she prefers the white girl because she is white and she considers that to be beautiful/ more important, or maybe she thought Pecola's action was similar to what Cholly, her father, would do resulting in a burst of anger.
500
Which house did Mrs. Breedlove prefer and why?
Mrs. Breedlove preferred the white family's home that she worked in because it made her feel more important and higher class. She completely disregarded her own family's home.
500
What kind of person is Cholly? Why so you think so?
This answer will be discussion based, and the best answer out of all the groups will be awarded the points.
500
What do you think influenced the boys to pick on Pecola? (back up your answer)
This is the scene where a group of black boys targeted Pecola and made fun of her skin color and about a rumor of her seeing her dad naked. The society that they live in bombards them with standards of beauty being white resulting in them being angry with their own skin color. Therefore when they hear the rumor about Pecola seeing her dad naked they can make fun of her for that but also take their own anger and frustration of being black out on her. Or they just follow what adults do which would be the same behavior because the majority of adults white and black looked down on black kids and praised white ones.
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