Vocabulary
Scrutinize
To examine with great care; to look at in extreme detail.
Diction
an author's choice of words
The ____ of homes
The motif of homes
Claudia MacTeer
The narrator of parts of the novel. An independent and strong-minded nine-year-old, Claudia is a fighter and rebels against adults’ tyranny over children and against the black community’s idealization of white beauty standards. She has not yet learned the self-hatred that plagues her peers.
Racism
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
Irresolute
indecisive, undecided, unsure of how to act
Simile
comparison using like or as
The _____ of the rotting tooth
The symbolism of the rotting tooth
Pauline Breedlove
Pecola’s mother, who believes that she is ugly; this belief has made her lonely and cold. She has a deformed foot and sees herself as the martyr of a terrible marriage. She finds meaning not in her own family but in romantic movies and in her work caring for a well-to-do white family.
Dominant beauty standards
the ideal for beauty defined by dominant culture which in TBE is white culture
Scornful
Showing contempt or disdain
Imagery
author uses words and phrases to create “mental images” for the reader
The ____ comparing Polly to a horse
The metaphor
Maureen Peal
A light-skinned, wealthy black girl who is new at the local school. She accepts everyone else’s assumption that she is superior and is capable of both generosity and cruelty.
Self-contempt
the feeling with which a person regards themselves as worthless, despised, dishonored, disgraced.
Repudiate
To disown or disavow
Motif
any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature to convey theme
The _____ of the words "my" during the scene with Polly's pie
The repetition of the word "my" during the scene with Polly's pie
Junior
Geraldine’s son, who, in the absence of genuine affection from his mother, becomes cruel and sadistic. He tortures the family cat and harasses children who come to the nearby playground.
Internalized oppression
an oppressed group comes to use against itself the methods of the oppressor.
Querulous
Discontented and complaining
Symbolism
using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning
The ______ to the Dick and Jane primer when describing the MacTeer home
The juxtaposition to the Dick and Jane primer when describing the MacTeer home
Aunt Jimmy
The elderly woman who raises Cholly. She is affectionate but physically in decay.
Inter-generational
of, relating to, or for individuals in different generations or age categories