The role of authors as change agents in our society is a question that students will address towards the end of the unit, and by the time they complete the novel, students should be able to express in some way that through her novel, Morrison is commenting on the impact of notions of beauty and love (as defined by the culture of power) on black Americans. Symbols: the house, blue (est) eye, marigolds/flowers/seeds.Motifs: seasons and nature, Dick and Jane story, color/whiteness, vision and seeing, cleanliness and dirtiness.

Thematic topics: racism, love, community, power, beauty.In addition to racism and its impact on the individual and society, students will also explore the additional thematic topics, symbols, and motifs that Morrison employs in the novel to convey her powerful message. 210) The impact of racial stereotypes on the identity development of young black women and men plays a central role in both the novel and the paired texts. In her novel, The Bluest Eye, author Toni Morrison explores what she describes in her own words as “how something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take root inside the most delicate member of society: a child the most vulnerable member: a female.” (Morrison, p. In this second unit of the year students will continue to investigate the thematic topic of identity, focusing specifically on how societal influences such as racism impact the development of an individual’s sense of self. Due to the mature nature of the topics and themes of the book (race, class, identity, exploitation, sex) the teacher should prepare, along with his/her instructional leader, how s/he will address these topics with sensitivity in an academic setting prior to beginning the unit. The novel contains explicit descriptions of sexual encounters and sexual violence including rape and incest. Important Note: This novel is both on the Common Core suggested text list and has been banned in a number of school districts around the country.

Books like the bluest eye