I found the third chapter particularly disturbing and revealing in the main themes. Society and what it terms "beautiful" or "ugly" has actually not changed in its path too drastically since this book was published (1970). Pecola (possibly the most if not assuredly interesting character thus far) wishes herself beautiful by societies standards, and sees herself, and her family as the extreme opposite. However, this is explicit in its warning mechanisms, showing true psychological abuse as it is inflicted on individuals of the unaccepting and bigotry drenched society. After feeling invisible to a simple store clerk, buying Mary Jane's, she looks at a package of damn candy, and wishes again for blue eyes, so that she could be considered objectively pretty instead of shunned and ignored.
This is all backed with not so subtle undertones at how people around the idea of the victimization of perceived undesirable social individuals. Such as the prostitutes, content in their objectification and victimhood. Content except for their hatred. I am interested to see how these questions evolve into foreshadowing elements further down the line.
Questions
1- What we're your thoughts on the entricate detail of the "ugly" furniture? Especially the couch that was bought new, came ripped, but could not be returned?
2-does the visual description of the blue eye, especially in the desire for the ideal, trigger any emotional response within you as a reader? What and why?
3- if you haven't delved into the history of the book yet, consider (up to the current point) why the book may have been banned or censored.
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