The Bluest Eye - Sticky Post

Proper discussion questions for February's book, The Bluest Eye, will begin to appear below this post soon. Feel free to link your reviews via Mr. Linky below or link to any other "Dangerous" titles you review in February.

Have fun!

Feel free to discuss general points of The Bluest Eye in the comments section of this post, post questions you're interested in getting opinions on, or just talk amongst yourselves.

Bluest Eye Discussion Questions - Volume 2

WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead!

5. At a certain point in the novel, Morrison, through her narrator, states that romantic love and physical beauty are "probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought." How do the lives of individual characters bear out that statement? Where do the characters first encounter ideas of romantic love and beauty—ideas which will eventually torture and exclude them? What positive visions of beauty and love does the novel offer?

6. The novel is set in a Midwestern industrial town, Lorain, Ohio, Morrison's own birthplace. Pauline and Cholly Breedlove are transplanted Southerners and several key scenes in the novel are set in the South. How does Morrison set up comparisons between a Northern black community and the Southern black way of life? What values have been lost in the migration north?

7. Consider Morrison's characterization of Cholly Breedlove. While she clearly condemns his actions, she resists dehumanizing him. If rape of one's daughter is an "unimaginable" crime, can one at least trace the events (and resulting emotions) that made it possible for Cholly to commit this brutal act? Is there a connection between the white hunters' "rape" of Cholly and the sexual aggression he eventually turned on his daughter?

Bluest Eye Questions - First batch!

1. The novel opens with an excerpt from an old-fashioned reading primer. The lines begin to blur and run together—as they do at the beginning of select chapters. What social commentary is implicit in Morrison's superimposing these bland banalities describing a white family and its activities upon the tragic story of the destruction of a young black girl?

2. How does Morrison's powerful language—both highly specific and lyrical—comment on the inadequacy of "correct" English and the way in which it masks entire worlds of beauty and pain?

3. "Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father's baby that the marigolds did not grow."

With these lines Morrison's child narrator, Claudia MacTeer, invites the reader into a troubling community secret: the incestuous rape of her 11-year-old friend Pecola Breedlove. What are the advantages of telling Pecola's story from a child's point of view?

4. In what ways does Morrison show how Pecola's environment—and American society as a whole—are hostile to her very existence?

Meet Toni Morrison

Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in 1931 in Lorain (Ohio), the second of four children in a black working-class family. Displayed an early interest in literature. Studied humanities at Howard and Cornell Universities, followed by an academic career at Texas Southern University, Howard University, Yale, and since 1989, a chair at Princeton University. She has also worked as an editor for Random House, a critic, and given numerous public lectures, specializing in African-American literature. She made her debut as a novelist in 1970, soon gaining the attention of both critics and a wider audience for her epic power, unerring ear for dialogue, and her poetically-charged and richly-expressive depictions of Black America. A member since 1981 of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has been awarded a number of literary distinctions, among them the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1991-1995, Editor Sture Allén, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997

For a more extensive bio, click HERE.

And the Winner Is! (January Prizes)

The winner of the January prize pack...a "Reading Woman" calendar, the "Thai Gems" journal, and a hand-painted bookmark is Alicia from Slightly Lively! Alicia, if you'll send your mailing address to us at the address below, we'll get your prize in the mail.

Thanks so much to everyone who's discussed with us so far. You can certainly continue to discuss Great Expectations at your leisure and post January links if you have them, and if you'd like to see any questions posted that we haven't covered, drop us an e-mail at estellabooks (at) gmail (dot) com.

We'll go ahead and post the sticky post for February later in the weekend.

Great Expectations: Sticky Post

NOTE: Proper discussion questions are now beginning to appear below this post! Questions are spoiler-free, but the comments section is open season!

This brief sticky post will remain at the top of the page until the end of January. Post links to your reviews of our January book or any alternates you may have chosen via Mister Linky down there. In the comments section...

Feel free to discuss general points in the comments section of this post, or just talk amongst yourselves. Feel free to answer the discussion questions, if they strike your fancy, at your leisure.

Note: Please don't feel like you need to rush if you haven't even started the book yet. Jump in when you have a chance and feel like it. We're very free-flowin' around here.

Characters...some pretty detestable ones!

What did you think of the characters in Great Expectations, both collectively and individually? Was Pip such a pipsqueak that you found it impossible to like him? Was Miss Havisham just cracked enough to drive you batty? Was Estella just a wench at heart or evilly alluring?

A few more questions

SPOILERS AHEAD! STEER CLEAR IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!
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1. What significance does the novel’s title, Great Expectations, have for the story? In what ways does Pip have “great expectations”?

2. For much of Great Expectations, Pip seems to believe in a stark division between good and evil, and he tends to classify people and situations as belonging to one extreme or the other: for instance, despite their respective complexities, he believes that Estella is good and the convict is evil. Yet, both socially and morally, Pip himself is often caught between extremes; his own situation rarely matches up to his moral vision. What is the role of moral extremes in this novel? What does it mean to be ambiguous or caught between extremes?

3. Discuss the character of Miss Havisham. What themes does she embody? What experiences have made her as she is? Is she a believable character? How does she relate to Pip and Estella?

January Discussion Prizes!

If you discuss Great Expectations with us on or before January 31st, you will automatically be entered to win....

January prizes include:

• 2008 "Reading Woman" calendar, a collection of paintings of women reading. Very Victorian. Very pretty.
• A "Thai Gems" mosaic journal. Lined pages.
• A hand-painted bookmark!

Good luck to everyone, and thanks for all your participation so far! I'll draw the winning name on February 1st!

Andi

Three More GE Discussion Questions!

SPOILERS AHEAD! STEER CLEAR IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!
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4) Why do you think Miss Havisham manipulates and misleads Pip into thinking she is his secret benefactor? What, if anything, does she derive from this action?

5) Given Dickens's portrayal of Estella, what do you think attracts Pip to her in the first place and what, when he learns of her cold-blooded manipulation of men such as her husband, keeps Pip devoted to her until the end, loving her, as he says, "against reason, against promise, against peace?"

6) In the final chapter Estella says to Pip: "Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching." Discuss the theme of suffering in this book.

Great Expectations Discussion Question #3

If Pip had not received his "Great Expectations" and never left Joe's forge, how do you think his life would have been different? Are the lessons he learns during his physical and emotional journey necessary for him to arrive at the wisdom he arrives at in middle age?

Great Expectations, Discussion Question #2

Why do you think it is one of Pip's benefactor's principal conditions that he "always bear the name of Pip" in order to receive his financial support?

SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!

Discussion Question 1

In this novel, Great Expectations, things are often not what they seem. Discuss how "expectations" play a role in the book. For instance, how are expectations illustrated by and through the various major characters in this book.

How are Pip's expectations different and similar from those of:
Joe
Miss Havisham
Estella
Magwitch

Pick a few or address 'em all! Whatever blows you skirt up.

Beware possible spoilers in the comments section!

I almost forgot!

OK, I did forget. I TOTALLY forgot. I meant to tell you all...

If you find yourself hating a book, changing your mind about a book, utterly terrified of a book--whether it be one you picked or one we picked--feel free to change your mind. Substitutions to your lists of books for the year are completely welcome at any and all times. I'm a ridiculously finicky reader, so I understand! Flexibility is next to Godliness. Or something like that.

Andi

Let It Begin!

Welcome to the first day of 2008 and the beginning of your Year of Reading Dangerously! Heather and I are thrilled that so many people have signed up already, and we're looking forward to the discussion to come.

First, a few reminders and clarifications:

1. You can read any 12 "Dangerous" books, the 12 we've chosen, or a mixture of the two to complete the 2008 Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge.

2. We will set up space for you to report in with your links to reviews and thoughts on the books you read by month (look for the January post to appear soon).

3. If you discuss the official book of the month with us, you're automatically entered into a drawing for the month's prizes.

4. We will set up posts with varying discussion questions throughout the month. Feel free to discuss at your own pace in the comments sections.

5. You may read ahead for months to come or read a chosen books only within the month it's chosen for. It's up to you.

6. Latecomers may join at any time! Just go below to add your name/link to Mr. Linky.

I've been steadily visiting everyone's blog that's joined the challenge, and I've enjoyed meeting everyone. In the spirit of community, consider posting an introduction in the comments section of this post, so we can all get to know each other a little better!

Be sure to check back here often for prize, question, and other updates!

Happy 2008 everyone, and good luck!

Andi