... is further defined as "a kind of art, usually written, which offers pleasure and illumination- (Kennedy, xxxviii). My personal definition of the standard by which to evaluate a piece of writing as literature requires the work to create a lasting impression that invokes the emotions of the reader. Alexander Solzhenitsyn in an open letter, to the Fourth Soviet Writers' Congress narrowed the description of ... earned his approval. Slavery is not so long ago in this country's past to believe that it does not still have pertinence in society today. Less than forty years ago African-Americans...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , but there was only head-wagging where those words should have been- (Morrison 148). Soaphead Church represents, as his name suggests, the role of the church in African-American life. "I, I have caused a miracle. I gave her the eyes. I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes,"" Soaphead says (Morrison 143). ... would Pecola's baby (Morrison 149). Morrison unpacks the metaphor throughout the book, and, through Claudia, finally explains it and broadens its scope to all African-Americans on the last page. "I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that ye...

• Word Count: 1410
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Toni Morrison is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and the first black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," was published in 1970. In the book's foreword, Morrison explains her reasons for ... blacks like herself from darker skinned blacks consumes Geraldine. All of it stems from letting others determine one's value. Morrison is using one atypical African-American family to demonstrate what the effects could be of this phenomenon. She has deliberately created an extreme situation to prove a point. Nevertheless all ... which is constantly weighed dow...

• Word Count: 2371
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... Morrison illustrates that Pecola's life is an imitation of the real experiences of black women. Morrison also uses metaphors to describe the conditions under which African-Americans in general and Pecola in particular are forced to live. There are two major metaphors in The Bluest Eye, one of marigolds and one ... survive, so would Pecola's baby. Morrison unpacks the metaphor throughout the book, and, through Claudia, finally explains it and broadens its scope to all African-Americans on the last page. "I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that ye...

• Word Count: 1112
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... attitudes. She was brought up to be proud of her heritage. This is where she heard many songs and tales of Southern black folklore. She displayed an early interest in literature. When she went to a school in first grade she was the only black student and she was the only one that could read. She was friends with many of the ... . In 1957 she returned to Howard University as a member of the faculty (www.cob ). She 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. She was...

• Word Count: 837
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , she had the opportunity to edit books by many prestigious Black authors, including Muhammad Ali. She held many other positions, including working as a critic and a public lecturer specializing in African-American literature, in order to care for her family. After work, she would spend time with her sons and do her motherly duties, and only then, after putting them to sleep, she ... of other literary distinctions, among them the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for Beloved in 1988. She became the eighth woman and first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in1993. Other major awar...

• Word Count: 742
• Approx Pages: 3

... evils inflicted upon blacks by a white society indoctrinated by the inherent beauty of whiteness and ugliness of blackness are thoroughly depicted. Morrison's novel illustrates the disastrous affects racism had on African-Americans during the late nineteen hundreds. The Bluest Eye is a bitter novel that vividly reflects the way in which blacks were treated unfairly, and more important, how most blacks were ... the image of blue-eyed Shirley Temple and "Dick and Jane- she will too live a happy life. More important though, The Bluest Eye, goes beyond its value as a work of literature. Thi...

• Word Count: 1667
• Approx Pages: 7

... evils inflicted upon blacks by a white society indoctrinated by the inherent beauty of whiteness and ugliness of blackness are thoroughly depicted. Morrison's novel illustrates the disastrous affects racism had on African-Americans during the late nineteen hundreds. The Bluest Eye is a bitter novel that vividly reflects the way in which blacks were treated unfairly, and more important, how most blacks were ... to the image of blue-eyed Shirley Temple andDick and Jane? she will too live a happy life. More important though, The Bluest Eye, goes beyond its value as a work of literature. Th...

• Word Count: 1667
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... , critically acclaimed, novels and a professor at Princeton University. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved and received grater recognition when in 1993, she received the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first African- American women to do so. Born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Ohio, Morrison received her undergraduate degree at Howard University and completed her master's degree at Cornell. While she worked ... ...

• Word Count: 2614
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... House, where she specialized in black fiction. At the same time, she began building a body of creative work that, in 1993, would make her the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her 1970 novel The Bluest Eye was followed by Sula in 1974, which secured Morrison a nomination for the National Book Award. In 1977, Morrison won the ... ...

• Word Count: 1665
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School