Cliffs Notes: Morrison's The Bluest Eye & Sula

Cliffs Notes: Morrison's <i>The Bluest Eye & Sula</i>

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background.

CliffsNotes on The Bluest Eye & Sula covers two of Toni Morrison’s unforgettable novels. The Bluest Eye, Morrison’s first novel, focuses on Pecola Breedlove, a lonely, young black girl living in Ohio in the late 1940s. Through Pecola, Morrison exposes the power and cruelty of white, middle-class American definitions of beauty.

Sula, Morrison’s second novel, focuses on a young black girl named Sula, who matures into a strong and determined woman in the face of adversity and the distrust, even hatred, of her by the black community in which she lives. Morrison delves into the strong female relationships and how these bonds nurture and threaten individual identity.

This study guide will take you beneath the surface of Morrison’s complex characters to uncover their universal themes. Helpful background information about the author brings these novels into context for even greater understanding. Other features that help you study include

Complete character lists
A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters
Character analyses of major players
Glossary of difficult terms Critical essays
Review questions and essay topics

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent guide

By Deborah Di Gioia "Dynamic Diva" - February 27, 2002

I read Sula and I needed a little help with the symbolism used in the book and Cliff Notes have always been an excellent guide. The chapter's in "Sula" were seperated by years, and for each year there is a summary, commentary, and glossary for definitions of words and phrases. Also included is an introduction, character analyses, question, and essays for each book. I haven't read "The Bluest Eye" yet but I do plan to, and its really great that both of these books are covered in this guide. I highly recommend this guide to anyone who wants a better understanding of one or both of these books.

Review

By Chris S. Rogers "Chris" - June 4, 2010

I used this in helping me understand The Bluest Eye. Bluest Eye is a well wrought work that is complex in its details and I needed this aid to comprehend and better understand this masterpiece.