Thursday, September 20, 2012

Final Casement

                                                                                        Bluer than Mine...
It's easy to read the final chapter quickly, since it consists mostly of rapid dialogue between Pecola and what appears to be an imaginary friend. Essentially, Pecola convinces herself that the reason no one talks to her and the reason her own mother can't make eye contact with her is because everyone is jealous of her eyes. It's just too hard, and Pecola is too darn young, to admit that the real reason she is being ignored is because she was raped by her father and delivered his child.  Nonetheless, Pecola is happy.

How does the final casement affect the work as a whole? Should the reader find consolance in that Pecola is "happy"?

56 comments:

  1. In my personal experience reading the resolution to Pecola’s desire to have blue eyes makes it a heartbreaking novel. It was tragic those occurrence of Pecola getting impregnated by her own father but the fact that she lost her baby and then went mad affects the work as a whole. The bitter-sweet feeling the reader got that Pecola finally got what she wanted but getting her pretty blue eyes she had to pay with a mental break down ruins the moment. None of the readers predicted numerous catastrophic events occurring. Morrison’s words affect the reader’s emotions give them the question of how would they feel if this was happening to someone they themselves knew? Morrison commence to cause the reader to feel pity and sorrow for Pecola’s situation.

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    1. I agree with you. But when it comes to your last sentence, I kinda of want to disagree with you. I saw it as if Morrison wanted the reader to question themselves. Like, would the reader try to help Pecola if they were in this situation, the reader being part of society. This is the part when it makes readers think. If someone helped Pecola realized what happen, will it break her? Thus is why society does not want to fix this broken mirror.

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    2. I agree with everything you said but to cause the reader to want to help Pecola in her situation I think the reader would have to feel pity or some amount of sadness towards Pecola's situation.

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  2. The final chapter allow the reader to view the effect the actions toward Pecola had as a whole. I took no concolance in the fact that Pecola was "happy" because though many may believe that Pecola was happy her imaginary friend contradicted the fact that she felt this way. The imaginary friends irritated and annoyed tone allowed me to believe that Pecola was irritated with herself, and rather was not happy. The mental breakdown had not been expected on my part, and had become a heart breaking casement for me. I believe that the fact that Pecola "finally obtained her blue eyes" had made the largest impact. It had become a moment of pity, because though the reader would like to feel happy for Pecola and join her in her excitement one still understands that her eyes are not changed and if she does see this she has gone mad.

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    1. I see where you are coming from Sabrina, but in my opinion I saw it more as Pecola went mad, when people tend to go mad they are normally happy since they forget about all her problems. The figment of her imagination annoys her at the moment but not long term.

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  3. This final casement serves to wrap up the story as a whole. It seems to give Pecola's life an ending that turns out to be what she wanted; blue eyes. It serves to explain HOW Pecola "managed" to cope with everything that happened in her short life; by making herself believe a lie she had concocted herself. However, in her seeming refuge, the reader should not feel consolance since even though it might seem as Pecola is happy her inner conflict expressed by her discussions with her imaginary friend show otherwise. They express how Pecola is still dealing with an inner battle of denial towards the reality of what happened to her and who the abuse came from. Even though Pecola "is happy", the reader finds no consolance because the prize she had to pay was an even greater one that no would wish upon a person, not even their worst enemy.

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    1. Why do you believe that no consolance should be taken? She has conceived the imaginary friend as something to keep her from being upset, and this false image of "blue eyes" to do the same. Do you believe that Pecola is truly happy with herself, blue eyes or not?

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    2. People always say denial is bliss right, would that mean Pecola feels happy?

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    3. That's just it, Pecola is not happy with herself if she does not have blue eyes because she sees the world through a muddy perspective. The blue eyes to her illuminate her existence. However, i say that the reader does not take consolance because in real life when a person has a psychological breakdown, even though they might seem happy, do you feel happy that that happened to them? Of course not! No one would because it is even worse to see that a person had to fall even lower than where they used to be at to finally feel happy. Do you feel happy knowing that she is "happy", but is now being even more shunned by society and now not even her mother will look at her. And Andrea to answer your question, Pecola does feel happy because now she thinks she acquired what she greatly desired, her blue eyes.

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    4. Personally, I feel like there should be no solace in Pecola's happiness either because it causes the reader to see that Pecola is in denial. It causes the reader to want to help Pecola realize her own reality but it is too hard for the reader to do, because Pecola's insanity seems to have a point of no return. She's helpless. There is no solace in helpless people.

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  4. The final casement offers a sad ending to an already sad story,just as it was intended by the author. Morrison wrote the Bluest Eye to offer a "Black American's" perspective on alienation in life, particularly in terms of beauty, self-worth, and the coping mechanisms of those who struggled to make it through "Black America's" oppression.

    With this being the zeitgeist of the story, the final casement adds a tragic feeling to the piece. A profound sense of martyrdom is established here, for practical story telling reasons to give Pecola an ending after what obviously is a horrid existence after incestrape and for thematic purposes of making Pecola out to be a Jesus of Nazareth or Hussein ibn Ali figure.

    A form that "soaked up" the "sins" and crimes of the community that surrounded her. Pecola in her madness and untouchable societal status might be seen as a redeemed or resurrected figure (a John Brown type for instance) by some who feel a call for action following the reading of the story. These people would be the ones whom are most unsatisfied with the end of the novel. Others, of a more naive quality would no doubt feel that Pecola's own personal purgatory is something worthy of reassurance to the reader because of how "newfoundedly content" Pecola is.

    That feeling is such blockheaded nonsense. Absolutely no objective fact of Pecola's past or present situation is actually changed by her simply imagining that a different reality is present. Thus, there simply cannot be any solace in Pecola's new situation at all. Will the rape go away now that Pecola has an invisible person talking to here? Will the fact that nobody else in her life besides her own personal family will ever love her (except for prostitutes at least, but I digress) disappear upon sudden onset of a hallucinating of blue eyes? No of course not. And that's the way we all should feel if asked whether or not we find "solace" in our end here, because with all the emotional investment we put into Pecola it really was * our * ending too wasn't it?

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    1. I agree with you Christian because how can we feel better about a change that has not even happened; expect in Pecola's mind. We cannot be happy about something that was not changed, it was just made to seem to change for the better, but it actually changed for worse. And i think i understand what you mean with our end. It seemed to give a closing to all that pity, but i still feel like the pity for her and sympathy will live on in our minds as long as we can remember "The Bluest Eye".

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    2. Good observation Christian. I agree with you to the fullest. This novel is full of emotions that make it great to read.

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    3. And Vanessa, that is why it makes the reader somehow wish that he/she should have never picked up the book in the first place. The sadness that soaks this book is too much that it causes the reader to want to distance themselves, to turn a blind eye to all that they have read, they have felt. Reading The Bluest Eye has distrupts the reader's own world and for this, they wish to never have picked up the book. But, as you say, the pity and sympathy will still "live on in our minds as long as we can remember 'The Bluest Eye'."

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  5. This casement allows readers to see the results, after Pecola has been raped by her father and has been rejected by society. Pecola results in being mad and thinking she has blue eyes, has an imaginary friend, and worst of all thinks everything is okay. The author uses the last casement to determinate to the readers Pecola no longer has sense in her, her pain caused her to mad. Although Pecola thinks no one will make eye contact because of her blue eyes readers identify that Pecola does not mind it. She is proud of having her blue eyes and only wants to have her imaginary friend close to her because that is all she needs.

    Pecola thinks she is happy living with little human contact because she was already so use to being an outcast due to her appearance. The way society began to treat her after her rap and birth of her father's child changed only slightly. She appears to be happy because she has adopted herself to that new lifestyle with few human interaction. It is her new life, one which she refuses to recall her past and lives with herself.

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    1. I agree with you Crystal when the casement allows the reader to see the results. I feel that the purpose of this casement is to show how the bluest eye was a desperate goal Pecola wanted to achieve. Even though she may have had all these horrific events happen to her, she is still happy with herself and is proud of her blue eyes. I like that you say that she is living with herself, she wants the escape from her past.

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  6. The final casement can affect the readers in multiple ways. It shows how society does not care for the unforgotten events that have happened to Pecola. They turn away from her predicament. Claudia and Freida believe they have failed Pecola in such a way that they chose to ignore her for the wrong reason. But Pecola believes that she has blue eyes, when really she does not. Due to this she can feel beautiful and accepted in her own world.
    The reader can be left conflicted by Pecola's happiness. Due to Pecola's happiness coming from something she does not have nor own, the Bluest Eyes. Pecola is living in a reality that's not real. Like a dream that never ends. If someone try's to shake her from her own reality and make her realize what has happened she could possibly become broken. A puzzle that cannot be solved. Maybe this is way society chooses not to help Pecola.

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    1. I agree that Pecola is now living in her own delicate world, and if someone tries to wake her out of it, she could completely fall apart. However, there is something I didn't quite understand about your post. How is Pecola/Pecola's world a "puzzle that cannot be solved"?

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  7. The final casement of the novel "The Bluest Eye" is one that causes the reader to feel a certain discomfort. This discomfort comes from the realization that through Pecola's loss of sanity she has what she has always wanted, blue eyes. However the reader, being an omniscient being, can see that Pecola is only conversing with herself about her eyes. This leaves the reader in the predicament of deciding their emotion on this event. While the reader feels sympathetic toward Pecola because she has gone mad, Pecola has also, through the same madness, gained the blue eyes that she had craved throughout the novel.

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    1. Although the novel does leave the reader wanting to know more you didn't tell whether you thought Pecola is happy or unhappy in the final chapter. I can insinuate that you can say "yes" because the blue eyes is all she wanted throughout the whole novel. I can also believe you to say "no" because Pecola can understand that no one will even notice her after she's gone mad, ebenthough she has the blue eyes.

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    2. But Pecola does notice they do not want to interact with her. In the conversation she has with her "imaginary friend" Pecola says how she no longer goes to school, and how no one complement her eyes much less speak to her.

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    3. I read the prompt as saying we should decide the readers opinion. I personally am consoled by Pecola's "happiness". I see it as, even though she is no longer attached to reality, she now has the ability to overlook her wretched past. Now that she has reached her slightly twisted bliss she no longer has haunting memories of what her father did to her along with the many other awful events that happened to Pecola throughout the novel. As far as her future contact with others, she no longer needs it. She has rationalized their avoidance of her through conversation with her imaginary friend. She uses her new-found blue eyes to convince herself that everyone is simply jealous of her.

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  8. The final casement affects the work as a whole because it causes the reader to feel a sense of 'loss' or 'emptiness'. Instead of having a happy ending, the novel is closed with the bitter and saddening realization that Pecola has gone mad and that Frieda and Claudia had failed her. There is no turning back from this point and Pecola is completely rejected by society-- more so than she was beforehand.
    Even though the reader may have suspected such an ending to take place, seeing it with their own eyes is an entirely different matter. The reader cannot take consolance in the fact Pecola is 'happy' simply because they see the truth from her 'happiness' is nothing more than denial at an extreme. Instead, the reader will feel pity and sympathy towards Pecola for all the misfortunate events she was put through.

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    1. I agree with you Emilia, beasically what you are saying is Pecola is in denial. Does this make her unhappy or happy? Even if she were in denial throughout the entire time she must know the truth within, so by this do you think Pecola is not happy after all?

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    2. That is exactly what I'm saying and yes, I do believe Pecola is unhappy, at least deep within her subconscious. In the text, it appears Pecola forms a barrier of sorts to separate her mind from the reality she faces and although she tries to make herself happy, she is not successful. This is primarily due to the fact that her unhappiness exists deep inside her mind and there seems to be no means of escaping this burden besides the route of madness.

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    3. And the reader will feel sympathy for the fact that she is living in a delusional world in which she created herself. I agree with you on that just because Pecola is happy, it is nothing more than denial at an extreme.

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    4. If she is truely unhappy and the story continued would you as the reader like for a character or characters to bring Pecola back from her own world? To me the final casement shows that Pecola has noone to depend on but herself. As well as she has found the beauty in herself and doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

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    5. Emilia it is interesting to read an opposing side of Pecola being happy. i did not see it that way and i understand your view point as well.Diana, I completely agree when it comes to sympathy for Pecola. There is no reason not to feel sorry for what she has been through. The reader can only base their feelings of Pecola and understand the hardships she has been through.

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  9. The final casement depicts a girls' true happiness which was obtained through a loss of reality. She does not care whether society even acknowledges her and even convinces herself that society will not view her because they envy her blue eyes. For me, I feel sympathy for her because she has is resorted to talking to herself because no one else will. To be so alone is the hardest in life, to have no one to support or be there for one is difficult.

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    1. You do mention that she resorts to talking to herself because she has no one else, but Pecola does not have the understanding that she is talking to herself. Do you think that she knows the being she is talking to is not human-skin and bones? Or do you believe she has a good idea she has no actual human contact anymore.

      Knowing this, if she were to know that she is talking to her "hidden" self do you think she is still happy or feeling a little misunderstood; therefore, unhappy?

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    2. I completely agree with you and the sympathetic views you feel towards Pecola. However I am a bit wary when you say "she does not care whether society acknowledges her." What was your purpose in saying this? Didn't Pecola only want her blue eyes so that society would acknowledge AND accept her? Given that, wouldn't you find it ironic that even though Pecola received her 'blue eyes' she was indefinitely sunned from society forever.

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    3. Couldn't of said it better myself. Maybe if Pecola had someone that she could turn to when she was in need things might of been different for her.Instead it was just her against the world.

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    4. Lizbeth, I do believe that she does not know that the being she is communicating with is not actually human-skin and bones. If she knew that then she surely would've realized that she truly does not have blue eyes.

      Emilia, everyone is avoiding her and she knows this quite well, yet she puts the blame on the fact that they are jealous of her blue eyes. In my opinion she doesn't truly care about society as opposed to the fact that she "got" what truly makes her happy.

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  10. Although Pecola does finally get what she has always wanted, the blue eyes; it doesn't completely set the reader to believe she is truly happy. Pecola begins to realize that no one will talk to her; eventhough, she does admit it to her second personality that she thinks it is because they are jealous the reader gives Pecola a characteristic that makes her appear lonely, an miserable.
    Threw the eyes of others she has completely lost it and reached her breaking point though Pecola does not realize it, but even then Pecola is not happy the way she is. Pecola wishes that someone would finally acknowledge her for her blue eyes.The Blue Eyes is all she ever wanted to feel "loved" and now that she"has" the blue eyes everyone overlooks her.

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    1. I believe Pecola is happy the way she since, she doesn't realized she has gone mad, and in her mind she got what she wanted most her blue eyes. Her imaginary friend constantly tells her that her eyes are the bluest of the community and that is all Pecola wanted to have the bluest eyes. She believed having the bluest eyes would give her all the happiness she desired most.

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    2. I disagree, Pecola is truly happy, she convinces herself that her eyes are all that matters. Also she is constantly telling herself that she has the most beautiful blue eyes. She reminds herself frequently in two ways: through the mirror and also telling herself. She is as happy as can be.

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  11. The last chapter depicts Pecola to be the happiest she has ever been in the novel even though she in unstable state of mind. Ironically Pecola does not care that no one acknowledges her blue eyes when throughout the novel she desperately wanted to be acknowledged by anyone. She convinces herself that society ignores and envies her because her blue eyes. The readers feel sympathetic towards Pecola because her going mad could of been avoided if someone would of only showed her love and compassion.

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    1. I disagree that Pecola was happy in the last chapter. I believe that she wasn't happy, she just wasn't suffering, as she did for the entire novel. The author's use of dialogue may have made the reader believe that she was happy, but in reality, she is completely delusional. If anything, Pecola is in her worst state at the end of the novel.

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  12. No, of course not. It is understandable that to leave Pecola alone in the state that she is, for her to believe that delusional world of hers is real, it IS less painful for her to realize her own reality. However, for Pecola to NOT know the reality of the facts, it also causes the reader to want to make Pecola realize what her reality really is. It tugs at the heartstrings of the reader, because the reader can deeply sympathize why Pecola must stay delusional and why she must not. As the reader finishes the story on this particular note, they cannot really find solace in the fact that Pecola is happy. It leaves the reader feeling as if they should never have picked up The Bluest Eye in the first place.

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    1. Yes her world makes her happy and her world is made up. However I believe society would be doing her a greater harm if the helped her come back to a reality were she is shun and used as a scapegoat by everyone in her life.

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    2. See? This is why the story, as a whole, tugs at the heartstrings of the reader. To let her know reality, it's not a good thing. To let her stay in that delusional world of hers, it's not a good thing either because neither helps her. She becomes helpless. It makes the reader wish they never should have read the book in the first place, although they learn a very profound lesson from the book.

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  13. In the final casement Morrison reveals that Pecola has gone mad. This creates sympathy and sadness for Pecola. However in a way Pecola has got what she desired and has found a friend. In her mind she is beautiful but society differs. Morrison blames us society for what has happened to Pecola and is true.

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    1. The final casement does create sympathy for Pecola because the reader does not expect for her to experience any more troubles after what she has already encountered. I believe Morrison wants to blame the way in which society bases beauty on people.

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    2. I agree with you, but how does society blames us for what happened with Pecola? I would like to hear your explanation in depth more.

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  14. The final casement affects the story as a whole because it brings the novel to an end that was foreshadowed but is still heart wrenching. The foreshadowing took place in the exposition so one of the main purposes of the reader was to focus on how the actions took place that led pecola to get pregnat and lose her baby. I personally believe that state of mind that pecola was left in should not give consulance to the reader because it's tragic that someone so young was left mentally disturbed.

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    1. I agree the ending does conclude to they purpose of the prologue, which was to have the reader further analyze the how to the novel. Pecola’s tragic ending I believe does not create consolation in many readers because our sympathy overcomes the satisfaction of going along with what she believes is happiness.

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  15. The final casement affects the work as a whole because it reveals to the reader the unending misfortunes Pecola faces throughout the novel. Not only does poor Pecola get rape by her father and delivers his child but now she has convinced herself she is ignored by everyone including her mother because she has the blue eyes. The tragedy is concluded within the last chapter as Claudia states Pecola’s mental breakdown has made her life into happiness. Though Pecola finds happiness within her madness, the reader can not find consolation because they know the truth she is blinded from. The reader acknowledges that her blue eyes and friend are unreal and that the moment she finds out her world may just crumble down even more than it has already.

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  16. The final casement pulls the entire novel together, conveys the author's purpose, and describes the theme of the novel all at the same time. The final casement gives purpose to seemingly unnecessary casements, such as Soaphead's and Geraldine's casements. The author's purpose of criticizing society's tendency to ignore and reject the 'Pecola's' of the world was achieved in this casement as, Claudia subtly hints to on the last page.

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    1. Forgot to answer the 2nd question:
      The reader should not find peace with Pecola's "happiness" because she isn't really happy. There is a saying that goes "Ignorance is blissful", and Pecola is the cloud 9 of this blissful ignorance. Pecola has trapped herself in her own world, and if this world were to be cracked open and exposed to the harsh reality of Pecola's reality, Pecola's almost non-existant mental stability would completely vanish.

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  17. I find the final casement as a reminder of the novel. The color blue is an essential color within the novel. It is understandable that the book ended with Pecola and need for blue eyes. Morrison helps to disguise the fact that Pecola is a child; throughout the novel Pecola treated with no respect and has caused her to look invisible to some. I feel that the end when she is speaking to other because she is finding closer within herself and with color blue. It is comforting to her and she can always be happy. Their is no one being mean or calling her ugly, it is like a bubble that can only show one thing and not the other. Pecola has reached the peak of her madness. this causes the reader to have sympathy for her,there is no other reason for the reader to feel otherwise

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    1. I agree that Pecola's "bubble" is comforting to her, and I didn't think of it that way before I read your post. However, is there really no reason for the reader to feel anything other than sympathy for Pecola when we have all probably encountered a Pecola or two in our lives and treated them with a disavowal of responsibility or cold rejection? I think that sympathy would be the most expected emotion that the reader would feel, but that is assuming that the reader is an ideal person. Selfishness is a prominent, yet subtle, aspect of human nature and this characteristic could very well cause us to feel 'quite' otherwise for Pecola.

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    2. Esperanza ElizarrarazOctober 1, 2012 at 10:15 PM

      Brianna, I do agree with what you said that this casement allowed the reader to feel sympathy for Pecola. And it is also quite interesting how you mentioned, how her "bubble" is comforting to her, I had not looked at it that way, but when you point it out it does make sense.

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  18. The final casement of the novel causes the readers to feel sympathetic towards Pecola as she address her inner thoughts to her imaginary friend. Because the novel is title "The Bluest Eyes", it ties in with this casement. Think about it. Blue can be symbolic for sadness and faith and eyes can be symbolic for how one perceive or an outlook. So when combining the two, the message conveys "Sad yet faithful outlook". Therefore, when Pecola reveals every cruel, eventful details of her life in such innocence that the reader has no choice but to feel sympathetic towards her. Thus, this conveys the "sadness" of the theme.

    Yet, why was Pecola happy? Her obliviousness causes her to be faithful, thus giving her happiness. Because she is ignorant or "innocent" to the world, she manipulates that ignorance so that she can become faithful in fulfilling her utter most desires, love and blue eyes, in "her world". Thus, Soaphead Church had gave her the blue eyes (falsely) and her father had gave her the love (disturbingly and cruelly). So, when Pecola becomes delusional, her desires ARE fulfilled because she manipulates the cruel reality into a blissful fantasy by "perceiving" a more positive perspective.

    Moreover, Pecola is happy mentally not physically. Because human minds can be falsely at times due to the brain selecting which information to take in and the way in which people perceive the given information, Pecola's mind had selected the information of being raped and obtaining blue eyes in her mind; but, because she is too young to understand the cruel aspects of these events, she perceive it innocently, thus letting her to believe she is "happy". This is a MENTAL happiness. She does not FEEL happy but merely think it is happiness. Thus, the reader should not conclude that Pecola is truly happy, rather she is enforcing happiness on herself.

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  19. After reading the final casement, the reader is left in a state of shock. Although the reader is aware of the unfortunate events that befall upon Pecola, by revealing her current mental state the reader must cope with her form of happiness. Many would consider Pecola a toture soul that never should have gone through the emotional, physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, which is absolutely true. One would also agree that her "receiving that blue eyes" only made things worse for her. However, that reader must understand that "obtaining" the eyes that she had craved allowed her to ignore the trials and tribulations she had went through; they made her happy.

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    1. Esperanza ElizarrarazOctober 1, 2012 at 10:12 PM

      Monica, I do agree with what you said. After I read this final casement it really did leave me in a state of shock. And like you mentioned, Pecola believing she had blue eyes, which is what made her happy, it is unfortunate that that is the only reason why she is happy. Because in all reality her happiness is based on a lie.

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  20. Esperanza ElizarrarazOctober 1, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    For me, this final casement affected the work as a whole because it is pretty sad and it causes you to feel very sympathetic towards Pecola. In other people's eyes, Pecola lived a hard life and she went through alot, and she now roams by herself. So to those other people Pecola will never be able to experience a happy ending. But yet, in Pecola's mind she thinks that the reason why no one talks to her is because she has blue eyes, and because people are jealous of them, and so she finds an explanation to what's happening around her. We, as the readers know that her happiness is all based on a figment of her imagination, but we find consolance for her in the fact that at least she is not miserable and she is happy.

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