The Bluest Eye (82-136)

Summary

Now in the novel the town is smoothly being broken down for the reader to understand the different difficulties there are in one family. The next character which is being introduced is a woman by the name of Geraldine. Geraldine is a quite soft spoken woman who keeps herself in a well manner that people will be able to respect. Geraldine later marries a man that is well put together himself. These two create a marriage which Geraldine is not as sexual as most would think but it is sexual enough for the two of them to conceive a child which all does not turn well. When Geraldine's son;Junior is about Precolas' age he begins to notice the attention he receives from his mother becomes less and less. Over the past years Geraldine has become this person who wants her life from the craziness and rather to be by herself with her cat. Since having this cat Junior felt if he could not get the attention he deserves then he would make his other give it to him. One day Junior lures Precola into his house, lying to her about how he would show her some kitty's and she could play with them. When Precola does arrive without any knowledge of what Junior is doing Gerladina's' cat is thrown on to her by Junior. Precola not knowing what to do just tries to run even though she was being blocked. After things settle down Junior allows his emotions get the best of him when the cat begins to rub against Precola. This causes him to throw the cat and killing it. Geraldine steps into the house and begins to disrespect Precola due to the fact Junior said she had killed her cat.

On the evening of a spring day Claudia is being whipped. Claudia explains that in the winter it is different from being whipped in the spring due to the fact in the spring she gets whipped with the twigs from off the tree. When Claudia is done with her punishment she runs upstairs to find comfort but also discomfort from seeing Frieda crying about being touched on her breast inapproiatly by the Magican Mr. Henry from early on in the novel. Freida explains that Mr.Henry touched her and she ran away and told her parents. Then her parents ran him off. It seems like Mr. Henry is not a guy who would do such things because of the friendliness he showed when he first met the girls. But at the same time the same time his magic tricks consisted of them to touch on him in looks of finding anything he may have hid. In one day all may be too much but Freida wished to find Precola and tell her what happened due to the fact she should relate to her situation as well. When the girls arrive to the house where Precolas' mother worked the came with a question of wondering why Freida's' mother said she was 'ruined' and wished for an answer. Entering with a question and leaving without one being answered but left them with another question of 'Why does Precola get treated so wrong by her mother?' When Precola accidentally dropped the pastry he rmother cooked for the little white girl Polly she dropped them when in attempt to get one. When Polly come in upset Precolas' mother Mrs. Breedlove calms her down by causing Precola out in a manner that no mother should.

Quote

"Outside, the March wind blew into the rip in her dress. She held her head down against the cold. But she could not hold it low enough to avoid seeing the snowflakes falling and dying on the pavement"(Morrison 93).

Reaction

In conclusion this novel has showed me that inner beauty can allow one to separate themselves from negativity. If one is able to dig deep and have the feeling of confidence and happiness then that would be one less stressful currency on their mind. This novel has given me a chance to view life on stereotypical beauty. In this case a white girl with blue eyes is a definition of beautiful. I think when others read this novel they are going to feel as if they could relate to these young ladies in the situation that holds them.

The Bluest Eye (pg.41-81)

Summary

When Precolas' father gets out of jail the Breedloves move into an old store which is now their apartment when Precola was younger and was living with her parents before being put into the system. The house that the Breeloves stayed in was not very furnished. The furniture was old, the house was divided in a way that their are two part to the house. In each bedroom where beds for each family members but furniture in the house mad the mood of how it would be in the house. One piece of furniture that the Breedloves had was a couch. This couch was told to them that it was new and when they receive it basically there would not be a problem. Soon as the Breedloves received the couch such words they were told were untrue. When the couch arrived it had a spilt down the middle and the Furniture sellers refused to take it back and refund their money. The Breedloves were unable to do anything but they also had a coal stove int he house that gives the family difficulty. Not only but they have a firewall which causes a lot of drama due to the fact who in the house will get logs. The Breedlove is a family where feelings are not considered because they are categorized as the ugly family in town. Living in a town where believed they are ugly brings drama to shore. One Autumn morning Mrs.Breedlove begins to argue with her husband and one thing leads to another. When Mr. and Mrs.Breedlove begin to fight and argue the situation seems serious to Precolas' brother but it isn't; all Mrs.Breedlove wanted was wood. Precola then goes to visit the whores that live in the next apartment. Precola wonders why they have so many boyfriend but they explain to her that its a job that they have that help them have money and they love what they do. Not only but they started when they were young and selling 'themselves' was a way to make a living. In reality it may seem that they love what they do but they actually don't.

Quote
"Why, look at pretty-eyed Precola. We mustn't do bad things in front of those pretty eyes" (Morrison 46).

Reaction
When I read this quote it makes me think of the many girls in the world who wish they are pretty and they never once look into the mirror and actually see the truth. Precola seems like a pretty girl girl with a nice personality but having so many people around her tell her other wise gives her the impression that she is not pretty at all. I like this quote because it should give young gives a mere sense that no matter what someone thinks they should never set themselves in this fame of mind.

The Bluest Eyes (pg. 1-40)

Summary

In the novel The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison, the main character Claudia and her sister start off to collect coal for the Autuoccupied mn which is about to begin. Even though it would not be Claudia's fault she retained a cold that her mother was upset about. After a while her sister begins to comfort her and a boarder by the name of Henry Washington came to live with her. After the death of Claudia's father her mother decided with the extra room that maybe that taking in boarders would be a way of getting a little money on the side. Mr. Washington would preform magic tricks that kept the during the day while in the house. With additional member being added to the house a girl by the name Pecola around Claudia and her sisters' age. After Pecola became comfortable she had this cup that Claudia hated. This cup represented the little white girl Shirley Temple that was an indication of pretty to many young girls. Claudia did not like the fact that each Christmas that went by she would get a white doll baby that she cared nothing for. As the girls grew closer together Pecola was with the girls outside one day and started the process of menstruation. Having her sisters by side they tried to help her clean up herself without her mother knowing what was going on. As they tried to help her a little girl from next door begins to yell and scream that the girls were outside being inappropriate which was not the case. Claudia's mother came running outside and begin to beat the three young girls until she noticed that Pecola was becoming a young woman. That day was the start of their understanding of life.

Quote

"The Pecola asked a question that never entered my mind.'How do you get somebody to love you? But Frieda was asleep. And I didn't know' (Morrison 32).

Reaction
When i read this quote it made me think about how the girls are starting to mature and are starting to think beyond wall. For then they played with dolls and ran around they did not really pay attention to what the word love is. As I read The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison I began to notice that the girls are just like me and my two sisters that I am close with. My sisters and I always do things together and when we don't we find it hard to do things without each other. I think that this novel will become a view of how the young girl become attached and learn to need each other more because of certain events that they will soon come to endure.

The Sound of Soul (pg.168- 238)

Summary
The novel Sound of Soul is closing on a good note. The novel is closing on a way that i generalizing the overall background of Blues. The background of the Blues came mostly from African Americans who was doing what they felt as though will help the, create a stable life. Aretha Franklin such like the King of Soul is considered the Sister of Soul. Aretha Franklin sung of life, love, and thrill-driven moments that went on throughout her life. By the time Aretha reached 27 she was a top recording artist during her time. This was very rare because women during the time were not ones who were known to succeed and accomplish. Many men were working hard to get that spot in life and be known but for Aretha she made it possible to be known in her time. After awhile she was taking a break from the stardom and was almost forgotten. In 1967 she later came back with the hit song Respect. For Garland Aretha was a woman with a fierce attitude and was not letting anything get in her way.

Quote
"Black folks adopted the song as their new 'national anthem' in what David Llorens of Ebony Magazine has called 'the summer of the Retha, Rap and Revolt"(Garland 194).

Reaction
This quote shows me how a black community can have so much support in one person. Even though Aretha Franklin was not in the music industry they community never forgot who she was and the type of music she created. The community showed a sense of pride in her because soon as she came back on the charts the amount o support doubled for her. I can relate this to myself because once i take a break from helping and staying out of the public eye its not like my community forgets about me. But soon as i enter back in its like they are just waiting for the next big thing.

The Sound of Soul (pg. 97-168)

Summary
In the novel Sound of Soul by Phyl Garland there is a section on the King of Blues. It is known in time that the King is B.B also known as Beale Street Blues Boy. B.B King was a young boy who started fresh in the Mississippi Delta who worked his way out by singing and playing his guitar . As B.B claimed in age his music only got better. B.B king worked hard for the things he wanted and he did not stand around and wait on it. Not only but it is known that many artist in history have preformed at The Apollo Theater and many are aware of that. In 1969 B.B King preformed at the Apollo with the Dellphonics( a black singing group). Even at the Apollo is was easy for groupies to get in contact with the performers at the show just by verifying that they are close friends. Once they are verified they arrive at the theater in search of the artist with a head full of lies claiming they are who they are not and sooner or later they are there with the artist. I believe Phly Garland had me B.B King in person and actually happened to sit down with him and have a conversation. Garland explain the conversation she held with B.B King and how she was able to share a side of him that most do not get a chance to see. Throughout the chapter Garland is just trying to get a true meaning to what Jazz is to other people and how they look at it.

Quote
"Cause somebody's goin' to look under that color and see the real thing"(Garland 166).

Reaction
I've chosen this quote because it gives an insight bout what the time was like and what people looked at and judged first before actually see who that person really is. Not only but during that time there was segregation and many people was judged upon what they look like and not fro who they are. B.B King also say this quote emphasizes his music as well because people just see the artist and don't try to understand who they are as people and what the meaning to their music is and why they create it.

The Sound of Soul (pg. 42-97)

Summary
It is claimed that most people do not know when blues music was created which was created during the 1600s; a period of slavery. When African Americans where brought over to America which was known as the "New World" they began their own way of music. This music was created in such a way that it could be traced from generations before hand. This music was handed from generation to generation and at the same time a twist of originality was put upon the sounds. The idea of blues used as a common denominator of black music in the Western World that embodied the captive's adaptation of those aspects of the culture of African Americans. Throughout this time there were other types of slaves which differed. Slaves would differ between the cost for a slave and the type of slave being bought off and an indentured servants; that worked for a certain amount of years then let got. Now when talking about the soul part of slavery plantations are looked upon. In the plantations slave would create a melody that was formed from the Europeans and the African Americans creating such a sound. Not only but as time went by it became known that the South had better performers than the ones in the North. The performers in the South were more experienced because of the European background. Even the black men were exposed to white music during The Great Awakening. During that time white ministers went throughout the country's frontier spreading the "word." At the time slaves would not be able to practice their music until they were alone where the nigth was the best time that the slaves felt expressing themselves was best.

Quote
"The use of the ability to entertain as one of the means of survival, in fact, was carried over to the plantation, where, as cartoonist E. Simms Campbell noted in 1939 in his essay on 'The Blues' "(Garland 83).

Reaction
This quote generalizes why African Americans decided to create their own tune. Even though they created music because of lack of entertainment that they had they also created it because it was a sense of survival and strength in their eyes. African American slaves were under enough pressure at the time and coming together and creating gave them another way of looking at like. This quote inspired me because I take music a a get away as well. I use the sounds to escape whenever I feel as though life hasn't been turn out to well for me.

The Sound of Soul (pg. 20-41)

Summary

Phyl Garland reminisce about how her parents use to listen to the blues that was preformed during her time. Phyl explains that her parents were able to grad a sense of certain music but they wanted her to be exposed to have advantages they were not able to have such as classical music. In Garlands household there was a jukebox which played the music she began to become fond of. The sounds that spoke through the box was blues and r&b at this time it was the fifties where artist would create whatever came to mind. Their music that was played could not always be identified but when listening to the feelings and emotion in the song then it soon could be determined. Garland later experienced a change in with her families jukebox with another system. Even though she lived in a neighborhood which lacked their idea of diversity in it the blacks never were kept from the rhythms of their music.

Quote
"It must be strange if it were any other way with this music, for the church, with its unfulfilled promise of salvation, has been one of the few constants in the black man's long and tortuous travail in America"( Garland 25).

Reaction

When reading this quote i fount it hard to understand and I felt like taking this quote and analyzing it would be the best way to understand. As I analyzed the quote I noticed that the defined soul music comes from the simply from church. In the churches certain actions from the people would become some what an act that most soul artist would use these actions in their performances. So this quote is following the act of what most churches have had during sermons.