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The Bluest Eye
Students explore thematic topics, symbols and motifs in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, and discuss the impact of racial stereotypes on the identity development of young black women and men.
ELA
Unit 7
9th Grade
This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 9th Grade English course.
Unit Summary
The Bluest Eye has been archived. You are welcome to use the resources here, but there are no Fishtank Plus features offered within this unit. If you’d like to implement one of our complete Fishtank Plus units, including all in-lesson and unit-specific Plus features, check out 9th Grade ELA.
In this second unit of the year students will continue to investigate the thematic topic of identity, focusing specifically on how societal influences such as racism impact the development of an individual’s sense of self. In her novel, The Bluest Eye, author Toni Morrison explores what she describes in her own words as “how something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take root inside the most delicate member of society: a child; the most vulnerable member: a female.” (Morrison, p. 210) The impact of racial stereotypes on the identity development of young black women and men plays a central role in both the novel and the paired texts.
In addition to racism and its impact on the individual and society, students will also explore the additional thematic topics, symbols, and motifs that Morrison employs in the novel to convey her powerful message.
- Thematic topics: racism, love, community, power, beauty
- Motifs: seasons and nature, Dick and Jane story, color/whiteness, vision and seeing, cleanliness and dirtiness
- Symbols: the house, blue (est) eye, marigolds/flowers/seeds
The role of authors as change agents in our society is a question that students will address towards the end of the unit, and by the time they complete the novel, students should be able to express in some way that through her novel, Morrison is commenting on the impact of notions of beauty and love (as defined by the culture of power) on black Americans. Specifically, through juxtaposing Claudia and Pecola’s lives, we see how a loving and supportive home can strengthen a child’s response to these pressures, while for the most vulnerable (Pecola) they can be devastating. In their eighth grade year, students read Fences by August Wilson and were introduced to the idea of authors as social commentators. Additionally, in the first unit of this year, students explored the theme of identity and the many factors that contribute to individual identity. Both of these connections should be made by the teacher during this unit.
At Match, students have a Composition class 4 days per week in addition to English class. Below, we have included Supplementary Composition Projects to reflect the material covered in our Composition course. For teachers who are interested in including these Composition Projects but do not have a separate Composition course, we have included a “Suggested Placement” to note where these projects would most logically fit into the English unit. While the Composition Projects may occasionally include content unrelated to English 9, most have both a skill and content connection to the work students are doing in their English 9 class.
While there are many thematic topics woven throughout this English 9 unit and novels, the supplemental Composition Projects will focus on the themes of beauty and racism, particularly on how our society’s ideas about race and beauty impact the individual. Students will write one literary analysis essay based on the novel, and two narrative pieces that are thematically connected. In all three cases, students will focus on the same writing focus areas. These areas are mostly repeating from the first unit, with the addition of the skills of summarizing and sentence variety. For the final essay, students will be asked to integrate evidence from at least two sources.
Texts and Materials
Some of the links below are Bookshop affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which supports our non-profit mission.
Core Materials
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Book: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Supporting Materials
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Poem: “What Do We Do with a Variation?” by James Berry
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Article: “Toni Morrison Biography” (Encyclopedia of World Biography)
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Website: The Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence
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Article: “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehesi Coates
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Article: “On Beauty: Banning Toni Morrison’s the Bluest Eye from PEN” by Banning Toni Morrion's ...
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Song: “Flawless”
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Song: “Pretty Hurts”
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Article: “What it Means to Be a Man”
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Poem: “Harlem” by Langston Hughes (the Poetry Foundation)
Assessment
These assessments accompany Unit 7 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
- Read and annotate the novel with the thematic questions in mind.
- How would do you expect students might answer these questions on day one of the unit? How should their answers grow and develop over the course of the unit?
- Read and annotate the articles about the novel:
- "Dick-and-Jane and the Shirley Temple Sensibility in The Bluest Eye" (This entire article is available for purchase, but teachers should only need the first page which is available for free.)
- “Literary Analysis of The Bluest Eye”
- “Racialized Beauty: Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye"
- Take the exam and write your mastery response to the essay portion of the exam.
Essential Questions
- Beauty: What is beauty? Who determines what is beautiful? How are the answers similar/different for men and women?
- Racism: What are the effects of racism on the individual? The community? What is Morrison saying about “racial self-hatred”?
- Love: What is love? What impact can love and conversely, lack of love, have on individuals? Particularly children?
- Power: How do feelings of power/powerlessness impact the actions of individuals? What are the consequences for those individuals? For others?
- Community: How do we create environments of inclusion rather than exclusion? How do we build each other up rather than tear each other down?
- Authors as Social Commentators: What is the author’s message about our society? What choices does she make that add particular power to her message? What techniques does an author use to create theme and convey his/her message?
Writing Focus Areas
English Lessons Writing Focus Areas
It is the beginning of the year and we are introducing 9th grade levels of rigor for the three standards listed below, all of which are spiraled from 8th grade. Below are the three rows of the rubric that are the focus areas for this unit. Assess students relative to the "proficient" column on our Composition Writing Rubric.
- Thesis: Clear and relevant
- Evidence: Draws relevant evidence to support topic
- Diction: Uses some advanced vocabulary
- Syntax: Uses some sentence variety
Composition Projects Writing Focus Areas
Students will begin the Composition projects by completing an on-demand writing piece about beauty in which they will apply their practice with the writing focus from Unit 1. The second project is a process writing piece in which students will show their progress on the first three Writing Focus Areas and will also focus on varying syntax. Because the supplementary Composition projects for Unit 1 were more plentiful than the English unit lessons, there are fewer projects for Unit 2. The writing from Unit 1 will likely spill over into the beginning of Unit 2. Assess students relative to the "proficient" column on our Composition Writing Rubric.
- Thesis: Includes a clear and relevant thesis statement. (The specific focus for this unit is writing a thesis that fully addresses the prompt and previews what is to come.)
- Analysis: Demonstrates clear and logical reasoning. (The specific focus for this project is on defining/summarizing key terms and tying the analysis to these definitions and summaries.
- Evidence: Draws relevant evidence to support position. (The specific focus areas for these projects is on providing context that clarifies why the evidence chosen is the most appropriate evidence given the definition and/or summary, etc.)
- Syntax: Adequate use of sentence variety. (The specific focus for this project is on integrating sentences that utilize appositives to vary sentence structure.)
- Professionally Revised: Complete and follows guidelines. Adequate revisions.
Related Teacher Tools:
Vocabulary
Literary Terms
theme, symbol, motif, narration, diction, non-linear plot, structure, characterization, juxtaposition, epigraph, text features
Roots and Affixes
in- (indirect, interminable, inviolable, infallibility), un- (unabashed, unblinking, uncomprehending, unsullied), peri- (peripheral), ab- (abhorrent), epi- (epigraph, epithet), fall (infallible)
Text-based
video: monolithic
poem: variation, stealthily
novel: melancholy (introduction, 33 and 170), lust (9), addled (13), irrevocable (17), consolidate (17), peripheral (17), furtive (18 and 138), unsullied (19), dismember (20), disinterested (23), repulsive (23), indirect (24), interminable (24), endurable (26), recede (33), pervading (36), abhorrent (42), redemption (42), fervently (46), conviction (46), flux (49), static (49), petulant (50), wrath (56), equilibrium (63), deluded (64), reluctant (66), epithet (67), blunted (83), inviolable (84), idle (88 and 129), unabashed (92), pretentious (118), cunning (106), disillusion (122), infinite (127), reveling (128), infallibility (137), nostalgia (137), serenity (139), deity (143), restraint (145), sullen (151), coherent (159), revulsion (164), annihilate (164), misanthropy (164), scruples (165), former and latter (167), insurgent (168), corrupt (168), lascivious (168), eccentricity (168), predilection (169), dread (172), vexed (180), imbibed (182)
Idioms and Cultural References
Shirley Temple, Dick and Jane, the Bible and Christianity (throughout), Vicks (11), Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers (16), Shirley Temple (17), Bojangles (19), CCC (25), Henry Ford, Roosevelt (25), Imitation of Life film (67), land grant colleges (83), normal schools (83), Liberty Magazine (85), Maginot Line (99), underground railroad (116), Anglican Church (165), Victorian England (167), “’married up’” (168), Shakespeare: Hamlet, Othello, Ophelia, Iago (169), Christ and Mary Magdalene (169), Dante and Dostoyevsky (169), Popeye (182), Moirai (188)
Content Knowledge and Connections
- Impact of racism and segregation on communities and individuals of color
- Creating inclusive (rather than exclusive) communities
- The Great Migration
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
- Systems and routines of high school ELA class established in 9th Grade ELA - Short Stories
- Thematic topic of identity explored in 9th Grade ELA - Short Stories. Students will continue to explore this topic of identity throughout this unit.
- Connections with 8th Grade ELA - Seeking Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird (2020) and racism.
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
- The idea of community and treatment of “outsiders” within a community will be revisited in 9th Grade ELA - Of Mice and Men.
Lesson Map
Composition Projects
These projects are optional and serve as a great way to enrich students' experience and deepen their content knowledge in this unit. If teachers have flex days in their schedules, we strongly recommend any of the below options.
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
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