In Preparation for Discussion on the Section Answer the Following Discussion Questions

In preparation for discussion on the section answer the following discussion questions in thoughtful paragraphs.

1.  What is the significance of the way in which the story starts: “Here is the house…”

2.  When we first meet Claudia, even before we know her name, what are we able to tell about this her? What are we able to tell about her community?

3.  According to Claudia, how is “outdoors” defined? What is the difference between being “out” and being “outdoors”? What is the significance of the animal imagery?

4.  How does Claudia respond to the doll that she is given? Compare it to how the other children and adults respond to dolls? What does she want instead of the dolls? Examine the two paragraphs found at the end of page 22 and beginning of 23 that starts with “But the dismembering . . .” and ends with the change was adjustment without improvement.” Look particularly at the last line. What does it mean? What is Morrison alluding to when she uses the imagery of white dolls?

5.  What is Pecola passionate about? How does she illustrate that passion? What is the title of the book? What foreshadowing comparisons can you make?

6.  After the girls are scolded for drinking all the milk, what happens to Pecola? What is the irony of that scene? (Examine what the girls are talking about just before they notice Pecola, and what they are discussing later that night?) How is Pecola regarded after the incident? What is the irony here based on what she asks at the end of the section?

7.  Why do the Breedloves live in a store front? What is the history of the Breedlove home? What is the irory in the name of Breedlove?

8.  What is the relationship like between the Breedlove and what is so interesting about how the children cope with the stressful situation at home?

9.  Reviewing “Autumn” in its entirety, and looking ahead at the other chapters, what is the significance of the how the book is divided? What is the significance of the seasons (hint: Thomas Foster)? Speculate on why the narration shifts from section to section?

10.  The story takes place in the 1940’s in Lorrain, Ohio. What is significant about the time and place in regards to race relations in the United States? Compare the explicit racism of the Jim Crow south, with the implicit racism of the north. Provide examples?

11.  What would Thomas Foster say about the three prostitutes: China, Poland and Miss Marie, that Pecola visits at the end of “Autumn”?