Organization of The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye is organized into 4 sections connected to the seasons of the year. The novel starts in autumn. Before the first section, Morrison includes a preface of sorts with two key components. The first part of the preface includes an excerpt from a school reader. A school reader is a child’s textbook that presents them with key phrases and narratives to help them attain literacy. The excerpt Morrison includes focuses on a traditional representation of family. This family contains a father, mother, daughter (Jane), and son (Dickànickname for Richard). It describes a beautiful house and a loving relationship between the members of the family.

Throughout the novel, Morrison uses excerpts from this school reader to frame the story. For example, there is mention of the mother in the excerpt, and later in the novel a section on a key mother figure follows. Morrison uses these excerpts to juxtapose the ideals represented with the fantasy family to the reality of the Breedlove family.

Following the school reader excerpt, she includes a two page explanation of the outcome of the story. In other words, Morrison tells the reader what happens to a central character, Pecola Breedlove. Pecola is raped by her father and becomes pregnant.