The Bluest Eye

Then such a woman enters the novel. Her name is Geraldine, she is married to a man named Louis, and they have a son named Junior. Geraldine takes excellent physical care of Junior, but early on, he understands that she feels real affection only for the cat. In response, he tortures the cat and torments children who come to play at the nearby school playground. Junior would have liked to have played with the black children, but his mother will let him play only with upper-class "colored" people, not lower-class "niggers."

One day, a bored and isolated Junior decides to pick on Pecola, who is passing through the playground. She tells him she does not want to play, but he lures her into his home by promising to show her some kittens. Pecola is overwhelmed by the beauty and cleanliness of the house. Meanwhile, Junior throws the family cat, which has black fur and blue eyes, in her face. Scratched and shaken, Pecola tries to leave, but Junior stands on the other side of the door and shuts her in. The cat begins to rub against Pecola, and its friendliness distracts her from crying. She caresses the cat as Junior opens the door. Angered that the cat is getting attention, he picks it up and swings it around by one of its hind legs. The cat is terrified, and Pecola tries to rescue it. When she pulls Junior down, he lets go of the cat, and it hits the radiator and collapses in a lifeless heap. At this moment, Geraldine comes home, and Junior tells her that Pecola has killed the cat. Geraldine calls Pecola a "nasty little black bitch" and sends her away.

Analysis

From what we have seen of the squalor of Pecola's home life, we might imagine that a more orderly life in a middle-class home would give her a happier existence. But in this chapter, it becomes clear that material comfort, neatness, and quiet can become deadly themselves if not accompanied by genuine human warmth. The chapter opens