The Character of Cholly in The Bluest Eye
Morrison has divided her portrayal of a fictional town of blacks, which suffers from alienation and subjugation, into four seasons. I believe that her underlying message is to illustrate the reality of life's travails: the certain rhythms of blessings and tragedies. Some blacks understand and acccept this philosophy and Morrison's use of the seasons portrays and echoes the bible verse, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven"(Ec. 3.1). Perhaps this is a fatalistic approach or as Darrow says,
Man is the product of heredity and environment and that he acts as his machine responds to outside stimuli and nothing else, seem amply proven by the evolution and history of man. Every process of nature and life is a continuous sequence of cause and effect (156).
This theory is particularly evident in Morrison's development of Cholly, the man who raped his daughter. She could have portrayed him as a degenerate akin to Soaphead, a slimy character, who leaves us with a feeling of revulsion. Instead, step-by-step, she leads us through Cholly's life and experiences; so in the end, instead of hating him, we feel his pain.
Cholly is introduced in the first chapter. He is the father of Pecola. Because of his actions, the whole family has been put out of their home. It was a miserable apartment, as ugly in appearance as the family. Except for Cholly. In his youth he had been big strong long limbed and full of his own fire. Now his behavior was his ugliness. Years of despair, dissipation and...
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...ft pregnant with his child, and pushed to madness by these terrible circumstances: she finds her beauty in the bluest eye.
I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every purpose and for every work (Ec. 17). Morrison draws a sympathetic picture of Cholly. She blurs the reality and covers him with emotional longing for the love he knew in the past. Cholly has nothing more to lose. His life is a tragedy.
Works Cited
Darrow, Clarence."Crime and Free Will". Introductory Readings in Philosophy. Ed. Marcus G. Singer and Robert R. Ammerman. New York: Scribner, 1962. 156-57.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume: 1994.
The New Chain Reference Bible. Ed. Frank Charles Thompson. Mt. Morris, N.Y: Chain Reference Bible Publishing. 1929.
Today Canada and the United States are major trading partners, allies, and two neighboring countries with a long history of cooperation with each other. But is it possible for Canada to protect its independence and culture living next door to the country so powerful and rich as the United States. Since the Canadian confederation, Canada started developing relations with the U.S. As the years passed by, Canada began to relay on the United States in the national defense. Many Canadians think that the military, political and economical dependence would not make a difference to their daily life. But today more then even Canadian culture is affected by the American influence. Media, American artists, economic dependence, American propaganda and political pressure from the United States is making Canada too Americanized. All of these factors reflect on the social life of ordinary Canadians threatening the heritage and the traditions that define Canada as independent country.
In conclusion, Priestley presents Birling as a pompous, morally corrupt ruthless patriarch from the industrial ruling class. Through his presentation of Birling, he undermines the views for which Birling stands namely capitalism and conservativism. The purpose of his play ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to tell the post war audience of 1945 that the patriarchal Edwardian Era was not a time to be envied, and it was unwise to think of returning to that era. He displays the younger generation as the one which is sympathetic and the one which is prepared to change its ways and admit its wrongs. Priestley’s presentation of Birling highlights his own thoughts on the political issues of the time.
JB Priestley’s intent in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to convey the attitudes of socialism to the minds of the society in the Edwardian Era as he was a passionate believer of the concept. Priestley has attempted this through the employment of ‘Inspector Goole’ in the play. In the play drama is displayed through a variety of methods for the interest of the audience and the communication of personal views from JB Priestley.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
New International Version. [Colorado Springs]: Biblica, 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 3 Mar 2011. Accessed 22 April 2014.
Scofield, C.I., ed. Scofield Reference Bible. New and Improved. New York: Oxford University Press, 1909. Print.
The religious references imbue the novel with greater meaning; Sethe’s story becomes much larger than its beginning or its end. Her story spans the Old and the New Testament, following the struggles of Cain to the sacrifice of the Christ. Sethe emerges as a universal figure, drawing together the disparate parts of the Creator, the Son and the Holy Spirit. At the end of the novel, Morrison claims that “This is not a story to pass on” (324); however, her use of timeless imagery refutes that idea. Her story becomes part of the enduring dialogue about the nature of good and evil as well as redemption and sin. Sethe’s specific experiences put a face on the experience of slavery, and coupled with the biblical allusions which add gravity to her suffering, ensure that this will, indeed, be a story to pass
Thiessen, H. C. Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966.
When he finally finishes his research, he is able to bring his creation- the monster, to life. When Victor sees his own creation, and what he has brought to life, he panics. He realizes he has made a huge mistake. “…But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (34). But rather than dealing with that mistake, he abandons it, leaving the monster for dead. The way Victor abandons his creation, is the prime example of bad parenting in the s...
Indeed, it may be said that An Inspector Calls is a play more centred on themes and ideas than one driven by plot. Hence, Priestley uses a number of devices throughout the text to convey his ideas about social responsibility - juxtaposition being perhaps one of the more significant strategies employed by Priestley to highlight his ideas about the community and social responsibility. Thus, when Mr Birling – a stereotypical construct of Aristocratic English society – presents his monologue about the “unsinkable Titanic” and the “scaremongers making a fuss about nothing”, the audience re immediately made aware of his ignorance and self-inflated, pompous attitude, thus casting doubt over his capitalist ideas about “mind(ing) his own business”. This, then, is in direct contrast to the Inspector’s message on socialism, further highlighted by the clever timing of the doorbell which is designed not only to unnerve the audience and the characters, but to create a conflict between Mr Birling and the Inspector. This conflict between the Inspector and Arthur Birling serves as a powerful dichotom...
Pink, Arthur W. Studies in the Scriptures, 1947. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1982. Print.
Priestley shows the theme of responsibility in An Inspector Calls through the way he chose the setting of the play and adapted his characters to portray the different aspects of society and the role that each type of person has. This is done as the play is a social commentary that conveys the responsibilities of everyone no matter if they are upper class, upper-middle class or the working class - these are the classes that Priestley made his characters to draw attention to the issues of the public at the time amongst the hierarchy in place.
As Alvin Toffler once said, “The wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets”1. Such holds true for the American culture, which is not only a dominating factor in its own internal market and known domestically but also a dictating force in countries around the world on the global scale, and the first on their list – Canada. This issue of cultural imperialism is touched upon by Gaëtan Tremblay in his article, “Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?”
Bacon, Benjamin W. "The Canon of the New Testament" The Biblical World, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Feb., 1903), Published by: The University of Chicago Press. Web. Available at:
Elwell, Walter A. and Barry J. Beitzel, 1988. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: