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Claudia and Frieda feel guilt after being described as ugly by Maureen on p. 74 and after witnessing Maureen being favored over them (they are made to feel as if they are lesser); they feel guilty for the "[t]hing that made her beautiful and not [them]" (74); the novel suggests that internalization of this guilt will result in Claudia and Frieda hating themselves and longing for "whiteness" down the line, in contrast to their currently feeling comfortable in their skins and admiring their "dirt" or "blackness".

Pecola internalizes her pain, including guilt

Claudia and Frieda Macteer show guilt for seeing their father walk naked p. 71

“feel the shame brought on by the absence of shame” p. 71

seems like they didn’t feel shame at first, but felt shame later on when discussing with Pecola and Maureen

Manifests itself into anger: claudia confronts maureen angrily (“who else would she see, dog tooth?” p. 71)

Pecola also seems to feel shame for possibly seeing her father naked

Pecola was agitated. “Nobody’s father would be naked in front of his own daughter. Not unless he was dirty too”

Dirty = associated with ugliness

As shown in the last reading, Pecola again internalizes the pain instead of acting out

“Pecola tucked her head in—a funny, sad, helpless movement. A kind of hunching of the shoulders, pulling in of the neck” p. 72

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The young girls are subject to colorist beauty standards, which cause them to look down on themselves solely because of the color of their skin.

“Black boys didn’t trip her in the halls; white boys didn’t stone her, white girls didn’t suck their teeth when she was assigned to be their work partners; black girls stepped aside when she wanted to use the toilet” (Morrison 62).

The way the children at school treat Maureen indicates that they have more respect for her because of her light skin. They all act differently around her, either because they admire her beauty or are jealous of it.

“They danced a macabre ballet around the victim, whom, for their own sake, they were prepared to sacrifice to the flaming pit...It was their contempt for their own blackness that gave the first insult to teeth”

The boys are willing to harass a Black girl and taunt her for the color of her skin and the actions her Black father

Shows the boys’ self hatred of themselves because of racism and colorism in society, and this self hatred presents itself in a violent way (were willing to beat up “three girls,” just not when Maureen was around p. 67)

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Both Maureen and Claudia consider "Black" as an insult despite both being African American.

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- Mirrors the situation of Pecola and Maureen?? → is ashamed of her Blackness, believes that being Black equates to being ugly
- Maureen’s casual mention of the movie and the colorism in it reveals her lack of knowledge about the detrimental effects of colorism, how pervasive colorism is in media
- director of movie is white --> white ppl think that Black ppl always want to be like them; shows the white gaze and its effects
- “Where this m------ girl hates her mother cause she is black and ugly but then cries at the funeral”(67) → blaming her mother for her dark skin

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“‘I am cute! And you ugly! Black and ugly black e mos. I am cute!’” (73)

Maureen says it herself: She is seen as pretty and the others are seen as ugly

Based on color of the skin

“We were lesser. Nicer, brighter, but still lesser. Dolls we could destroy, but we could not destroy the honey voices of parents and aunts, the obedience n the eyes of our peers, the slippery light in the eyes of our teachers when they encountered the Maureen Peals of the world.”

Pecola doesn’t understand what makes Maureen better than she is

It’s her skin color - colorism which makes her superior

“When teachers called on her, they smiled encouragingly. Black boys didn’t trip her in the halls; white boys didn’t stone her, white girls didn’t suck their teeth when she was assigned to be their work partners; black girls stepped aside when she wanted to use the sink in the girls’ toilet, and their eyes genuflected under sliding lids” (62)

Both black and white people of both genders exhibit colorism by treating Maureen better than a regular Black girl

“Maureen appeared at my elbow, and the boys seemed reluctant to continue under her springtime eyes so wide with interest” (66-67)

As soon as the boys see her, they immediately change behavior, even though they were originally making fun of Pecola for being black

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Maureen = "disruptor of seasons" (62)

-- shoes that Claudia gets in spring
-- "spring in her sloe green eyes" (62)
-- "something summery in her complexion" (62)
-- "rich autumn ripeness in her walk" (62)
-- best of all seasons at all times due to her wealth/power -- the seasons don't affect Maureen's life much, unlike Claudia/Frieda because Maureen has the economic resources to afford technology that would overcome the seasons -- be it clothing, heating, etc.
-- also her lighter skin color, Eurocentric features, etc. all distance herself from the "deadening winter" (64)

-- "It was a false spring day, which, like Maureen, had pierced the shell of deadening winter" (64) -- Maureen = false spring -- she appears to be better but isn't actually -- from our perspective, that's because people are fundamentally equal, and Maureen shows herself to be colorist and incredibly rude -- her character seems pretty bad -- from Maureen's perspective, Maureen will always be labeled as a Black person by society

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- fabricated hatred
- "Maureen Peal was not the Enemy and not worthy of such intense hatred. The Thing to fear was the Thing that made her beautiful, and not us" (74)

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Claudia feels very insecure about her skin color. Even though she doesn't think she is ugly because of her race, she knows that other people do. She also doesn't understand the nuances of race and colorism, as in this instance she knows Maureen is also black, so she thinks that Maureen cannot insult her with that statement

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Because Pecola has darker skin and more Black features, Maureen takes a liking to her to make herself feel superior.

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- "a high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braid into two lynch ropes that hung down her back" (62).

- "There was a hint of spring in her sloe green eyes, something summery in her complexion, and a rich autumn ripeness in her walk" (62)

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"you all going to buy some ice cream?"
- maureen feels superior to pecola because of her skin and automatically assumes that she will pay for pecola, but when she extends the invitation to the sisters there's more of a connotation that they can handle themselves and should use their own money

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- "She was rich, at least by our standards, as rich as richest of the white girls, swaddled in comfort and care" (62).

- patent-leather shoes with buckles
- yellow fluffy sweaters neatly tucked into pleated skirt
- brightly colored knee socks with white borders
- brown velvet coat trimmed in white rabbit fur

- "She even bough and liked white milk" (63) -> wealth gives her the means to assimilate with white society

- can afford to buy ice cream

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"Frieda and I were bemused, irritated and fascinated with her" (63)

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"Frieda and I were bemused, irritated and fascinated with her" (63)

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Claudia mostly feels jealousy towards Maureen because Maureen is loved by the school while she is still seen as ugly and inferior. This is also combined with a bit of surprise and admiration for her, since Maureen, even though she is black, does not get the same treatment as Claudia, Frieda and Pecola. The fact that she has a dog tooth and extra finger and is not ridiculed for these features suggests that they are overlooked because of her lighter skin collor - the fact that Claudia and the other girls have to go out of their way to try to find so called "ugly" features again shows their fabricated hatred, and how they wish they could be like her and associated with her.

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nakedness--> on pg 71 maureen shames pecola about seeing her father naked --> this is tied to her being in family that she thinks is more refined so she shames pecola because she feels that their family is lesser because of their dynamic.

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nakedness
-- dirtiness -- "That's dirty" (71) -- by extension, Maureen comparative cleanliness with respect to Pecola/Claudia/Frieda results in Maureen's having more power in society because she is more white/attuned to what society wants

-- "What do I care about her old black daddy?" (73) -- Maureen distances herself from the others as a result of her family's being more refined, according to society

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Maureen turns on Pecola when her intellectual superiority feels threatened. "she must have been" thinking about her last remark, for she said to Pecola, 'Did you ever see a naked man?'" (71).