She reveals that Pecola became something painful to watch, completely insane and terrifying. We return to the first-person narrative of Claudia for the close of the novel. The two of them decide that the reason for the latter phenomenon is jealousy. Pecola also wonders why no one can see Pecola's new friend, and why no one has commented on Pecola's new eyes. The second time it happened, Pecola didn't bother to try and tell anyone.
Breedlove about the rape and was not believed. We also learn that after the first time, Pecola told Mrs. They talk about Cholly, who, we learn, violated her twice before he ran off. Pecola frets about whether her eyes are the bluest of all, and her friend assures her that they are.
Pecola and her double admire Pecola's new blue eyes. This friend is a second personality, manufactured by Pecola in her madness. We see a conversation between Pecola and the "friend" mentioned in the section heading. "Summer," second section: LOOKLOOKHERECOMESAFRIENDTHEFRIENDWILLPLAYWITH JANETHEYWILLPLAYAGOODGAMEPLAYJANEPLAY Summary In her generation, one possible line for the family tree comes to an end, and Sammy runs away from home and into an uncertain future. Pecola is the end of a lineafter losing her baby and then her mind. Her father has impregnated her, twisting the normal growth of the family tree back on itself. The preoccupation with ancestry from earlier sections takes on a sinister edge and the idea of inheritance is brought in and subverted: Pecola has inherited a legacy of shame and self-loathing, and she has also possibly inherited her insanity from Cholly's mother. Her baby, like the seeds in the backyard, dies before it has a chance to liveas Claudia tells it, it was up against all of the forces that call whiteness beautiful and blackness ugly. And like a flower, she is dependent on her environment for sustenance. She does nothing, but instead has things happen to her. This metaphor indicates that Pecola never had a chanceshe is not an active character at all. Although Frieda and Claudia attempt to make a difference, there is nothing they can do to make their flowers grow. The soil (which we know will not be fertile enough for the marigolds to grow) represents the hostile conditions that have conspired against Pecola. The places where Pecola and Frieda sell their flowers are homes where people live in extreme poverty, and that offers some explanation for their lack of sorrow: in a time and place when people are barely scraping by, and in a world threatened by the Axis powers, people have little worry left to expend on a little girl. Once again, we are confronted by love's scarcity. Breedlove blames the victim, and the MacTeers rally around her. This reaction stands in sharp contrast to the protective reaction of the MacTeer's when a man makes an advance on their daughter. Breedlove nearly beats her daughter to death. We also hear about Pauline's reaction to Pecola's pregnancy: Mrs. The language of these conversations is revealing: Claudia and Frieda accurately observe that there is no real sorrow for Pecola. The girls glean Pecola's story from the dialogue of adults, returning us once again to the world of gossip. But the reader knows from the prelude that the flowers never bloom. They plant the seeds in their backyard, singing a song, praying, and saying magic words, believing that when they marigolds flowers come up, they'll know that everything is fine. They give up on the bicycle and bury the money as a sacrifice.
Claudia also wonders about the poor, unwanted baby: "More strongly than my fondness for Pecola, I felt a need for someone to want the black baby to livejust to counteract the universal love of white baby dolls, Shirley Temples, and Maureen Peals."Ĭlaudia and Frieda decide to try for a miracle. Claudia and Frieda feel terrible sorrow for Pecola, all the more so because no one else does. No one expresses real concern or sorrow for Pecola, and no one wants the baby to survive. Pecola, everyone is saying, is pregnant by her father. Invited into house after house, listening in on the conversations of adults, they piece together what has happened to Pecola. That summer, she and Frieda try to make money by selling packets of seed door-to-door in hopes that they'll be able to get a bicycle. Buy Study Guide "Summer," first section Summary