The final chapter doesn’t implement any storyline purposes, but rather a conclusion on the author’s meaning and purpose of the novel. She depict why she wrote it how the newer release became more successful, how it is still relatable today, and what she based it off of. For example, she says, “Implicit in her desire was racial self-loathing” (210). This is an instance where she explains characterization with the past. I also appreciate why she thinks the first release didn’t go as successfully with pointing out factors I agreed with. I recognized that this tied in with the beginning of the story with the “why”question and now she is explaining the “why” of the book. Satisfying full circle.

The Afterword is Toni, the author’s, reasoning for writing the novel and exposing the own things she personally faced.

In the closing chapter, Toni Morrison explains her motives for writing The Bluest Eye. Her own personal experiences influenced the plot of the novel and inspired her to address the damaging effects of internalized racism. She wanted to portray just how detrimental this issue can be to more vulnerable groups while revealing the causes on a personal level from each character. It is a very emotionally triggering novel and I like that it finds a way to build sympathy or at least allow the reader to understand the motives of each character.

The last chapter is not really a part of the storyline. It jumps back into real life and talks about the authors motivations for writing the book. It is revealed that Morrison wanted to share some of her life lessons and experience through a book. She wanted to show the effects of racism and prejudice in America on the African American community. MOrrison also reveals that she believes the book should be respected for bringing to light the injustice and discrimination present in America towards African Americans.

I guess this part of the book shows the other works that Toni did. Maybe these books also implemented ideas into the Bluest Eye?

In the last chapter the author gives her reasoning as to why she wrote the novel. She based it off of personal experiences from her and her friends during their childhood. She wanted for people to see what the affects of racism and prejudice on the African American community. The author feels that it has taken 25 years for the novel to gain the respect it deserves. It is a bestselling novel and earns a lot of respect for how powerful and moving it was.

The afterword shows that this novel was based on truth, a real want of the author’s classmate. I feel the story does a good job of showing the causes and effects of racial self hatred. The author claims to be unhappy with the novel, saying she didn’t love her almost puzzle-like way of telling the story or the way she narrated Mrs. Breedloves portion. I think it did well, building up to the climax in a way that makes it while unsurprising, still very shaking. It really shows you how that sort of thing was treated at the time, and makes you feel a great sympathy.

In the “After ” chapter, the author talks about her reasonings for writing the novel. Her inspiration for the novel came from personal experiences from her and her friends during childhood. The publication of The Bluest Eye was meant to represent Pecola’s life as it has been dismissed, trivialized, and misread. It has taken 25 years for this novel to earn the respect it deserves in Toni Morrison’s eyes. The novel has earned its respect by being a national bestseller and by being a winner of the nobel prize in literature. This novel will be known as Toni Morrison’s, “most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.”

The afterward section is the author herself talking about her inspiration for writing the book and why she wrote certain things and shaped this story as she did. Her inspiration came from a personal experience where her friend in elementary school longed to have blue eyes, thinking of herself as not beautiful unless she had them, and the author felt sad that her friend did not see herself as beautiful, and since they both looked the same (brown skin and brown eyes), that she was not beautiful either. the author wanted to write a book to help show how racism deeply affects young people of color, and that beauty need not be about skin or eye color, or even based on an image at all. Starting the story with the “Quiet as it’s kept” is meant to make the text more personal to the reader, so they find it easier to relate to and listen to (read) the story. To handle the weight of the novel put on a vulnerable character, she chose to break the narrative up into parts that the reader is then tasked with putting together, like a puzzle almost. The narration from a female child’s perspective causes the reader to weigh the reliance of the narrator with telling the story, and allows the very heavy parts of the story to seem lighter, as to not weigh the reader down with grief or sadness over all of it. The author closes with the fact that her book, which she compares to Pecola’s life, was “dismissed, trivialized, and misread.” And states that it took 25 years for this story to be given the respect it deserves.

Morrison explains what her goal was in writing this novel. She wants to bring to light the damage that internalized racism can do to a young girl. At the same time however, she wants to make sure she does not dehumanize the people who wound this girl. She explains that this would just be repeating their mistake. Finally, she wants to protect this girl from “the weight of the novel’s inquiry,” and thus decides to tell the story from multiple perspectives.

In Morrison’s last words of the novel, the reader can develop a sense of what her goal was in writing this piece. She talks about the damages of internalized racism and how it effects vulnerable people in a community, specifically young girls. Her main message seems to be that she wants to protect young women from these dangers. And, by telling a story with multiple perspectives, she can hopefully get through to those girls before it’s too late.

The afterword details the purpose of the novel in a sense. It is like an autobiography and is set in the town Morrison grew up in. It is around the time of the great depression. She explains that the novel is meant to convey the damage that racism has on vulnerable members of the community, this character being Pecola. Telling from multiple perspectives helps to not dehumanize the people that damage Pecola.