Lorain High School is part of Lorain City School District in Lorain, Ohio and was founded in 1876, beginning as a two-year high school course. In 1879, the first graduating class consisted of three members. By 1883, the high school curriculum was expanded to three years and in 1889, it was expanded to four years.
150-583: Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (née Chloe Ardelia Wofford ; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison , was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye , was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award . In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she
300-545: A Catholic at the age of 12 and took the baptismal name Anthony (after Anthony of Padua ), which led to her nickname, Toni. Attending Lorain High School , she was on the debate team, the yearbook staff, and in the drama club. In 1949, she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. , seeking the company of fellow black intellectuals. She was the first person in her family to attend college, meaning that she
450-446: A Brutal Legacy", called it a "transfixing, deeply felt adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel. ... Its linchpin is of course Oprah Winfrey, who had the clout and foresight to bring 'Beloved' to the screen and has the dramatic presence to hold it together." Film critic Roger Ebert suggested that Beloved was not a genre ghost story but the supernatural was used to explore deeper issues and the non-linear structure of Morrison's story had
600-444: A black girl: "Ethnic identity and gender dilemmas are still both anecdotally and empirically linked to a decrease in self-esteem, adaptiveness and well-being". Pecola's race and gender both work against her to create a complex form of oppression. Morrison's novel confronts self-hatred and destructive behaviors black women participate in to fit into the hegemonic image of beauty and whiteness. Critic Allen Alexander argues that religion
750-612: A broken family, have resulted in a totally fractured personality, which drives Pecola into madness. In the article "Racism and Appearance in The Bluest Eye : A Template for an Ethical Emotive Criticism", Jerome Bump explains how the novel suggests that physical beauty is a virtue embedded in society. Bump asserts that the novel reveals the belief that the outside of people ultimately reflects their character and personality. This belief compromises people's judgement and they act upon internal bias. These biases are displayed throughout
900-419: A collection that included work by Nigerian writers Wole Soyinka , Chinua Achebe , and South African playwright Athol Fugard . She fostered a new generation of Afro-American writers, including poet and novelist Toni Cade Bambara , radical activist Angela Davis , Black Panther Huey Newton and novelist Gayl Jones , whose writing Morrison discovered. She also brought to publication the 1975 autobiography of
1050-468: A combination of both love and hate. He leaves her to be discovered by Pauline, who does not believe Pecola's story and beats her. The community learns of Pecola's assault, and not long after, it is discovered that she is pregnant. Following the assault, a vignette depicts Pecola seeking the help of Soaphead Church, a cunning and deceptive man who pretends to be a spiritual healer . Pecola asks Soaphead to help her obtain blue eyes, and he tricks her into feeding
1200-654: A converted boathouse on the Hudson River in Nyack , New York. She taught English at two branches of the State University of New York (SUNY) and at Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus . In 1984, she was appointed to an Albert Schweitzer chair at the University at Albany, SUNY . Morrison's first play, Dreaming Emmett , is about the 1955 murder by white men of Black teenager Emmett Till . The play
1350-495: A dog poisoned meat. When the dog dies, Pecola believes that her wish has been granted, and her mental state begins to sharply decline. Claudia and Frieda are the only two in the community who hope for Pecola's child to survive in the coming months. Consequently, they give up the money they had been saving to buy a bicycle, instead planting marigold seeds with the superstitious belief that if the flowers bloom, Pecola's baby will survive. The marigolds never bloom, and Pecola's child, who
1500-555: A final time, describes the recent phenomenon of Pecola's insanity and suggests that Cholly, who died in a warehouse following the death of Pecola's baby, may have shown Pecola the only love he could by raping her. Claudia laments her belief that the whole community, herself included, has used Pecola as a scapegoat to make themselves feel prettier and happier. When asked about her motivations for writing The Bluest Eye in an interview, Morrison stated that she wanted to remind readers "how hurtful racism is" and that people are "apologetic about
1650-640: A fresh look at William Shakespeare 's tragedy Othello . The trio focused on the relationship between Othello 's wife Desdemona and her African nursemaid, Barbary, who is only briefly referenced in Shakespeare. The play, a mix of words, music and song, premiered in Vienna in 2011. The Bluest Eye The Bluest Eye , published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison . The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells
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#17327723953421800-630: A friendship between two Black women, was nominated for the National Book Award . Her third novel, Song of Solomon (1977), follows the life of Macon "Milkman" Dead III, from birth to adulthood, as he discovers his heritage. This novel brought her national acclaim, being a main selection of the Book of the Month Club , the first novel by a Black writer to be so chosen since Richard Wright 's Native Son in 1940. Song of Solomon also won
1950-578: A girl from Ohio, writing about Ohio having been born in Lorain, Ohio. And actually relating as an Ohio person, to have the Ohio, what—Board of Education?—is ironic at the least". Debe Terhar, State Board of Education President and Cincinnati Republican, called the novel "pornographic", and suggested the book be removed from the state's teaching guidelines. Mark Smith, Ohio Christian University president, said, "I see an underlying socialist-communist agenda ... that
2100-447: A group of white people lynched two African-American businessmen who lived on his street. Morrison later said: "He never told us that he'd seen bodies. But he had seen them. And that was too traumatic, I think, for him." Soon after the lynching, George Wofford moved to the racially integrated town of Lorain, Ohio, in the hope of escaping racism and securing gainful employment in Ohio's burgeoning industrial economy. He worked odd jobs and as
2250-399: A largely White Anglo-Saxon Protestant community. Cholly was abandoned by his parents at a young age and was raised by his aunt. His attempts to find his father led him to being spurned. Further humiliation came to him during his first sexual encounter, when two white men found him and made him continue even though he was paralyzed with fear at being discovered by the two men. He met Pauline at
2400-501: A list, as well as finding additional book titles for banning. The committee incorrectly identified Toni Morrison's prize-winning book, along with others, as violating a state statute for distributing “indecent material” that is “harmful to minors” age 16 and under. The School Board will consider recommendations from the advisory committee at a time and in a process as yet undetermined. In the meantime, The Bluest Eye and all other 56 challenged books are unavailable to students in all schools in
2550-573: A memoir or autobiography. Though based in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton, Morrison did not regularly offer writing workshops to students after the late 1990s, a fact that earned her some criticism. Rather, she conceived and developed the Princeton Atelier, a program that brings together students with writers and performing artists. Together the students and the artists produce works of art that are presented to
2700-567: A national identity that excluded anyone who was not white, according to English professor Catherine Romagnolo. One example of this is that historically racist ideologies influence the character Soaphead Church in the novel, as University of Oxford professor Tessa Roynon, who studies African-American literature, explains: "the racial theories of Hume , Kant , Jefferson , and others, derived from innovations in classificatory systems by scientists such as Linnaeus , have been collected in useful readers such as Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze 's anthology Race and
2850-648: A new opera, Margaret Garner . Completed in 2002, with music by Richard Danielpour, the opera was premièred on May 7, 2005, at the Detroit Opera House with Denyce Graves in the title role. Love , Morrison's first novel since Paradise , came out in 2003. In 2004, she put together a children's book called Remember to mark the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 that declared racially segregated public schools to be unconstitutional. From 1997 to 2003, Morrison
3000-418: A petition to maintain the book in the curriculum, and expressed the importance of retaining the book because "Banning and censoring this tells students that ... racism, incest, rape, abuse, are taboo subjects that should not be mentioned." Numerous teachers also spoke out against the ban, stating that the book was used to analyze Morrison's writing style and that banning it could set a precedent for censorship in
3150-577: A predominantly white society. This ideology damages Pecola and her mother, Pauline, who fully accepts Christianity and spends her time caring for a white family as opposed to her own. Alexander suggests that the image of a more human God represents a traditional African view of deities, better suiting the lives of the African-American characters. In the essays "Disconnections from the Motherline: Gender Hegemonies and
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#17327723953423300-407: A purpose. In 1996, television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey selected Song of Solomon for her newly launched Book Club , which became a popular feature on her Oprah Winfrey Show . An average of 13 million viewers watched the show's book club segments. As a result, when Winfrey selected Morrison's earliest novel The Bluest Eye in 2000, it sold another 800,000 paperback copies. John Young wrote in
3450-580: A responsibility to engage the American public in a conversation about the First Amendment as it relates to books and literature." The Bluest Eye is one of many novels on the ALA's lists of challenged books, appearing as 15th out of 100 of the most challenged novels in the most recent decade. As time passed, more reviews and analyses were written in praise of Morrison's writing of the "colonization of
3600-524: A self-described "Christian single dad", took notice of the book for its sexual content and formed a committee concerning the removal of the book in the English honors academics. Coley told WLOS-13 "It's astounding really that somebody thinks it's OK for kids to be reading this in school." Eric Grant, the English coordinator, defended the book by making the committee aware that the school offered an alternative assignment for those who were not comfortable with
3750-455: A small building was constructed. Miss Lucria Smith was employed to teach the boys and girls who were of school age. After twenty years of service, the little schoolhouse became inadequate and classes were held in the old meetinghouse at the corner of Washington and West Erie Avenues. When the village of Charleston was incorporated in 1836, it became part of the township system. A lot was, therefore, set aside for school use, although no schoolhouse
3900-523: A staple of the college literary curriculum, which is to say a classic. This triumph is commensurate with its ambition since it was Morrison's intention in writing it precisely to expand the range of classic American literature, to enter, as a living Black woman, the company of dead White males like Faulkner , Melville , Hawthorne and Twain ." In November 2006, Morrison visited the Louvre museum in Paris as
4050-404: A story really, but a series of painfully accurate impressions." Morrison was additionally praised for her wide coverage of emotion in the novel, extending from Pecola Breedlove's quiet descent into madness, to Cholly Breedlove's skewed mindsets. Critics picked up on Morrison's shortcomings as a first time published author. A common critique of her writing included her language in the novel, as it
4200-634: A story." In 1996, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture , the U.S. federal government's highest honor for "distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities". Morrison's lecture, entitled "The Future of Time: Literature and Diminished Expectations", began with the aphorism: "Time, it seems, has no future." She cautioned against the misuse of history to diminish expectations of
4350-544: A tenant named Mr. Henry Washington, and Pecola Breedlove, a temporary foster child whose house was burned down by her unstable, alcoholic, and sexually abusive father. Pecola is a quiet, passive young girl who grows up with little money and whose parents are constantly fighting, both verbally and physically. Pecola is continually reminded of what an "ugly" girl she is by members of her neighborhood and school community. In an attempt to beautify herself, Pecola wishes for blue eyes. Additionally, most chapters' titles are extracts from
4500-543: A textbook division of publisher Random House , in Syracuse , New York. Two years later, she transferred to Random House in New York City, where she became their first black woman senior editor in the fiction department. In that capacity, Morrison played a vital role in bringing Black literature into the mainstream. One of the first books she worked on was the groundbreaking Contemporary African Literature (1972),
4650-467: A three-game football schedule. 1917 is generally regarded as the turning point in Lorain's physical education program. In that year, the second wing of the high school was completed and it included a gymnasium. Since that time, physical education has been a required course in the schools. The Lorain Board of Educated purchased a tract of land for a recreation field in 1919. A football field was laid out and
Toni Morrison - Misplaced Pages Continue
4800-423: A track was constructed on the land known as Longfellow Field. This field had poor drainage, and, as a result, many of the football games and track meets were held on water soaked and muddy grounds. The 1920s brought an increase in physical education activities. The four junior high schools were built during that time, adding four gymnasiums to the school system. Also, during the early 1920s, Lorain High School joined
4950-437: A welder for U.S. Steel . In a 2015 interview Morrison said that her father, traumatized by his experiences of racism, hated whites so much he would not let them in the house. When Morrison was about two years old, her family's landlord set fire to the house in which they lived, while they were home, because her parents could not afford to pay rent. Her family responded to what she called this "bizarre form of evil" by laughing at
5100-551: A white-dominant society, this intergenerational oppression manifests itself into shame and self-hatred as demonstrated through Pecola's character development. In the article "Probing Racial Dilemmas in the Bluest Eye with the Spyglass of Psychology", Anna Zebialowicz and Marek Palasinski discuss the racial climate of the society set forth in the novel. Zebialowicz and Palasinski explain how Pecola struggles with her identity as
5250-461: A young age, and they quickly wed, moving from Kentucky to Lorain. They initially loved each other, but their relationship gradually deteriorated over time, resulting in Cholly feeling trapped and uninterested. Pauline has a chronic, persistent belief that true, romantic love is reserved for beautiful people, and because she considers herself ugly, she encourages Cholly's behavior. Her belief that she
5400-657: Is "so brutal and disturbing that it appears to warp time before and after into a single unwavering line of fate". Canadian writer Margaret Atwood wrote in a review for The New York Times , "Ms. Morrison's versatility and technical and emotional range appear to know no bounds. If there were any doubts about her stature as a pre-eminent American novelist, of her own or any other generation, Beloved will put them to rest." Some critics panned Beloved . African-American conservative social critic Stanley Crouch , for instance, complained in his review in The New Republic that
5550-462: Is a child narrator and one is an adult narrator looking back on childhood—and one omniscient third-person narrator who connects the many tragedies of the characters. By the end of the novel, the jumbled words of the Dick and Jane primer, as well as the increasingly confusing chapters, hint at Pecola's descent into madness. Roynon suggests this breakdown in the novel's structure represents a destruction of
5700-549: Is also critical for any person who is black, or who belongs to any marginalized category, for, historically, we were seldom invited to participate in the discourse even when we were its topic." In this novel, Morrison depicts a protagonist, Pecola, a young black girl who is a victim of this perpetual racism and denial that Morrison discusses. As the Civil Rights Movement began to decline in favor of conservative ideals and white power, American culture soon fostered
5850-518: Is an important theme in The Bluest Eye , since Morrison's work possesses a "fourth face" outside of the Christian Trinity , which represents "the existence of evil, the suffering of the innocent". Alexander claims Pecola's suffering stems from her attempts to rationalize her misfortune with the notion of an omnipotent God. He further argues that much of Pecola's story suggests the insufficiency of Christian beliefs for minorities who exist in
6000-515: Is anti what this nation is about." The American Civil Liberties Union wrote a letter to Ms. Terhar, explaining the book was "a bold, unflinching look at the pain and damage that internalized racism can inflict on a young girl and her community". Despite the publicity, The Bluest Eye remained on the recommended reading list. In July, 2014, East Wake High School in North Carolina removed The Bluest Eye from their reading lists due to what
6150-466: Is born prematurely, dies. In the aftermath, a dialogue is presented between two sides of Pecola's deluded imagination, in which she indicates conflicting feelings about her rape by her father. In this internal conversation, Pecola speaks as though her wish for blue eyes has been granted, and believes that the changed behavior of those around her is due to her new eyes, rather than the news of her rape or her increasingly strange behavior. Claudia, as narrator
Toni Morrison - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-477: Is conveyed through a variety of characters. For example, Pecola, the main character, wishes for blue eyes as a way to escape the oppression that results from her having dark skin. Through Pecola's characterization, Morrison seeks to demonstrate the negative impact racism can have on one's self-confidence and worth. As she concluded in her interview, she "wanted people to understand what it was like to be treated that way". Morrison commented on her motivations to write
6450-563: Is inherent in whiteness. She further asserts that white beauty standards are perpetuated by visual images in the media as well as the attitude of Pecola's family. When Pauline first arrives in Lorain, she feels pressure to conform and begins to develop a construct of femininity based on the actresses such as Jean Harlow . Pecola is also surrounded by constant images that perpetuate white beauty standards, including references to Shirley Temple and an image of Mary Jane that appears on her candy wrappers. Scott believes that Pecola attempts to seek
6600-474: Is passed onto Pecola, who is at the bottom of the racial and social ladder. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye breaks the long tradition of narratives that discuss the hardships of war and depression in the 1940s, and according to University of Oxford professor Tessa Roynon, who studies African-American literature, she brings forth a unique and untold point of view in American historical fiction. Roynon argues that Morrison purposefully writes stories that defy
6750-470: Is the daughter of Pecola's temporary foster parents. There is also some omniscient third-person narration. The book's controversial topics of racism , incest , and child molestation have led to numerous attempts to ban the novel from schools and libraries in the United States. In 1941, in Lorain, Ohio , nine-year-old Claudia MacTeer and her ten-year-old sister Frieda live with their parents,
6900-508: Is thus emasculated, Werrlein argues, because his behavior deviates from this standard for American family life. Finally, Werrlein claims that the black parents have experienced oppression throughout their lives, and that same oppression has negatively influenced their familial structure. Thus, racism is a prevalent factor in their homes. English Professor Philip Page focuses on the importance of duality in The Bluest Eye . He claims that Morrison presents an "inverted world", entirely opposite from
7050-456: Is ugly greatly parallels Pecola's inferiority complex. Pauline now works as a servant for a wealthier white family, where she claims that she feels most alive. At some point, Pecola leaves the MacTeers and returns to living with her parents. One day in the novel's present time, while Pecola is doing dishes at her home, a drunk Cholly finds her and rapes her. His motives are confusing, seemingly
7200-513: The African American Review in 2001 that Morrison's career experienced the boost of " The Oprah Effect , ... enabling Morrison to reach a broad, popular audience." Winfrey selected a total of four of Morrison's novels over six years, giving Morrison's works a bigger sales boost than they received from her Nobel Prize win in 1993. The novelist also appeared three times on Winfrey's show. Winfrey said, "For all those who asked
7350-466: The Dick and Jane paragraph in the novel's prologue, presenting a white family that may be contrasted with Pecola's. The chapter titles contain sudden repetition of words or phrases, many cut-off words, and no interword separations . The novel, through flashbacks and various vignettes , explores the younger years of both of Pecola's parents, Cholly and Pauline, and their struggles as African Americans in
7500-623: The Beloved Trilogy. Morrison said they are intended to be read together, explaining: "The conceptual connection is the search for the beloved – the part of the self that is you, and loves you, and is always there for you." The second novel in the trilogy, Jazz , came out in 1992. Told in language that imitates the rhythms of jazz music, the novel is about a love triangle during the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. According to Lyn Innes , "Morrison sought to change not just
7650-612: The Bluest Eye and Beloved ", Shubhanku Kochar, a professor of English in India, argues that the theme of violence in the Bluest Eye is not discussed enough. Kochar asserts that the powerful white characters psychologically abuse people of non-white cultures and races, which results in a dominant theme of violence in the novel. She adds that psychoanalytical study focuses on these race-based tensions that consistently cause emotional harm. The Marxist frame targets class relations, while
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#17327723953427800-480: The City University of New York put The Bluest Eye on its reading list for its new Black studies department, as did other colleges, which boosted sales. The book also brought Morrison to the attention of the acclaimed editor Robert Gottlieb at Knopf , an imprint of the publisher Random House. Gottlieb later edited all but one of Morrison's novels. In 1975, Morrison's second novel Sula (1973), about
7950-546: The Howell High School curriculum, including The Bluest Eye , Black Boy by Richard Wright , Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut , and The Freedom Writers Diary . The National Coalition Against Censorship published a letter in response to the criticism, claiming that the scenes which involve sex "represent small but essential parts of the novels, consistent with the kind of material that high school students frequently read." Their letter also argued that
8100-548: The National Book Critics Circle Award . At its 1979 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Morrison its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction . Morrison gave her next novel, Tar Baby (1981), a contemporary setting. In it, a looks-obsessed fashion model, Jadine, falls in love with Son, a penniless drifter who feels at ease with being Black. Resigning from Random House in 1983, Morrison left publishing to devote more time to writing, while living in
8250-574: The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. The citation praised her as an author "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality". She was the first Black woman of any nationality to win the prize. In her acceptance speech, Morrison said: "We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives." In her Nobel lecture, Morrison talked about
8400-493: The " anti heroine " as a stark contrast to the typical bildungsroman , where a male character defeats obstacles and grows from experience. Instead, in The Bluest Eye , Pecola fails to develop an individual identity in the face of an oppressive society, and her self-hatred forces her to retreat from reality completely. The points of view in the novel reveal a multi-perspectival post-1945 style. According to Roynon, Morrison combines three narrators: two revealing Claudia MacTeer—one
8550-606: The "American mainstream ideology" by focusing in on the realities of African-American life at the time. Critics like Abdellatif Khayati, professor at the Moroccan Cultural Studies Center, and librarian Sandra Hughes-Hassel argue that The Bluest Eye serves as a counter-narrative, a method of the telling the accounts of people whose stories are rarely told and deliberately hidden. In an interview, Morrison stated: "my job becomes how to rip that veil drawn over proceedings too terrible to relate. The exercise
8700-418: The "Dick and Jane" primer emphasizes the importance of raising children so as to mold the future of the United States. However, as Werrlein points out, the whiteness of the "Dick and Jane" characters represented the ideal American family. In addition, the string of letters describing Dick and Jane's perfect parents as strong and kind are used to create a contrast with Pecola's parents in the novel. Pecola's father
8850-514: The "Dick and Jane" stories at the beginning of multiple chapters. These "Dick and Jane" stories promoted the importance of the white nuclear family as a way of helping foster literacy in young children. Morrison presents a critical view of the textbook's family by contrasting the "Dick and Jane" family with the MacTeers and Breedloves. Morrison's storytelling in The Bluest Eye challenged existing attitudes that stigmatized talking about sexual violence in children's lives. The living standards presented in
9000-430: The "Dick and Jane" stories were unachievable for many poor Black children who shared backgrounds with Pecola. Debra Werrlein, professor at George Mason University , contends that the excerpts of "Dick and Jane" throughout the book project an image of an ideal family that contrasts with the family structures of the main characters. She argues that because the novel takes place in a time of World War II social sentiments,
9150-536: The 34th-most banned book in the United States 1990–1999, the 15th-most banned book 2000–2009, and the 10th-most banned book 2010–2019. The Bluest Eye was legally challenged on February 10, 1998, by a mother from Montgomery County, Maryland , named Christine Schwalm. She brought The Bluest Eye and four other books to the attention of the Montgomery County school board, describing The Bluest Eye and others as "lewd, adult books". Ms. Schwalm argued for
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#17327723953429300-590: The AP curriculum and allow students the option to choose an alternative book. The committee announced their decision explaining that removing the book "would eliminate the opportunity for deep study by our student[s] on critical themes in our society". Despite some support for the ban, many parents and students objected to it, with one student stating, "The purpose of AP literature as a class is to expand our understanding and enlarge our world, not make us more comfortable inside boxes of ignorance." Parents and students opposed to
9450-652: The African-American presence in White American literature. (In 2016, Time magazine noted that Playing in the Dark was among Morrison's most-assigned texts on U.S. college campuses, together with several of her novels and her 1993 Nobel Prize lecture.) Lyn Innes wrote in the Guardian obituary of Morrison, "Her 1990 series of Massey lectures at Harvard were published as Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and
9600-501: The Dick and Jane story that is at the beginning of the novel. The idea of breaks and splitting is common, as seen in the context of the war occurring in the time period of the story, the split nature of Pecola's family, and the watermelon that Cholly observes break open during a flashback . Page argues that breaks symbolize the challenges of African-American life, as seen in the rip in the Breedloves' couch that symbolizes poverty, or
9750-471: The Enlightenment (1997). The well-read, race-obsessed Soaphead Church in The Bluest Eye is the inevitable product of these theories." As Khayati explains, these perpetual racist beliefs shape Pecola's self destructiveness, and she is suspicious of even her own blackness, and desires the characteristics of a white person, like those in the Dick and Jane primers. Khayati says The Bluest Eye shows how
9900-758: The Harlem Renaissance era such as Alain Lock and Sterling Brown . Additionally, she participated in the university's theater group, known as the Howard Players, where she had the opportunity to travel the Deep South, which was a defining experience of her life. Morrison went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in 1955 from Cornell University in Ithaca , New York. Her master's thesis was titled " Virginia Woolf 's and William Faulkner 's treatment of
10050-535: The Lake Erie League and soon after the Board of Education realized that Longfellow Field was not adequate for playing league games. In 1927, the Board of Education purchased a fourteen and one-half acres of land on Oberlin Avenue to be used as a stadium for football and track. The field cost $ 40,000. The public school children agreed to raise $ 15,000 if the Board of Education gave $ 25,000. The children raised
10200-478: The Literary Imagination (1992), and explore the construction of a 'non-white Africanist presence and personae' in the works of Poe , Hawthorne , Melville , Cather and Hemingway , arguing that 'all of us are bereft when criticism remains too polite or too fearful to notice a disrupting darkness before its eyes'." Before the third novel of the Beloved Trilogy was published, Morrison was awarded
10350-580: The Lorain High School Annex at 2321 Fairless Drive, along with Credit Recovery Academy, due to lack of space for the entire student body in the current building. Grades 10-12 are located in Lorain High School at 2270 E 42nd Street. On October 24, 2012, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the new site for Lorain High School. The new building's cost amounts to $ 73 million and will be 330,000 square feet. School officials claim
10500-571: The Lorain High School Titans, with navy blue and silver as their colors and operated in the former Lorain Southview High School building as construction began for the new building. The all new Lorain High School complex opened in 2016. Prior to the organization of the area's first public school, subscription classes were taught by David Smith of Amherst . These classes were held in an old log cabin location at
10650-709: The Loss of the Ancient Properties; The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon , Tar Baby " and "Maternal Interventions: Resistance and Power; The Bluest Eye, Sula , Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved , Paradise ", Andrea O'Reilly, a women's studies professor, proclaims that African-American women pass on cultural knowledge to successive generations through the process of motherline: "the ancestral memory and ancient properties of traditional black culture". O'Reilly claims that The Bluest Eye portrays how attempting to assimilate to white American ideologies effectively undermines
10800-550: The U.S. Attorney confirmed that no laws, state or federal, had been broken by including the selected books in the curriculum. Since the case, the books have been included in 11th grade advanced English curriculum. In 2013, a group of parents challenged The Bluest Eye ' s inclusion in Legacy High School 's AP English curriculum due to the book's sexual content and "subject matter" of a girl getting raped by her father. In their petition launched through Change.org ,
10950-545: The United States from the time of slavery to the 1920s. Random House had been uncertain about the project but its publication met with a good reception. Alvin Beam reviewed the anthology for the Cleveland Plain Dealer , writing: "Editors, like novelists, have brain children – books they think up and bring to life without putting their own names on the title page. Mrs. Morrison has one of these in
11100-517: The Well (1997) were written for Jessye Norman with music by Richard Danielpour , and, alongside Maya Angelou and Clarissa Pinkola Estés , Morrison provided the text for composer Judith Weir 's woman.life.song commissioned by Carnegie Hall for Jessye Norman, which premiered in April 2000. Morrison returned to Margaret Garner's life story, the basis of her novel Beloved , to write the libretto for
11250-541: The alienated". She taught English, first at Texas Southern University in Houston from 1955 to 1957, and then at Howard University for the next seven years. While teaching at Howard, she met Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect, whom she married in 1958. Their first son was born in 1961 and she was pregnant with their second son when she and Harold divorced in 1964. After her divorce and the birth of her son Slade in 1965, Morrison began working as an editor for L. W. Singer,
11400-539: The ban were also supported by national organizations including the National Council of Teachers of English, NCAC , and ALA. After voting, the board ultimately sided with the evaluation of the committee and retained the book in the AP curriculum. In September 2017, The Bluest Eye was challenged at North Buncombe High School in Buncombe County, North Carolina , by a parent, Tim Coley. Tim Coley,
11550-571: The book at Stevens High School, they were glad that action was taken, as they viewed The Bluest Eye to be an "adult book". In August 2005 in Littleton, Colorado , the Littleton school board voted to ban The Bluest Eye from reading lists, where it was listed as optional, and remove it from the libraries of the Heritage and Arapahoe high schools, despite the recommendation of a committee that
11700-402: The book be restricted to juniors and seniors. The ban was enacted in response to a complaint received by a parent of a ninth-grader student who was on the board and who took issue with the novel's sexual content, specifically the scene of Pecola's rape. Students protested the ban by reading passages from the book in their school libraries. In response to the ban, Camille Okoren, a student attending
11850-526: The book would succeed was an extremely positive review in The New York Times in November 1970. Morrison was also positively reviewed for her break from the status quo of usual novels from the time period, writing to a wider audience and focusing on black subculture in the 1940s, rather than the military culture of the time. African-American critic Ruby Dee wrote, "Toni Morrison has not written
12000-507: The book, I had a student who said that she is the product of incest. And I've had a student who said that she was molested by her uncle. Books allow us to help them heal in ways that we as educators couldn't help them heal on our own." In an interview, American Library Association (ALA) editor Robert P. Doyle also recognized the potential of novels like The Bluest Eye to effect positive change within schools, stating that, "The book community realized that [they] have not only an opportunity, but
12150-666: The book. He also mentioned that the book was in the syllabus that was handed out at the beginning of the year. The committee was given time to read the book and determine if there was academic value offered from the book. In January 2022, the Wentzville, Missouri , school board voted 4–3 to ban The Bluest Eye , going against the review committee's 8–1 vote to retain the book in the district's libraries. The ban included three other books, as well: George M. Johnson 's All Boys Aren't Blue , Alison Bechdel 's Fun Home , and Kiese Laymon 's Heavy . In September, 2023, The Bluest Eye
12300-574: The books in question "are widely recognized as works of significant literary and artistic merit", and "are widely taught in high schools and colleges around the country". Despite controversy, the curriculum was in fact approved in a 5-to-2 decision by the Howell School Board. In response to the legal concerns raised by LOVE, Livingston Prosecutor David Morse, the Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox , and
12450-543: The break in Pauline's tooth that ruins her marriage and family. He goes on to identify how each of the characters are broken personally, since Cholly's former and present lives are described as chaotic and jumbled, and Pauline is responsible for both her biological family and the white family she works for. The epitome of this, Page argues, is seen in Pecola at the end of the novel. The events of her life, having broken parents in
12600-547: The building will rival college or university buildings and give students a chance to compete with others around the world. Construction on the new site for Lorain High School was completed in 2016; in time for students to begin attending in August. The doors were opened to students on August 24, 2016. Physical education in Lorain City Schools is said to have begun in 1894, the year Lorain High School first played
12750-514: The characters of the novel) and Euro-American critics (who often only focused on the actual writing of the novel). Within classrooms across the country, educators also disagreed over whether or not the novel was appropriate for children. One African-American educator, founder of the IFE Academy of Teaching & Technology Shekema Silveri, has stated: "Teaching novels like The Bluest Eye helps us break down barriers with students. After reading
12900-436: The content and audience for her fiction; her desire was to create stories which could be lingered over and relished, not 'consumed and gobbled as fast food', and at the same time to ensure that these stories and their characters had a strong historical and cultural base." In 1992, Morrison also published her first book of literary criticism, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992), an examination of
13050-405: The cover of Time magazine, making her only the second female writer of fiction and second Black writer of fiction to appear on what was perhaps the most significant U.S. magazine cover of the era. Also in 1998, the movie adaptation of Beloved was released, directed by Jonathan Demme and co-produced by Oprah Winfrey , who had spent ten years bringing it to the screen. Winfrey also stars as
13200-852: The cradle of our present problems and strains, the natal curse put on us back then by the Indian tribes, Africans, Dutch, Portuguese, and English competing to get their footing in the New World against a hostile landscape and the essentially tragic nature of human experience." From 1989 until her retirement in 2006, Morrison held the Robert F. Goheen Chair in the Humanities at Princeton University . She said she did not think much of modern fiction writers who reference their own lives instead of inventing new material, and she used to tell her creative writing students, "I don't want to hear about your little life, OK?" Similarly, she chose not to write about her own life in
13350-719: The district. An adaptation of The Bluest Eye by Lydia R. Diamond was first performed in Chicago, Illinois in 2005, before seeing further adaptations around the United States. Lorain High School In 1995, Lorain High School was closed and became Lorain Middle School, which was later closed in 2005. In the fall of 2010, following the merger of Lorain Admiral King High School and Lorain Southview High School , Lorain High School reopened as
13500-624: The district. Ultimately, the Adams County School Board voted to retain the Superintendent's original ruling of the 2010 challenge, which not only restricted the book to AP curriculum but also required teachers to notify parents before their child read the book. In September, 2013, The Bluest Eye was challenged by the Ohio Board of Education President Debe Terhar . This book was listed as recommended reading in
13650-486: The fact that their skin [is] so dark". Reminiscing about her own experience, she recalled: "When I was a kid, we called each other names but we didn't think it was serious, that you could take it in." Expanding on this point of self-esteem, Morrison elaborated that she "wanted to speak on behalf of those who didn't catch that [they were beautiful] right away. [She] was deeply concerned about the feelings of ugliness." As seen throughout The Bluest Eye , this idea of "ugliness"
13800-658: The feminist lens centers on violence perpetrated against women. Kochar argues that to comprehend the complex violence inflicted on Pecola, one must analyze the novel through the Marxist and Feminist lens in addition to the psychoanalytical lens. J. Brooks Bouson, an English professor at Loyola University Chicago , claims that The Bluest Eye is a "shame drama and trauma narrative", that uses Pecola and its other characters to examine how people respond to shame. Bouson argues that some characters, like Claudia, show how people can respond violently to shame: Claudia does this by rejecting
13950-401: The future. Morrison was also honored with the 1996 National Book Foundation's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters , which is awarded to a writer "who has enriched our literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work". The third novel of her Beloved Trilogy, Paradise , about citizens of an all-Black town, came out in 1997. The following year, Morrison was on
14100-461: The harmful ideologies which Morrison's stories seeks to reject. The novel received minimal critical attention when first published; however, it was placed on many university reading lists in black-studies departments, which promoted further recognition. Morrison was praised for her handling of difficult themes: critic Haskel Frankel said, "Given a scene that demands a writer's best, Morrison responds with control and talent." The first major sign that
14250-419: The high school curriculum was expanded to three years; in 1889, it was expanded to four years. The first wing of Lorain High School was completed in 1916 and dedication exercises were held on May 12 of that year. The second wing of the building was completed in 1917 and the two wings included ninety two rooms, a gymnasium-stage and an auditorium. Located at Sixth Street and Washington Avenue, Lorain High School
14400-490: The historic white narrative creates an "epistemic violence of the Other [which] operates through the internalization of the self-as-other. Pecola exists only in the image reflected by the Other." Romagnolo argues that just as Pecola's rape is concealed throughout the story, the novel exposes a history of failed pursuits of hiding the racist and sexist establishments that directly provoke each character's hardships. While Morrison
14550-766: The humanities, in 1996. She was honored with the National Book Foundation 's Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters the same year. President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 29, 2012. She received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction in 2016. Morrison was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2020. Toni Morrison
14700-402: The intersection of Oberlin Avenue and First Street. On November 9, 1827, the house holders of the village met to discuss the education of their children. A school board was elected and two hundred dollars was appropriated for the purpose of building a schoolhouse for the youngsters of Lorain . It was suggested that a schoolhouse to be built on the west side of town; later, it was agreed upon and
14850-480: The landlord rather than falling into despair. Morrison later said her family's response demonstrated how to keep your integrity and claim your own life in the face of acts of such "monumental crudeness". Morrison's parents instilled in her a sense of heritage and language through telling traditional African-American folktales, ghost stories, and singing songs. She read frequently as a child; among her favorite authors were Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy . Morrison became
15000-491: The late 1960s. She developed her own reputation as an author in the 1970s and '80s. Her novel Beloved was made into a film in 1998. Morrison's works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States and the Black American experience. The National Endowment for the Humanities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lecture , the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in
15150-491: The main character, Sethe, alongside Danny Glover as Sethe's lover, Paul D, and Thandiwe Newton as Beloved. The movie flopped at the box office. A review in The Economist opined that "most audiences are not eager to endure nearly three hours of a cerebral film with an original storyline featuring supernatural themes, murder, rape, and slavery". Film critic Janet Maslin , in her New York Times review "No Peace from
15300-410: The mind", her critique of white versus black beauty standards, and even began to analyze her use of simplistic language, calling it a stylistic choice rather than a pitfall of the novel. Despite initial controversies surrounding the subject matter of The Bluest Eye , Morrison was eventually recognized for her contributions to literature when she received the Nobel Prize in 1993 , over 20 years following
15450-445: The money by means of carnivals, candy sales, plays, operettas, paper drives and athletic events. The football stadium on Oberlin Avenue is a tribute to the hard work of the citizens of Lorain. Originally known as Recreation Field, its name was changed in 1958 to George Daniel Field in honor of the man who served as teacher, coach and athletic director for more than fifty years. George Daniel, a three-sport athlete at Lorain High School at
15600-429: The motherline process for African-American women. Jane Kuenz shows that Pecola conforms to what white society expects of her, as her affinity for Shirley Temple and other manifestations of whiteness illustrates the influence of the power of mass media. Kuenz insists that The Bluest Eye demonstrates the impact of mass-produced images in a hegemonic society. In the article "Treatment of Violence: A Study of Morrison's
15750-487: The name was changed to the "Little Big Seven." The two-semester system with promotions twice a year was begun, and the first mid-year graduation was held in 1911, the same year that work on the new Lorain High School building was begun. 1912 was the first year that the Lorain High School football team, under coach Daniel, went undefeated, also achieving this feat in 1914 and 1916. In 1922 the Lorain High basketball team
15900-464: The new mascot being the Titans. The high school was previously housed in the former Lorain Admiral King High School building until 2012, where it was moved to the former Lorain Southview High School and the newly constructed Southview Middle School to make way for the construction of Lorain High School at the site of the former Lorain Admiral King High School on 2600 Ashland Avenue. Grade 9 is located in
16050-405: The novel "reads largely like a melodrama lashed to the structural conceits of the miniseries", and that Morrison "perpetually interrupts her narrative with maudlin ideological commercials". Despite overall high acclaim, Beloved failed to win the prestigious National Book Award or the National Book Critics Circle Award . Forty-eight Black critics and writers, among them Maya Angelou , protested
16200-477: The novel emphasizes that living in a world defined by Euro-centric beauty standards creates a longing for whiteness, such as Pecola's desire for blue eyes, which attacks young black girls' confidence and perceived beauty. References to Shirley Temple and Dick and Jane serve similarly. The "Dick and Jane" textbooks (called Elson Basic Readers) were popular primers in the mid-20th century, and Morrison refers to them in The Bluest Eye by including her own versions of
16350-433: The novel, especially through the mistreatment of Pecola by family, friends and community. Literary critic Lynn Scott argues that the constant images of whiteness in The Bluest Eye serve to represent society's perception of beauty, which ultimately proves to have destructive consequences for many of the characters in the novel. Scott explains that in the novel, superiority, power, and virtue are associated with beauty, which
16500-414: The novel, saying, "I felt compelled to write this mostly because in the 1960s, black male authors published powerful, aggressive, revolutionary fiction or nonfiction, and they had positive racially uplifting rhetoric with them that were stimulating and I thought they would skip over something and thought no one would remember that it wasn't always beautiful." Morrison's writing of the book began because she
16650-464: The omission in a statement that The New York Times published on January 24, 1988. "Despite the international stature of Toni Morrison, she has yet to receive the national recognition that her five major works of fiction entirely deserve", they wrote. Two months later, Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction . It also won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award . Beloved is the first of three novels about love and African-American history, sometimes called
16800-560: The original publication of the novel. The Bluest Eye has frequently landed on American Library Association 's (ALA) list of most challenged books because it contains offensive language, sexually explicit material, and controversial issues, as well as depicting child sexual abuse and being unsuited for the age group. The ALA placed it on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists for 2006 (5), 2014 (4), 2013 (2), 2020 (9), and 2022 (3). Ultimately, it became
16950-503: The outspoken boxing champion Muhammad Ali , The Greatest: My Own Story . In addition, she published and promoted the work of Henry Dumas , a little-known novelist and poet who in 1968 had been shot to death by a transit officer in the New York City Subway . Among other books that Morrison developed and edited is The Black Book (1974), an anthology of photographs, illustrations, essays, and documents of Black life in
17100-441: The parents argued that they "did not want developmentally inappropriate and graphic books used for classroom instruction". In a formal petition submitted to the superintendent, parent Janela Karlson claimed the introduction of sexually graphic material including rape and incest could be developmentally harmful to minors as supported by scientific research. In response to the challenge, Legacy High School student Bailey Cross created
17250-403: The power associated with whiteness, and in her attempt to conform, she develops a destructive desire for blue eyes. Harihar Kulkarni, an author of a book on African-American feminist fiction literature, recognizes that these Euro-centric ideals of family and beauty present in The Bluest Eye are shown to be transferred generationally, often between female relationships. In addition to living in
17400-416: The power of storytelling. To make her point, she told a story. She spoke about a blind, old, Black woman who is approached by a group of young people. They demand of her, "Is there no context for our lives? No song, no literature, no poem full of vitamins, no history connected to experience that you can pass along to help us start strong? ... Think of our lives and tell us your particularized world. Make up
17550-688: The public after a semester of collaboration. Inspired by her curatorship at the Louvre Museum, Morrison returned to Princeton in the fall 2008 to lead a small seminar, also entitled "The Foreigner's Home". On November 17, 2017, Princeton University dedicated Morrison Hall (a building previously called West College) in her honor. In May 2010, Morrison appeared at PEN World Voices for a conversation with Marlene van Niekerk and Kwame Anthony Appiah about South African literature and specifically van Niekerk's 2004 novel Agaat . Morrison wrote books for children with her younger son, Slade Morrison, who
17700-677: The question 'Toni Morrison again?'... I say with certainty there would have been no Oprah's Book Club if this woman had not chosen to share her love of words with the world." Morrison called the book club a "reading revolution". Morrison continued to explore different art forms, such as providing texts for original scores of classical music. She collaborated with André Previn on the song cycle Honey and Rue , which premiered with Kathleen Battle in January 1992, and on Four Songs , premiered at Carnegie Hall with Sylvia McNair in November 1994. Both Sweet Talk: Four Songs on Text and Spirits In
17850-492: The racist system she lives in and destroying the white dolls she is given. However, most characters in the novel pass on their shame to someone below them on the social and racial ladder. For example, Soaphead Church comes from a family obsessed with lightening their skin tone, and passes on the shame of his African-American heritage by molesting young girls. Bouson suggests that all of the African-American characters in The Bluest Eye exhibit shame, and eventually much of this shame
18000-479: The removal of the book from the syllabus because she deemed them to be "at odds with the character education programme" promoted within the schools. In court, Ms Schwalm read a passage specifically from The Bluest Eye in order to demonstrate the inappropriate nature of the content within the novel. The passage in question featured Soaphead Church and presented pedophelia and child molestation, leading to Schwalm's objections to its presence in schools. The book, however,
18150-415: The school decided to remove the book from freshmen and sophomore reading lists, and deemed that the novel was only "suitable" for juniors and seniors. In addition, the school also ruled that teachers must send reading lists to parents early on in the year to get their approval as to which books their children could read and discuss in class. While some parents would have preferred heavier restrictions against
18300-651: The second in its "Grand Invité" program to guest-curate a month-long series of events across the arts on the theme of "The Foreigner's Home", about which The New York Times said: "In tapping her own African-American culture, Ms. Morrison is eager to credit 'foreigners' with enriching the countries where they settle." Morrison's novel A Mercy , released in 2008, is set in the Virginia colonies of 1682. Diane Johnson , in her review in Vanity Fair , called A Mercy "a poetic, visionary, mesmerizing tale that captures, in
18450-593: The sit-in acknowledged "students hear about rape and incest in the news media. It's better to learn about those subjects from a Nobel Prize winner ... and to discuss it with a teacher in class." Ultimately, the book was reinstated after English teacher Judy Vlasin filed an application to the board explaining why it should not be banned. In February 2007, a group called LOVE (the Livingston Organization for Values in Education) challenged four books in
18600-598: The spring 2006, The New York Times Book Review named Beloved the best work of American fiction published in the previous 25 years, as chosen by a selection of prominent writers, literary critics, and editors. In his essay about the choice, "In Search of the Best", critic A. O. Scott said: "Any other outcome would have been startling since Morrison's novel has inserted itself into the American canon more completely than any of its potential rivals. With remarkable speed, 'Beloved' has, less than 20 years after its publication, become
18750-483: The state's Common Core standards, but was challenged at the state's Board of Education, with teachers pushing to ban it from the classroom due to its explicit content. Terhar took particular issue when it came to the scene regarding Pecola being raped by her father. Although not seen commenting on previous challenges to her books, Morrison specifically commented on this particular incident: "I mean if it's Texas or North Carolina as it has been in all sorts of states. But to be
18900-531: The stores now, and magazines and newsletters in the publishing trade are ecstatic, saying it will go like hotcakes." Morrison had begun writing fiction as part of an informal group of poets and writers at Howard University who met to discuss their work. She attended one meeting with a short story about a Black girl who longed to have blue eyes . Morrison later developed the story as her first novel, The Bluest Eye , getting up every morning at 4 am to write, while raising two children on her own. The Bluest Eye
19050-479: The story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression . Set in 1941, the story is about how she is consistently regarded as "ugly" due to her mannerisms and dark skin. As a result, she develops an inferiority complex , which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with " whiteness ". The novel is told mostly from Claudia MacTeer's point of view. Claudia
19200-663: The turn of the century and a track star at Ohio Wesleyan University, coached football at Lorain High School until he was named the first supervisor of physical education. George Daniel, a 1905 LHS graduate, became Lorain High's second athletic coach in 1910. Although Lorain High School students participated in sports prior to 1911, it was in that year that Daniel was instrumental in forming the "Little Big Four" league, which consisted of Lorain High School, Elyria High School , Sandusky High School , and Norwalk High School . The league later expanded to include Fremont, Bellevue, and Oberlin, and
19350-554: Was "interested in talking about black girlhood". Jan Furman, professor of English at the University of Michigan , notes that the book allows the reader to analyze the "imprinting" factors that shape the identity of the self during the process of maturing in young black girls. She references parts in the book where the main characters are taught to feel less than human, specifically when the shopkeeper avoids touching Pecola's hand when giving her candy. Susmita Roye, an associate professor of English at Delaware State University , notes that
19500-457: Was a first-generation college student . Initially a student in the drama program at Howard, she studied theatre with celebrated drama teachers Anne Cooke Reid and Owen Dodson . It was while at Howard that she encountered racially segregated restaurants and buses for the first time. She graduated in 1953 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Classics, and was able to work with key members of
19650-411: Was a notable female writer, she was quick to deny her works being categorized as "feminist", as she believed the title denies the specific necessities of black women. Rather than depict strong female protagonists, Morrison created characters who are actually defeated by the racism and sexism of the historic time period. Anne Salvatore, a professor of English at Rider University, interprets this failure of
19800-529: Was a painter and a musician. Slade died of pancreatic cancer on December 22, 2010, aged 45, when Morrison's novel Home (2012) was half-completed. In May 2011, Morrison received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Rutgers University–New Brunswick . During the commencement ceremony, she delivered a speech on the "pursuit of life, liberty, meaningfulness, integrity, and truth". In 2011, Morrison worked with opera director Peter Sellars and Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré on Desdemona , taking
19950-467: Was a tax levied for the township schools, and the first school census that same year showed 187 people of school age living in (Lorain). By 1872, the number increased to 199. In 1871, the first formal adoption of textbooks occurred and the students soon after began using McGuffery's readers, Ray's arithmetic and Harvey's grammar books. Strictly speaking, the public schools of the city of Lorain began in 1874 when Lorain became incorporated. Benjamin F. Bellows
20100-402: Was an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University . In 2004, Morrison was invited by Wellesley College to deliver the commencement address , which has been described as "among the greatest commencement addresses of all time and a courageous counterpoint to the entire genre". In June 2005, the University of Oxford awarded Morrison an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. In
20250-527: Was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio , Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with a B.A. in English. Morrison earned a master's degree in American Literature from Cornell University in 1955. In 1957 she returned to Howard University, was married, and had two children before divorcing in 1964. Morrison became the first black female editor for fiction at Random House in New York City in
20400-627: Was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, the second of four children from a working-class, Black family, in Lorain, Ohio , to Ramah (née Willis) and George Wofford. Her mother was born in Greenville, Alabama , and moved north with her family as a child. She was a homemaker and a devout member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church . George Wofford grew up in Cartersville, Georgia . When Wofford was about 15 years old,
20550-444: Was built on it for several years. During 1853, a two-story frame building was constructed on Fourth Street. This was the only schoolhouse within the limits of the town until 1870 when a four-room, two story brick building was completed. The cost of this building, which later became a part of the high school, was fifteen thousand dollars. The building site had been purchased for an additional two thousand dollars. As early as 1862 there
20700-529: Was challenged in the Northville , Michigan, school district after a parent filed a complaint petitioning for the removal of the book from the AP Literature and Composition curriculum, stating the book's portrayal of sexual assault was not age-appropriate. A committee, consisting of a school administrator and other educators, evaluated the book and recommended that the board vote to maintain the book in
20850-519: Was challenged, along with 56 other books, by a newly created District Wide Library Committee, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Alaska. This advisory committee was created and individual members selected by current Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District School Board members, in a change from the district's standard operating procedures. The committee was tasked with seeking out specific titles on
21000-410: Was closed and merged with Admiral King High School, changing the name to Lorain Admiral King High School and remaining in the latter's building. Lorain Middle School was opened that fall in the former Lorain High School building and retained the previous high school's mascot and colors until closing in 2005. Lorain High School reopened in late August 2010, with their colors being navy blue and silver and
21150-720: Was commissioned by the New York State Writers Institute at the State University of New York at Albany, where she was teaching at the time. It was produced in 1986 by Capital Repertory Theatre and directed by Gilbert Moses . Morrison was also a visiting professor at Bard College from 1986 to 1988. In 1987, Morrison published her most celebrated novel, Beloved . It was inspired by the true story of an enslaved African-American woman, Margaret Garner , whose story Morrison had discovered when compiling The Black Book . Garner had escaped slavery but
21300-524: Was deemed inappropriate content. In particular, the school highlighted the fact that the book contains "a description of a father raping his daughter". Furthermore, East Wake High assigned an alternative book to their reading list, The Color Purple . The Bluest Eye , however, was still left available within their libraries for students to read if they wish at their own discretion, as the school wished to make clear that they were not "denying students access to that level of literature". In 2016, The Bluest Eye
21450-414: Was expanded and remodeled three times since the second wing of the high school was built in 1917 before closing in 1995. In the late 1930s, an Arts building was completed when it became necessary to expand the industrial arts program. In 1962, a three unit gymnasium and a new home economics department were built and a new cafeteria and a two-level media center were added in 1972. In 1995, Lorain High School
21600-461: Was made by Baker City schools superintendent Arnold Coe, and was supported by the school board. In 1999, parents of students at Stevens High School in Claremont, New Hampshire , objected to the book's being assigned to lower grade levels. The case started when parents complained to the school that they thought the book contained content that was sexually inappropriate for children. As a result,
21750-577: Was not removed from the curriculum as Schwalm's objections were not upheld in court. In March 1999, The Bluest Eye was successfully banned from Baker High School language arts program in Baker City, Oregon , after multiple complaints from parents about the content of the book. The original source of contention for this novel was the rape scene between Cholly and Pecola. Later, the book was banned for being "sexually explicit", "unsuited for age group", and containing "controversial issues". The decision
21900-443: Was often viewed as being made too simple for the reader. Early critics were also ambivalent about Morrison's portrayal of the black woman as an object in society rather than a person, only ever going so far as to bring this fact to light and rarely commenting past it. The most in-depth analysis of the novel began with feminist critique. There were also notable differences between African-American critics (who often identified more with
22050-502: Was published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston in 1970, when Morrison was aged 39. It was favorably reviewed in The New York Times by John Leonard , who praised Morrison's writing style as being "a prose so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry ... But The Bluest Eye is also history, sociology, folklore, nightmare and music." The novel did not sell well at first, but
22200-422: Was pursued by slave hunters. Facing a return to slavery, Garner killed her two-year-old daughter but was captured before she could kill herself. Morrison's novel imagines the dead baby returning as a ghost, Beloved, to haunt her mother and family. Beloved was a critical success and a bestseller for 25 weeks. The New York Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani wrote that the scene of the mother killing her baby
22350-435: Was the first superintendent. He, along with one assistant, Miss Kirkbridge, were the entire teaching staff. The following year, Miss Hannah E. Burett became the third member of the faculty. In 1876, the schools were divided into primary, grammar and high school departments. A two-year high school course was developed and in 1879 the first class, consisting of two boys and one girl, was graduated from Lorain High School. By 1883,
22500-565: Was winner of the first Ohio High School Athletic Association Class Title. The school became champion of the Lake Erie League in 1927 for Football. During the 1960s, Lorain High School played in the Buckeye Conference alongside teams from Findlay, Sandusky, Fremont Ross, Admiral King High School, Mansfield, Marion, and Elyria. In 2014, the new Lorain High made its first splash real in athletics. The football team made
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