Maureen Peal
"I mean, we all know who she is. And everybody has one of those in his or her life, but I was unfair to her. I did not in that book look at anything from her point of view inside. I only showed the facade...And I never got in her because I didn't want to go there. I didn't like her. I never have done that since. I've already regretted the speed for which I executed that girl. She worked well structurally for the girls and this and that, but if I were doing that book now, I would write her section or talk about her that way plus from inside" - Toni Morrison
Who was/is YOUR Maureen Peal? Tell us the story!
Is Morrison right? Should she have explored Maureen's perspective? Why/why not? Why do you think she "didn't want to go there"?
Who was/is YOUR Maureen Peal? Tell us the story!
Is Morrison right? Should she have explored Maureen's perspective? Why/why not? Why do you think she "didn't want to go there"?
I don’t think that I have had a Maureen Peal in my life or at least I do not remember having someone like her in my life. When I was a little girl, my parents always told me to focus on myself and to “ignore” others. In this case, “ignoring” means to not care about what other people have and what you don’t. My parents have always taught me to be grateful for what I have. Whenever my sister mentions the latest trends such as shoes like Jordans and complains to my parents that she wants them, it reminds me of how I did not really care about what other people thought when I was younger. I just wore the clothes and shoes that I had in my own closet. People talk about trends, but I always thought that it was ridiculous to follow what other people wore. For instance, before scrunchies became a huge trend, my mother would tie my ponytails with the velvet scrunchies when I was getting ready to go to elementary school. (I remember talking about this with some of my classmates from Polish School and they actually remember this.)
ReplyDeleteIf I had to choose someone that I was a bit jealous of in my life, it would be my younger sister. My sister was jealous of me because of my fast metabolism, while I was envious of her outspoken nature, being brutally honest, and being tough. I always wished that I can be more extroverted, can walk into any crowd, and have the confidence to just speak to strangers. I was always the child who was shy and did not really speak up. It may have been because my first language was Polish and I was probably afraid of speaking up as a child since I did not speak English well. On the other hand, my sister was able to learn English much quicker, especially since she went to an American pre-school, while I went to a Polish pre-school. I don’t know. My sister always had a bit of sassy nature (but the good kind). I have felt more like myself and I just have a different nature when I speak in Polish. Maybe that’s why I feel like an outsider at times, while my sister is more comfortable in being in various environments. Even to this day, I kind of feel like I hide under a curtain, but I hope to crack my shell a bit more in order to be a bit more like my younger sister.
I believe that Morrison should have explored Maureen’s perspective because people should understand that they should try to look at a different perspective, especially when you might dislike someone. By jumping into someone else’s shoes, you will be able to understand that everyone’s mindset is different because of the various events and lifestyles that they have experienced throughout their lives. For instance, sometimes I would see my sister get angry at me after I said that I should have not eaten so many sweets. When I learned that she was envious about how I was able to eat anything at any time and still be skinny, I understood that I should keep the insecurities of others in mind. No matter if you hate your worst enemy, you have to understand why your enemy is the way that they are. I believe that Morrison probably “didn’t want to go there” because there is a piece in her heart that is still shattered because of the horrible memories that she may have had. Her envy probably caused her hatred to explode rather than her thinking critically and analyzing people’s nature before judging them too quickly.
Is something envied a true desire? How can we tell the difference between something that we truly want and something we are subconsciously influenced by society to want. Their physical attributes is what I envied, I couldn’t care less about their personalities. They were disgusting and rude but were allowed because of the way they looked. They were soft on the inside and I knew it. They were just as delicate as a flower and would easily break the same way. The only thing stopping me from doing it was the jealousy that made me idolize the way they looked. With jealousy came envy for what they had, for what they had gave them something different, something I wanted, once I would say needed, something I thought I wanted and to a certain extent still do. But it takes time to think and come to one's senses and realize the things you envy aren’t the person themselves but really what allows that person or thing to be the way they are. It could very well be their personality but jealousy goes deeper and hides what you're really yearning for. Is it affection, love, to be desired, wanted, looked up to. It could be anything. But will only show itself in time. The root of jealousy comes from society and the ideas that are forced on us, is that true? I don’t know. No one simply told me to look that way or push me to be something that I’m not. What made me want what they had was what society gave those people. We aren’t treated equally and that is why jealousy manifests and takes over a person's understanding of what they truly desire. If we were equal then jealousy wouldn't exist for we would all have the same opportunity and no one would have an advantage over the other. Jealousy is one's ultimate downfall but it can also lead to a better understanding of oneself.
ReplyDeleteMorrison should have dug deeper into Maureen's character instead of only showing the facade. The point of the scenario was to show the kind of lives these girls lived everyday of their lives, being ridiculed by society and told they are less then. Anger clouds your mind and stops you from hearing the other person. Don't deny the other person the rights you fight for, that makes you no better and no where close to equal. However fighting to make people aware of the problems they face is useless when you deny another human the same attention. Maureen is the way she is because society has allowed for her to have no limit to what she can do. The girl could kill someone and people who call her cute. They call her cute because that is what society sees her as and since she is aware of it she gets away with anything. Still that's not an excuse to treat people the way she does but that does not deny her the same rights as anyone else. Just like the person next to you, rights are meant to be equal no matter the skin color or characteristic. The way she acts does not exempt her from having her story told. What influences this girl and makes her do the things she does could only be known through her story. If her story was added in addition to the one already told it would only deepen the message Morrison is conveying to the audience regarding society's idea of beauty and how it affects different people. Morrison probably didn't want to get into it because the idea of Maureen displeased her. She didn't want to understand this girl because she envied her. The jealousy was for the way society treated her and Morrison didn't want to go into why the bluest eyes are the ones valued in society and not those of a darker color.
I don’t recall that I’ve ever had a Maureen Paul in my life. Not back then, not even now. When I was little it was very easy for me to make friends with people, nobody cared where you came from, your household, or how much money you have, as long as you had 10ct to spare for some gummies before school everything was good. I loved meeting new people, going to their houses to have sleepovers, having them come to my house. It was great. I’ve also never seen anyone brag about something physical they had back then. The only things that were relevant were how fast you could run during tag, how long you could jump over the rope, and how fast you could climb on the playground so you wouldn’t get tagged by the opposing team. Times were simple back then. I was also always taught by my parents to never take things for granted, and that there’s always somebody out there who has it worse than I do. It’s easy to look up to celebrities these days and see how they live, but we’re so young. That could be us one day. And we should never forget that we’re so extremely blessed with the way we live, and what we have.
ReplyDeleteI think that maybe she should’ve figured out why Maureen acts the way she does. It’s always good to put yourself in someone else's shoes to see why a person does what they do or why they say the things they say. Being judgemental without knowledge of a person is something we all can relate to, but should all change. The saying don’t judge a book by it’s cover is real, that’s what we should live by. But I understand why the girls were being so judgemental without knowing Maureen. I would’ve been too. She asked Pecola very weird questions which I have no idea why she would feel so comfortable to ask when she barely knows the girl. But I do also believe that maybe the questions have something to do with what she experienced, and maybe she wants to know if somebody can relate.
I never had a Maureen Paul in my life, probably b/c I don't care about what other people have or look like. I am grateful for the things I have, and if I don't have the latest shoes or clothes then I'm fine with it. As long as I'm happy I don't care what other people have. It was always like this even when I was a kid, I wouldn't pay attention to the other kids who got everything they wanted. My parents know what they should get me when it's right, so I didn't really bother asking my parents what I wanted. In my mother's eyes, every item has an appropriate age to it. I couldn't wear rings until I was sixteen, or I can't have my own perfume until I'm eighteen. Keeping me from doing or wearing little stuff like those is good, because nowadays girls who are 10 or 11 are going outside with their friends, getting their nails done, they have a phone, etc. I feel like when we get everything we want, we get spoiled. If we're constantly worrying about other people, we won't enjoy life. We'll miss out most of our lives by being jealous of the people around. Jealousy is a very ugly emotion, what's the point of being jealous when you can have everything everyone else has if you work hard. By being jealous of other people we won't find true happiness. If you're constantly trying to look like the person you're jealous of then you're losing your identity. It's because we're different that we are unique, if we looked like everyone else, life would have been so boring. If people stopped paying attention to what other people have, then people can finally find their true identity and finally see the true beauty inside of them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Morrison is right and she should have explored Maureen's perspective because we don't know how she feels in the midst of all this. A character from one of my favorite shows once said “The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they don't wish to see anyone else suffer the way they did.” So we don't know who Maureen really is. If we're assuming how she is by just how she looks like, we're stereotyping her. Don't judge a book by it's cover, maybe Maureen doesn't want the life she's living, maybe she's also jealous of someone else. If Morrison were to explore Maureen's perspective, then maybe we can see what she thinks about all this. We can also see why Maureen acts the way she acts, maybe she was introduced to the world early. Maybe her soul was corrupted just like every other girl in that town. It was definitely a mistake on Morrison’s side for not exploring Maureen’s perspective, she probably thinks that another girl has judged her again. However, no one is perfect, and people make mistakes, life itself is a learning experience, as long as people know what they’re mistakes are and they learn from it and try not to make the same mistake twice, it’s all good.
I don’t think I have had Maureen Peal in life. We all need to remember that what we are is sufficient. Being jealous of someone isn’t going to make anyone feel better. The best thing to do is be yourself because you would never gain happiness if you are under someone's shadow often complaining about yours. We can’t constantly walk under dark shadows. I never cared what others thought of anything because everyone has their own voice and has the right to have their own opinions and there’s nothing wrong with that. There is no point in being jealous, while others are living their life out there. Everyone has their unique features, talents, looks, style, etc. that's what make them stand out from each other. Jealousy is just another word for wanting to be or wanting to have something you don’t obtain. Sure, someone could be jealous but it's just a waste of time to have such negative emotions constantly growing inside of you. It's better off to be grateful for what you have and own rather than wanting something you can’t have. There’s no point in wasting your time and energy being negative all the time and comparing yourself with what others have and don’t have. Not only does it affect people’s emotions negatively but it also is the spark to conflicts and arguments that are certainly unnecessary. That's why I am proud of everything I own and have no matter what other people think, since everyone is allowed to have their own opinions.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Morrison is right and should have stepped into Maureen’s shoes to have a better view of her perspective because quickly jumping to conclusions isn’t really the right way to go. Morrison should have explored Maureen's perspective because judging anyone without basic background information could lead to misleadings and making wrongful actions and decisions. If Morrison were to explore Maureen’s perspective then we would know the reason behind her actions. That's why we should judge a book but its cover. However Morrison did learn from her mistake and recognized that even though she may have been wrong no one is perfect and improving yourself is the best thing to do, especially acting upon past mistakes.
I don't think I have a Maureen Peal in my life though I have envied some people I have never really been seriously jealous. I get how being jealous is a normal thing but I think jealousy isn't something that should push you. Instead of being jealous of someone I rather drive and motivate myself to where I feel proud of myself. It would just be a waste of time and would make you feel disappointed. Some things I want to earn by myself because it helps one feel like they have the ability to reach their goal.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Morrison is right and should have seen Maureen's point of view because everything can be different from every person. She may not having wanted all these pretty expensive things but want to live a normal life. Like the saying don't judge a book by its cover, it is like don't judge someone by their looks. Maureen has her reasons for her actions but Morrison was blinded on what she saw on the outside and wasn't thinking how the other person would feel. No one can be perfect and Morrison realized that she was wrong and started to change her way of thinking.
I'm going to be honest here, I did have a Maureen Peal in my life. When my sister was born, I was four years old. She came out brighter, physically and mentally. She also has more euro-centric features than I do, like a sharper nose and an oval shaped head. She has curly voluminous hair, and big bright hazel eyes that you can sink into. She achieved more awards and more recognition from both sides of the family. To my father, she reminded him of his late mother. To my mother, she reminded her of herself. For a part of my childhood, my sister was my Maureen Peal. But, as I am the eldest, I held a ton of responsibilities even as a child. I kept my jealousy silent, and my annoyance out of the way. Of course, at times I loathed my sister. She gained everything so easily, where as I had to work hard and long for it. For odd reasons, I saw this clearly as a child. Whenever we "fought" as children and my parents would give her the upper hand, I would've assumed it was because she better. My brother was born a year after my sister, and was he grew up a bit so was my realization. I realized the role I played in the family, and in their lives. I was like their second mother/father figure. So, no matter how much I wanted to believe she was better, I tossed it all aside and carried on. The jealousy and angst always brought me no where, but into an abyss of self-pity. No one wants to be in that, ever. Jealousy, and all things galore, just bring in tons of slowness into life, I found it was better to move forward and onward. I think all insecurities/stereotypes, in our society, need to be addressed in order for people affected by it to feel "full". When I say "addressed", I mean something like more diversity in the entertainment industry. There should be more people like you in places all eyes can see. There will always be something/someone eating you up. No one is born fully confident, and you can't just say you don't "care" or that you're so "unbothered" so there's nothing making you feel any lesser. Everyone has something, some just have more guts/self-realization to come forward about it. A Maureen Peal, in my opinion, is someone/something that is just like you but "better". Once you come to terms with the "just like you" part, you'll feel sane. Once you see there is more just like you, you'll feel sane. Once you realize that you're never the only one and quit pitying yourself, you'll feel sane. I think when Morrison wrote, "Guileless and without vanity, we were still in love with ourselves then. We felt comfortable in our skins, enjoyed the news that our senses released to us, admired our dirt, cultivated our scars, and could not comprehend this unworthiness. Jealousy we understood and thought natural—a desire to have what somebody else had; but envy was a strange, new feeling for us. And all the time we knew that Maureen Peal was not the Enemy and not worthy of such intense hatred. "(p. 74), she implied similar points that I'm trying to make. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know a specific person who was my Maureen Peal but often it was a group of people that I was around. It was always middle school where I learned about my place in the world and prejudice and etc. Before middle school I was always around people that were like me and I saw nothing wrong with who I was. But in middle school, I went to a school in Tribeca, next to the notorious Stuyvesant HS. Our school was roughly divided between people who lived in Tribeca and came from the elementary school downstairs (or people who were similar to them), and the rest of us who came from anywhere else. Then, I started to see the differences between us and them, I couldn’t relate to them. After a while, I started to long for all the things they had, the nice spacey Tribeca apartments, living in clean, safe streets, being able to roam the city without a parent’s permission, to spend money on whatever I wanted. I never wanted to be white I just wanted all their stuff, because I didn’t have it. Sometimes I felt I was lesser and didn’t get to experience life to the fullest because I wasn’t like them. Eventually I started to feel a longing to be like my friends who were starting to blend in with the rich kids. I could never do that so I felt like an outsider.
ReplyDeleteI guess she is right, by exploring Maureen’s perspective you would’ve been able to see the nuances in the identities of light-skin black people. It would’ve been able to enhance her themes of black identity and see all the problems within the community and how whiteness impacts them. I don’t think she wanted to go there because it might’ve contradicted or weakened her message.
I'm not sure if I had a Maureen Peal in my childhood, but I know I don't have one now. I was never the kid to follow trends and I'm still not. I always did and followed my own thing. I couldn't care less about the newest clothes and shoes like Supreme and Jordan. Even in music there is trends. There's been a trend for years with newer rappers/artist using auto tune and mumbling in their songs to get famous. If their song has a good beat then that's all that matters. Some people don't care about lyrics and actual talent so they'll continue to buy their songs/albums and make these stupid, talentless, drug abusers famous. I never was never like that. My favorite artist since 2009 has been Eminem. I think that says enough. Today's younger kids are too focused on trying to be someone they're not. Like Tasnia said, being jealous of other people won't find us happiness and I agree.
ReplyDeleteMorrison should have acknowledged Maureen's side because there's always a different side to a story. Having someone else's perspective shows us how they think, how they see things differently. Maybe Toni Morrison "didn't want to go there" because she didn't want to bring more light to the "light-skinned" girls. Maybe she was jealous. One thing is for sure is that if she did dig deeper then we would've understood Maureen better.
There is no MAUREEN PEAL in my life. I have food to eat, clothes to wear, live in the legendary New York City, have parents who love me very much, have good friends, my motherland and the United States are the most powerful countries in the world. I think my life is very good. I am not jealous, but I admire capable people. I am a family-focused person, and I care about my parents because they are the only people in the world who really want me to be good, so why should I spend time focusing on other people instead of my parents?
ReplyDeleteI think Morrison is kinda right and should have gone to the shoes of Maureen to have a better view because it is not really the right way to jump quickly into conclusions. But of course it is also necessary to think from the perspective of others and the situation. However, nothing is flawless, and people make errors; life is a process of learning, as far as people know and learn from it and strive not to make the same error again, it's nice everything. And I won't go because may have changed the intention of Maureen.
Growing up, I was taught to be grateful for all of the things that I have been blessed with. there was no need for me to be envious of material items because I was never really phased by them. However, as I grew in age I realized that there were plenty of things to be envious over. I was surrounded by people who were comfortable in their own skin and confident to be themselves openly. Personally, I was too scared to talk to people and in a sense let people in. It was for this reason that making friends was hard, I remember in elementary school only having one genuine friend who I would talk to all the time. We were both introverts so we clicked immediately. Sadly, he moved and I was on my own for the rest of elementary school. I would see other kids that had a large amount of friends and I was lost trying to find friends so I tried my best to focus on being the best student that I could be.
ReplyDeletePart of being a mestiza in Ecuador came with its difficulties. Unlike the hardships of other people, mine were minor. I was raised by a humble family that taught me the beauty in life and the road to a good future. Although since I was little I had minor complaints against my appearance, as I grew up I learned that these were unnecessary. Since little, I learned that I should not care about what others say about me, that no matter how different I looked, I always had something to bring to the table. I am pretty in my own way, intellectually and physically, thus the Maureen Peal that has been in my life, has been gradually disappearing. Those limitations are not going to change who I am as a person; society must not limit what I want to do with my life, because it’s my own and no one else’s.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I think this thinking was the reason why Toni Morrison did not want to include Maureen Peal’s perspective when she wrote the book. She might’ve thought that it would have taken away the true message behind the meaning of beauty and it’s link to skin color. In addition, adding her perspective would have shifted the focus of Pecola onto a stronger character, therefore taking away an important element of the master narrative. However, allowing the experience of Maureen Peal would have rather been beneficial to the elaboration of the book as it could bring the shift to the general issue of racism where her audience could be witnesses to racism in even the most educated or loved people, that disregarding their skin color, people are subject to discrimination based on their experiences and history (because society had perpetuated the order of nature and changed it to their will) By subtly adding Maureen Peal’s perspective, the subject of power and beauty could have opened the path to a deeper insight in social issues. Although Morrison’s hesitancy of adding Peal’s perspective into the book was a wise move for being her first book, extending Peal’s world onto the book would have provided a deeper sense of awareness of how history shapes social issues and how we can be aware of such issues.
My Maureen Peal for a while was my little brother. I have grown out of this phase and appreciate being a big brother.You would ask me why I would be jealous of my brother and it was based on just him being the youngest and receiving the baby treatment. Being the first child, he was put on a pedestal in my eyes as someone who doesn't have to do anything at home. He did not get the same chores or responsibilities as I did growing up which I always noticed. I had to do things for him that he should have known how to do. I felt that as he grew older the things that he had to do were put on me. Check his Homework, Help him clean, Take out his trash. I have noticed though instead of hating and whining over this to be a better role model and teach my brother. I have taught him how to make his own breakfast and now he takes out the trash.
ReplyDeleteMorrison should not have explained Maureen’s perspective any further than she had because it helped tell Pecola's story. It helps develop the hardships that pecola faced not only against whites but people of color. We are able to see the colorism that is displayed in the black community and the sad truth of bringing people down. Maureen served as a symbol of the light skin stereotype that has been portrayed in the black community. If we were to dice deep into Maureen we would see her struggles and problems which would diminish the cynical view that we have of her.
I would say I never actually had a Maureen Peal in my life then or now. I’m the only child so there wasn’t any competition between siblings. Or any fighting for things because I did get a lot. But there was always a limit to things in my life. My mom believed since I was the only child and If I got whatever I wanted then I would of been spoiled. So the way my mom raised me was in a good way I guess. I stay mutual to anything. As I grew up I wasn’t really jealous of anyone or anything in particular. If anything the only thing that would bother me is grades. Like if anyone got higher grades then I would be mad. But I wouldn’t call it jealousy. That was around 2nd- 3rd grade ish. But as I grew up I realized that no one is so called “perfect”. We’re all unique in our way. We’re all beautiful in our own way too. No one is ugly in this world. Since people in the media are like that. Us teenagers get that idea that we have to be that way too. Such as a certain body type, skin tone, eye color, etc. But I feel like we should be grateful with how we were born and how we look like. There is nothing we can do about it. Changing your look to me is basically changing who you really are. We should be grateful in the fact that we have eyes to see, hands to write with, legs to walk with. Now kids and adults who don’t have these probably cry everyday and suffer that they are in this type of situation. So for example someone complaining about how they don’t have nice eyes and another person does. That’s just completely messed up. You should be happy with how you look. If you don’t find yourself attractive in your eyes someone else might find you attractive in their eyes. Everyone’s eyes work differently. Now trying so hard to impress someone just makes you unhappy. You should be happy with how you look and who you really are. Once you are happy with yourself then you can make someone else happy.
ReplyDeleteI guess she was right in a way. Exploring Maureen’s perspective shows the identities of the colored and whites.
I don't recall ever having a Maureen Peal in my life. I am not the jealous type, for jealousy can bring out the worst in people. It is okay to want what someone has. Its normal actually. You want it so badly that you start to work hard in order to get to that accomplishment which pushes other people to do the same. However, if you see what someone has and degrade it, and you don't celebrate such an accomplishment because your mad you didn't accomplish it first can, you are an envious person. you always hear people say, "OMG I am SOOO jealous" when regarding to someone else accomplishments, but in reality you know that they are proud of you because if you are able to admit that you are "SOOO jealous" than you know that this accomplishment sparked something in you that makes you want to do the same. I've never been envious of someone one, but inspired by someone to do good, and sometimes the inspiration can come across as jealousy, but in reality i am happy for that individual and wish them so much success with this accomplishment which isn't jealousy, its inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI don't thank that Morrison should have explored more of maureen's perspective because when you are jealous of someone, you try so hard to forget about them. By not speaking about Maureen, it tells the reader that Pecola doesn't want to think of her life because she doesn't have it. If you continue to think of the jealousy you have over an individual than you are hiding from the life you are living now. If we want to understand Pecola's life then we have to go deeper into what she goes through, not what maureen goes through. We've hurd billions of maureen stories... its time we go into pecola's
During my early childhood years, I was the boy who loved going to school, the reason being it was Head Start. All I did was play in the sand box, built sparkly pipe cleaner flowers for my teachers, ate, and slept. Going to a Head Start school which was primarily white made me one of the few brown skinned boys to attend. There was this one boy who became one of my earliest best friends. He was a white skinned mexican who was fairly wealthy. Silly enough, we were eager to introduce our mothers to each other, and then we visited each other's homes. His mother and my mother instantly clicked and till this day remain very good friends and so do we. Remembering clearly, I was so naive and clueless about the world, what did it matter if my friend had better things than me, had more money than me, till this day, those things don’t cross my mind, I’m happy my friend. What shocked me the most was the comment that my mom made, [Carlos, I remember when you were 4 and said “Mom I want to have my own room and have all the toys in the world] Was I envious of my friend during my younger years? Maybe? I don’t know. My friend and I have talked about money and what it’s like to “have it easy.” I believe he was my “Maureen Peal” during my younger years. 12 years later, my mentality has changed and money to me is just something that comes and goes.He has never been disrespectful or has downgraded me which I believe is a good thing and I’m very grateful. Never have I ever felt lesser to him, the respect among us is equal and profound..
ReplyDeleteWhen Morrison said that “everybody” had or will soon in the future have a Maureen Peal, I believe she is right. There will always be someone more alpha than us. Does that mean we should tolerate being disrespected, the answer is never. It’s important to have a high self-esteem and be fairly confident. Now, Morrison shouldn’t have explored Maureen’s perspective because if she was the embodiment of a real person in her life, going deeper in the past would open old wounds. Morrison’s narrative and the way she created her characters to explain some events during her lifetime should stay within her own view. This is her narrative, not their’s.
I don't really think I have my own personal Maureen Peal. I don't like to think of people in that way. As a child growing up my parents always taught to always not care about what other people thought of you and to always not be jealous of anyone. They always told me you may have something that someone else has. Till this day I still think about and it honestly makes me feel good at times. I just don't think you should waste your brain energy on being jealous of someone or envying someone like how Claudia envied Maureen. It's just best not to care about those things so then they won't affect you. The more you think about it or care about it. The more you’ll find yourself to be like that. To be honest, i'm just grateful for the life I have. I think about the people that don't have much. It makes me come to a realization that being a Maureen Peal is a complete waste of time and there's other things in the world to worry about. However, I might have people that think that I may be a Maureen Peal in their life. It's usually with people that I don't really associate myself with and they always have something to say about me but I don't really care. I just laugh it all off.
ReplyDeleteI think that Morrison should have explored Maureen’s perspective because then it’ll help us as readers understand two perspectives. Also, understand why they acted the way they acted. Not giving her side of the story leaves the story hanging and only one sided. Maybe if Maureen had a perspective there wouldn't actually be a “Maureen Peal” the girl people didn't like. It would have changed the story because then she wouldn't be the person that they thought she was. People just judged her based on her appearance and not her true self. However, it would've been better having her perspective because I would get to understand that if she was actually a good or bad character.