Henry Washington: Handsome older man who moves in as a border with the MacTeers. Frieda and her sister befriend Pecola when she moves in with them.

He uses his anger negatively by hurting those around him.įrieda MacTeer: Older sister of Claudia, she is around ten years old.

His blackness angers him and leads him to believe he is ugly and does not deserve a better life. He is an awful father, one who does not show love and who is often absent. In one of his drunken stupors, he lights their house on fire and burns it down. He rapes his daughter, Pecola, and she becomes pregnant with his child. He is often drunk and beats his wife and children. Her mother treats her coldly, as she believes Pecola is ugly and is ashamed of her.Ĭholly Breedlove: Father of Pecola. She is also raped by her father, and eventually becomes pregnant with his baby. Pecola has a very difficult life growing up, as people torment her for being black and ugly. She is not happy with herself and longs for blue eyes, as they are symbolic of American white beauty. It is here that she meets and becomes best friends with Claudia and Frieda. By orders of the county, the MacTeers take Pecola into their home to temporarily take care of her until the county finds another home for her. Pecola Breedlove: Eleven year-old little black girl, who is plain and homely. Pecola moves in with Claudia's family, and she becomes best friends with Claudia and her sister, Frieda. She resents and even reacts violently to these ideals when she destroys the pretty white dolls given to her at Christmas. Claudia despises the American ideals of beauty, which say that one must have blonde hair, blue eyes, and pink skin to be beautiful.

Claudia and her older sister, Frieda, are supposed to be seen and not heard, as all children are, and therefore spend much of their time quietly observing events as they take place. Claudia MacTeer: Narrator of the story, she is nine years old and lives in a green and white run-down, but functional house.

Pecola breedlove the bluest eye