Comments on the Prologue

I must say that this is certainly one of the most interesting and unique prologues I have ever read. The first section, written in the style of an old elementary school primer, introduces the idea of social conventions and stereotypes. The repetition of the same words with decreasing punctuation and spacing shows how the words are just that: words, and nothing more. They have no meaning or substance in real life. However, the repetition also seems to imply that the words are memorized and given false meaning by the narrator. I get the impression that the ideas of stereotypes and social norms will be prevalent throughout the novel, and that the narrator might have taken the words from the primer and set them as a kind of ideal or standard against which all things are measured.
The prologue then continues, shifting to the voice of someone looking back upon her life, trying to make sense of the events that occurred and give them meaning and significance. A metaphor of marigolds and seeds is introduced along with what will most likely prove an important aspect of the novel: Pecola has been impregnated by her father. I appreciated the blunt and simple speaking style of the narrator. The sentence found at the end of the prologue was especially interesting: "There is really nothing more to say--except why. But since the why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how." I believe that this statement establishes the novel as a contemplative journey of discovery for both the reader and the narrator; as the narrator explains the story, both she and we will be searching for the meaning behind the events. Hopefully, by the end of the novel the why shall become clear to us and the narrator herself.