The Idea of Confidence

"Nobody paid us any attention, so we paid very good attention to ourselves. Our limitations were not known to us - not then." pg. 191

Claudia and Frieda can be seen as contrasting characters to Pecola. Throughout the story, Pecola is very much sure of how unworthy she is to both herself and the people around her. Claudia and Frieda seem unwilling to accept that outlook for themselves, instead gaining their own self-worth and confidence from their relationship with each other and the self-impowerment they find by refusing to buy into what they've been told to believe. Claudia and Frieda are by no means blind to these "limitations" they speak of; throughout the story they are pointed out to them very clearly - however, they are not "known" to them because Claudia and Frieda to do not regard them in any aspect of their lives or how they go about them. This is very different from the character of Pecola, who views her lack of self-worth as a burden she must wear probably for the remainder of her life. Pecola seems to accept her state and does not try to change. Claudia and Frieda can be seen as contrasting characters because they rise above other people's views of them and create their own image for themselves in their minds, showing the reader what it is that Pecola could gain from a friendship with two young girls very like herself.



In what other ways (besides the idea of self-confidence or lack therof) can Frieda and Claudia be seen as contrasting characters for Pecola? In what aspects can they be seen as similar?