Question+13

Analyze the elements from Cholly’s life which make him capable of raping Pecola.

Cholly exists as one of the most conflicted characters in the entire novel—both as a character himself, and as a character to analyze. His emotionally devoid childhood is one the primary factors that allow him to rape Pecola. As he never had anyone who truly loved him, he doesn’t understand the concept of family. In his mind, he doesn’t know how to love. At a young age, he was traumatized during sexual intercourse, and this probably altered his perceptions of sex. His rough life on the streets isolated him from society, which pushed him further and further towards madness. In addition, Cholly sees Pecola as fractured and broken. He feels the paternal urge to help her, to straighten her ‘hunched back’, but does not seem to know how. In his drunken stupor, he resolves to the appalling act of raping her.