This section of the novel begins with an excerpt from the primer that contains a reference to the soft, cuddly orange kitten that lives with the ideal white family. The story that follows, however, is far from ideal. Geraldine, a prim and proper middle-class black woman, is obsessed with distinguishing herself and her family from lower-class blacks, which leads her to inadvertently abuse her family emotionally.
Mother Geraldine, Father Louis, and son Junior epitomize the black middle class, which has become far distanced from its black roots. Geraldine consciously removes herself from, and looks down on, black people who do not have white middle-class aspirations. According to Morrison, Geraldine is one of those blacks who "when they wear lipstick . . . never cover the entire mouth for fear of lips too thick . . ." Geraldine is obsessed with white "things": a manicured lawn, an overly decorated house, straightened hair, and a silent communal vow to banish anything lustful, lively, or passionate from her life. Her quest for upward social mobility encompasses a self-hatred that makes her avoid all reminders of her African heritage.
Geraldine measures out her emotions: Her son, Junior, is bathed and slathered with white lotion, and her husband, Louis, is granted a finite amount of sex, as long as he doesn't touch her too much. Only the blue-eyed black cat kindles any real affection within her. Thus Junior develops a malignant jealousy, a cruel sibling rivalry toward the cat. Not allowed to play with blacks, and not accepted by whites, he has learned to vent his frustration by bullying young girls and abusing his mother's blue-eyed black cat.
