The Breedloves, are a poor black family living in Lorain, Ohio in the early 1940s. Each chapter is told from a different point of view - the journey of the father, Cholly, from curious young boy to a drunk and unloving father; the history of the mother, Pauline, and her dreams of movie stars and romance; and the childhood of the children, Sammy and Pecola, and how they deal with life as they've been given it. In a life full of hardships and unfairness, young Pecola dreams of having blue eyes and blonde hair.