Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
Tiger Eyes Annotations
For my annotations I decided to list character traits of Davey, Bitsy, Walter, Mom, and Jason. I backed up each character trait with quotes from the book.
DAVEY
risky
“As soon as I am out on Diamond Drive I stop and take off the helmet, shoving it into the canvas bike bag.” (pg. 42)
adventurous
“I decided to climb down anyway. I don’t know whether to go backwards, hanging on to rocks or to try walking down frontwards. I combine the two methods and get going.” (pg. 45)
angry
“‘You’re the one making the bombs. You’re the one who’s figuring out how to blow up the whole world. But you won’t let me take Driver’s Ed. A person can get killed crossing the street. A person can get killed minding his own store. Did you ever think of that?’ I kick the wall and stomp out of the room. I am crying hard and my throat feels sore.” (pg.161)
BITSY
nervous/protective
“‘Besides,’ Bitsy says, ‘we know a family whose daughter was on the ski team and she crashed into a tree, head first, and wound up a vegetable in an Albuquerque hospital. They visit her every Sunday but she doesn’t recognize them. You don’t want to wind up a vegetable, do you?'” (pg.138-139)
family oriented
“‘I think Bitsy will be terribly disappointed. She’s always wanted a family and now that she’s got one it’s going to be hard for her to give us up.'” (pg. 206)
WALTER
nervous/protective
“Walter says ‘Statistics show that accidents, especially automobile accidents, are the leading cause of death among young people.'” (pg.160)
abusive/angry
“‘Your mother is another example of a wasted life.’ ‘What?’ I say. ‘What did you say about my mother?’ ‘Pregnant in high school and destitute at thirty-four.’ ‘Shut up…just shut up…’ I rush toward him, calling him every name in the book, and pound on his chest with my fists. He grabs me by the wrist and slaps me. Hard. Right across the face.” (pg. 174)
MOM
fearless
“‘But Atlantic City…it’s not safe…you, of all people should realize that Gwen.’ ‘I can’t let safety and security become the focus of my life,’ Mom says” (pg. 210)
dependent on others decision making
“I look over at my mom for support. ‘I’m sure Walter knows much more about skiing than we do, Davey,’ she says. ‘But he doesn’t ski,’ I argue. ‘Maybe not,’ Mom says, ‘but he knows about it.'” (pg. 138)
confident
“I can’t believe how sure of herself my mother sounds. I want to stand up and cheer for her” (pg. 211)
JASON
adaptable
“For the rest of the day I get the feeling that now that Jason knows we’re going home he is preparing himself. He seems to be drawing closer to Mom and to me, and pulling back from Walter and Bitsy. Little kids are amazing. They seem able to adjust to anything.” (pg. 209)
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