Beauty in "The Bluest Eye"

page 137
Soaphead thought it was at once the most fantastic and the most logical petition he had ever received. Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty. A surge of love and understanding swept through him, but was quickly replaced by anger. Anger that he was powerless to help her. Of all the wishes people brought him -- money, love, revenge --, this seemed the most poignant and the one most deserving of fulfillment. A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. For the first time he honestly wished that he could work miracles.

Questions:
1) What do you think causes Soaphead to have the surge of understanding?

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