The Bluest Eye- Essay #1 The concept of beauty is portrayed throughout Morrison’s The Bluest Eye by analyzing the novella’s literary elements such as setting, character, and theme. Throughout the novella there’s a relation between beauty and the setting, character, and theme that relates to culture and beauty. The setting takes place in the 1940’s where beauty depended on the wealth and physical traits of an individual. As a character of dark color, Pecola grasps onto the white standard of beauty thinking that if she had blue eyes like them she would be accepted and loved. The theme of The Bluest Eye relates to racial discrimination against African-Americans being beautiful.
The setting takes place in the 1940’s where beauty depended on the wealth and physical traits of an individual. During this time period racial discrimination against African-Americans was tremendous. The middle class and the lower class black community were divided. For example; Maureen Peal as considered as the privileged division of the black society. The less privileged were the Macteer’s and the Breedlove’s. Morrison writes, “I am cute! And you ugly! Black and ugly” (73).
This quote reveals the importance of how the setting determines whether a person’s beautiful based solely on their skin tone. Being that Maureen Peal’s a light skinned middleclass girl she thinks her lighter skin makes her look more white, beautiful, and more superior over the darker girls.
The Essay on The Bluest Eyes Pecola Black Mother
The story of Pecola Breedlove in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is very dramatic. Like a seed planted in bad soil and in a hostile condition, Pecola, a very young and innocent African American girl, does not have a chance to grow up normally like her peers. Her parents' personal history is shown to have played out in extreme measures in her life. Her father, abandoned since childhood, does not ...
As a character of dark of color Pecola grasps onto the white standard of beauty, thinking that if she had blue eyes like them she would be accepted and loved. Society has done a great job with brainwashing Pecola’s perception of beauty with their racial opinions. In order to become the most beautiful person, Pecola must have blue eyes. Morrison writes, “She has seen it lurking in the eyes of all white people” (49).
Pecola wants to have power, be loved, and accepted by everyone. The only way she can achieve these physical traits of dominant culture is by having blue eyes.
The theme in appearance in The Bluest Eye relates to racial discrimination against African-Americans being beautiful. This novel tells the reader that white American icons such as Shirley Temple, and Ginger Rogers is what being beautiful looks like. African-American girls like Pecola were encouraged to be white. The society that the Macfeer’s ad Breedlove’s grew up in does not find them beautiful or even worthy of looking at as beautiful. . Morrison writes, “All of the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, ink skinned doll, was what every child treasured” (20).
Pecola’s constantly identified by her ugliness which makes her want to have blue eyes. The fact that Pecola desires blue eyes reveals that racism in society causes young African-American girls to envy whiteness, and to have low self-esteem.
Morrison enabled her readers to understand how beauty is portrayed with an understanding of the novellas setting which took place in the 1940’s where African-Americans were discriminated against because of their wealth or physical appearance. She also gives us a visual of how a child such as Pecola can suffer from society’s perception of “white with blue eyes” means beauty. Along with the theme Morrison gives her readers to understand how the perception of beauty affected African-American society during the 40’s.
