Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye"

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Morrison's novel "The Bluest Eye" and describes American society's obsession with beauty as defined by the white majority. The author says that Morrison explores the demonization of an entire race, and shows it in the microcosm of a female child. The author explores the issue of children's cruelty towards each other, and their support of each other, depending on where the attack is coming from.

From the Paper:

"We live in a world that appreciates and often rewards beauty. Those that are beautiful seem to find an easier way in the world. Being beautiful is popular and selling beauty is a very lucrative market. Everywhere men and women alike are bombarded with advertisements for products that will make them more beautiful. Such an obsession with beauty has adverse repercussions because it creates standards and behavior that exposes how we can demeaning we can be. Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye, explores the negative ramifications of a society that revolves around beauty and what it means to be beautiful. With the character of Pecola Breedlove, Morrison illustrates how the notion of beauty is associated with human worth. In addition, through Pecola's behavior toward her looks, Morrison demonstrates how devastating it can be to not live up to the standard that society has established. For Pecola, beauty becomes an unattainable dream and, as a result, she develops an inferiority complex as well as an identity crisis that clouds her entire life. "

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